Would this be inappropriate?

[FriendlyShadow]

I don't know if this is appropriate to ask, but is there anything wrong with writing about gay couples in a story, even if you aren't gay yourself or haven't been in a relationship. I've seen there are shows that revolve around gay theme (The L word for example) but do many people actually read about that kind of stuff or would that they just be turned off reading about those stories? And what about authors who aren't gay, but write about gay themed shows/movies/books, do they even have to have experience to write about those things? Sorry, I didn't know if this seemed appropriate to ask on this site. I just thought the idea would seem interesting to me personally... what does everyone else think about this?

 

[MollyBeGood]

Sex in the City was written/directed by two Jewish gay men. I thought that was pretty weird considering it was a show about hetero women. But that is the Hollywood agenda, so,it makes sense now that I know.

 

[BlackPuma]

Nah, it's perfectly fine. Any author should write/depict their characters in any way they want without feeling pressured. Art is expression, and shouldn't be limited to just your personal experiences.

The stories might have more realistic depth and layers if those same sex relationships were drawn from personal experience because the person writing it is aware of the small and big differences, but all fiction is inherently inaccurate, and all of it is interpretation.

 

[FriendlyShadow]

Nah, it's perfectly fine. Any author should write/depict their characters in any way they want without feeling pressured. Art is expression, and shouldn't be limited to just your personal experiences.

The stories might have more realistic depth and layers if those same sex relationships were drawn from personal experience because the person writing it is aware of the small and big differences, but all fiction is inherently inaccurate, and all of it is interpretation.

Yeah, I've just been wondering if there were authors who aren't gay who do write about themes that do revolve around gay couples. Just as if other themes like drugs/alcohol/peer pressure, if the author writing it hasn't experienced any of those things. I was a little bit cautious of writing themes like that because either less people would read about those topics or that they might interpret it as a reflection of my own life (which isn't entirely true). I'm not sure if tv shows with gay themes have lower ratings than ones with normal straight people... but I guess I wanted to try something different.

 

[this_portrait]

I'm not sure if tv shows with gay themes have lower ratings than ones with normal straight people...

Gays have become like a token for a lot of TV shows, from what I've heard.

But I say go for it. I've thought about writing a story with a gay protagonist myself, but I don't know how to get around the cliche aspects that are often in a lot of plots with gay characters (the "coming out story" is probably the most common).

 

[Pacific_Loner]

If this is inappropriate to write about something if you haven't experienced it, even if it's a work of fiction, it doesn't leave you with many options does it

I guess this is where it gets interesting to do research before writing, when you have a story in mind but you have never experienced any of it ...?

 

[Pyrophosphate]

Absolutely, write whatever you feel like writing. It's easier to write a compelling story about something you have personal experience with, but it's by no means a requirement. Anybody trying to dictate what you can and can't write about based on who you are is wrong.

 

[PugofCrydee]

Yea write about it if you feel like that. Most ppl who are against that sort of thing are against it because of their religious beliefs.. which don't make sense anyway. So go for it.

 

[zharl]

Hmm...I don't see anything wrong with it. You may want to do a little research first and talk to some gay couples, so that the work is authentic. *shrugs*

 

[Fey]

Fiction is about people. Orientation is one aspect of people. Most writers writing about murders aren't murderers, the ones writing about space exploration aren't astronauts... it doesn't really matter.