Writing Gay Men of Color
Sharita Lira
Unfortunately, the media is filled with
stereotypes. How people perceive men of any color is a guy lacking emotion,
rough, most of the time an alpha with a bad attitude. Then there’s the gay man
who is sometimes portrayed as overly girly, weak, and more often than not, a
sex addict. In the early 2000’s we were blessed with Queer as Folk, showing beautiful gay men of all types, embracing their
sexuality, dealing with the same issues as straight couples trying to survive
in the modern era. As brilliant as QAF was, it was missing a key element. In my
opinion, a gay man of color who was also a main character would’ve added
something to the show.
Some time later, Noah’s Arc came along and I believed it only lasted two seasons. From
the couple of episodes I did see, it portrayed gay men of color in a positive
light. Seemingly, this series might not have been interesting enough to keep
running so it disappeared without a trace.
What about in fiction? These days we
have a wealth of colorful gay characters in many books. The question is how do
we write them? Do we draw on the stereotypes? Black and or Hispanic men who are
angry and always intense; Asian men who seem timid and weak. Those are just a
couple of examples. Do we need to add this to our books for them to seem real?
In my estimation we don’t. I often wondered why authors, whether it be books,
TV, and or movies can’t make a character, especially a gay male character of color, who doesn’t fit that mold. Sure, you
can add to the setting to make it more “real”; a young black man from a poorer
neighborhood. Perhaps his family hates that he’s gay and his friends don’t accept
him. Yes, that’s all the reality I need and let me say, not every black man comes from a background
like that. But with his attitude? Must he be overly angry at the world and
seething all the time? Well hell, he could be a goth boy or an intelligent
scholar, from a not so poor neighborhood. Perhaps he was the rich one and his
white counterpart the middle class working man.
What’s my point here? When I write a
gay man of color, I try to avoid the stereotypes unless it is a central part of
the plot. I feel people should be written as people, without pulling from the
so called mold.
Regardless of race or nationality or
orientation, we’re all human with unique traits and attitudes that make us
stand out from others. Characters should be treated in the same fashion.
Mocha
Kisses by Rawiya
Published
1st of April 2016, Thirteen Below Press
165
pages ǀ heat 3
Contemporary
Interracial Multicultural Romance
Simple
delicacies like donuts and coffee can bring two people together no matter what
their differences; it can make for a very satisfying experience. But deceit can
turn those experiences sour.
In
these two stories, Cupid shoots his arrows at four men, drawing them to one
another through chance encounters that instantly grow into something more.
Time To Make The Donuts
Christopher
Wettlon has inherited his grandfather’s Donuts to Go shop. He’s young,
educated, and pretty well off, but still something is missing from his life.
Enter
Andre Bentley, who seems to have everything going for him. Little does
Christopher know Andre is out for more than his fresh, strawberry creams.
The
two men are getting along well until Chris confronts Andre about his job. Can
Andre ‘work’ himself back into Chris’s good graces?
Smooth Like Latte
Brendan
Walsh is committed to working for his irrational, homophobic dad who has
threatened to disown him if he comes out gay to the world. Pretending to be
someone he isn’t weighs him down. This puts Brendan on edge and alert at all
times, leaving little to no time for him to build a steady relationship with
anyone.
Davori
“Latte” Jenkins is a happy go lucky barista working in the Walsh building. Born
and raised in North Carolina, Latte possesses extremely good looks and charms
the pants off anyone in his path using his Southern boy attitude.
When
Brendan visits the shop Latte works in, they’re immediately drawn to one
another. Latte makes him a caramel latte with something extra.
Because
Brendan isn’t out of the closet, they keep their thoughts and flirtations
private. Once they start dating, Brendan gets the courage to come out publicly
and the relationship goes into overdrive. Still, Latte desires something more
to define their relationship.
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Author(s)
RAWIYA
is the more sensual erotica writer in the BLRawiya duo. She loves multiracial
characters who overcome obstacles other than race. Sweet, sassy, and spicy
would be the best way to describe her work. Happily married mother of two,
loves music, computers, and travel.
The Literary Triad ǀ Blog ǀ Facebooks ǀ Ello ǀ Twitter
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