Making Bigotry Not Pay

If you have fanfic that fits, go ahead and rec it. I think that slash is contributing to the acceptance of homosexuality. It's gone from 'the love that dare not speak its name' to 'the love that fangirls think is cute and chatter about in the hospitality suite.'

Happy to be of service. I think perceptions are changing, as indicated by the fact that this is now an argument rather than a dogpile.

Good point about what kind of details; I'll edit the post accordingly.

Yes, this is the kind of negative review that I had in mind when I suggested that people include details. The one I linked to is similar. I didn't write such a review myself because I haven't read the book and don't plan to do so.

That's why there's a list of options. Different people can show support in different ways. You don't have to write happyfic yourself if it's not your strong suit, although it's worth exploring if you're in the mood to experiment.

>> Define "healthy and happy." <<

Healthy: capable of functioning for most or all purposes of everyday life; able to respond to plot challenges in a way that demonstrates agency rather than victimization. Characters may have flaws -- well-designed ones usually do -- but these should relate to past challenges or personal composition, and not look like "being gay screws up your mind/body."

Happy: generally satisfied with life situation, or at least with a clear goal in mind and moving in that direction; capable of experiencing joy and pleasure; having something going right. Characters may experience setbacks, have some part of their life be a mess, or have to crawl through hell and high water to achieve happiness -- but that should relate to personal growth and/or plot tension, and not look like "being gay makes you miserable."

>>Breathe Deep (they aren't happy yet, but are actively working to become so because part of being happy is being together)<<

That's a good plot arc, working toward happiness.

>>Howl at the Mistletoe has gay Christmas werewolves working for their happily ever after, kinky cosplayers, Rapunzel and Medusa in love, steampunk lesbians fighting zombies and other stuff<<

*laugh* Wow. I love your descriptions. These are just ... far out.

>>I write a LOT of "broken cookies," be they physically, emotionally or otherwise damaged by life. They're more interesting. I also like writing horror and dystopia, which don't lend themselves to healthy, happy people.<<

Point. I like broken cookies too. Sometimes I write horror and other dark stuff, though it's not a dominant tone for me. What fascinates me is how characters work to overcome challenges. The whole "Clockwork War" series of poems is about doing what you can with what you have left.

On the homosexual side, one of my Torn World characters, Tekura, prefers the company of men; he has a hard time performing with women, which frustrates him because he wants to sire children (both a personal and a cultural drive). I have some scene sketches, though not a finished story yet, about how he and his partners cope with that. One finished story, "Owlheart," explores the fact that it isn't his homosexuality that sets him outside the usual for his culture, but rather his preference for monogamy. The Northerners really aren't into that, for practical reasons. So Tekura is looking for his other half, and hasn't found that yet. He's healthy, and mostly happy; and in fact he tends to deal with his disappointments by throwing himself into the parts of his life that are working.

>> Of course, you know what they say about people like Card, people so obsessed with homosexuality. *Grins* <<

It's not just a river in Egypt.

>> I've only ever read one book by Orson Scott Card <<

I've read a number of his books, mostly the earlier stuff. They tended to be dark and twisted, but interesting. They got more warped and less entertaining over time, so eventually I got bored and wandered away. I do, however, still have several of his how-to books on writing speculative fiction. Those are quite good. One might wish to acquire them secondhand though.

That sounds really cool.