Getting Away with Being Gay
Something that struck me as rather odd as I was working on the PotH manuscript this weekend: In Ithyria, which is a completely made-up fantasy world, being gay is nonetheless a sort of hush-hush thing. Being a fantasy world it would have been so easy to set the story in an open, welcoming society where same-sex relationships are treated as the norm. Yet this didn't happen in Ithyria; the culture is very similar in many ways to ours just a decade or three ago. There are reasons for that, and I'll go into some of them in a moment, but the thing that struck me as most odd is that in Branded Ann, which is set in our own world at a very conservative point in history, Ann's sexual preference is not only common knowledge, but is generally accepted by those around her without much question. The realistic truth, of course, is that an openly lesbian woman in that day and age would probably never have been tolerated among the criminals that were the pirates of the day. She most likely would have been murdered in her sleep (if not in some other horrific way), not made captain of their ship. And I ask my readers to suspend a pretty big chunk of disbelief in order to take Ann's journey with her.
So why, I asked myself, did the books turn out this way? I think I can explain what happened with SotG a little more easily. As the characters discover, gay and lesbian lifestyles do exist in Ithyria; at one point in SotG Talon reflects on the wealthy spinster heiresses who used to pay her showmaster for time with the performing girls, and she alludes a little to the stinky older men that have attempted to kiss her (believing that she's a young boy.) There's also a moment when Shasta explains to Talon that General Harneth, of the Verdred provincial guard, is gay. But for the most part, things like crossdressing and lesbian relationships are treated as taboo, and both Talon and Shasta have to come to terms with their attraction to one another from a worldview that is traditionally heterosexual.
When I was writing SotG, these tensions developed themselves as an organic part of the story, mostly because the book is very much a coming-of-age novel. I wanted to explore the unspoken fears and confusion often experienced by young gay and lesbian folks as they're figuring out who they are. It certainly was a reflection of a few of my own thought processes, coming from the ultra-conservative background of my own family, when I was finally coming to terms with the things that I felt and what they meant about who I was. As SotG progressed, I also needed an explanation as to why it was unusual that Talon should be dressed as a boy. The world needed clear, categorical characterization of masculine vs. feminine to fully illustrate Talon's courage, and the jeopardy her disguise placed her in even as it granted her certain freedoms.
As the series progresses, Ithyria, like any other character in the novels, will grow and develop and progress. I can pretty much say it's safe to assume the land won't magically transform from a conservative, traditional, heterosexist culture into an open and accepting one in the course of a few books – but I'm hoping to hint at such an eventual transformation, to give the sense that it might be a long time coming, but it's headed in the right direction. And I believe the characters who navigate this world will be all the more relatable to many readers because the struggles they face are a big part of our own history of society-imposed secrecy and fear, and the courage it takes to accept those risks for love.
Branded Ann, though… that one's more difficult to rationalize. The truth is, the book just sort of did what it wanted to as I wrote it. Ann, I think, would justify the other characters' acceptance of her sexuality by saying it boils down to her reputation. She's built herself this image that's larger than life. There are even rumors that perhaps she's not really human – perhaps she's the bride of the Devil, or a demon herself, and it's that reputation that makes it less necessary for her to prove herself all the time. Fear of the unknown is always more powerful than fear of what's right in front of your eyes, so Ann knows that if her rep is frightening enough, she can stride into a room and command every last person in it without having to so much as draw her sword.
Still, I will fully admit that the scenario's highly improbable (though, perhaps, no more improbable than the interwoven ghost story, no?) Which is why I didn't try to write the book as an accurate historical account of the times. I wanted it to be more of a fantasy adventure, perhaps a little less Disney-fied than Pirates of the Caribbean but fun, colorful and fantastical all the same – and in that sense, the characters can get away with a few improbabilities. (Provided, of course, that the reader's willing to allow them to.)
At some point in the future, I do think I'd really like to write something set in a world where all sexualities are simply accepted as normal. Sweep that whole chunk of tension off to the side so I can focus more on the story and characters. Not sure what such a story would look like yet, but it's something I'd like to explore further someday.
You know, when I finish writing all the other books on my plate at the moment. :P
