Racists, Transphobes, Misogynists and Me

Last night I got to take Tyler Dewar of The Freelancers: The Mercenary through a turning point.

“Army,” he breathed as he was led into the visiting room. He never would have recognized-- The young man that stood when Tyler entered had scarcely left any trace of his former self...

Tyler had never been able to think of Army as a man, but now it was undeniable.

He wanted to hug h-- He didn't know what to do with himself. The invisible chain prison had around his neck jerked him back. No touching.

Probably for the best, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from thinking about where those breasts used to be and how soft and vulnerable the girl he once was--

The girl, his girl.

But the man in front of him could read his mind. Experience made it easy, Tyler supposed. He always knew that as much as Tyler tried to say the right things, the right thoughts weren't in his head and Tyler couldn't make himself think them.

He was a bigot. Quality time with bigots had taught him that. And he wanted to be better he just didn't know how.

“I missed you,” he said.

I love writing Tyler: he's misogynistic. he's transphobic, he's basically an ass but he desperately wants to be the good guy, which gives him a certain degree of charm. He wants to help people, but usually ends up doing more harm than good.

Fun thing about antiheros: when things get tough there is no outcome that isn't emotionally satisfying. If the antihero suffers it seems to confirm the rightness of the world, they're only getting what they deserve really. If the antihero thrives it plays into the reader's innate desire to be the most clever of all too.

Plus cartoon heros and villains are boring.

But the trouble with writing racist, sexist and otherwise bigoted MCs is that people don't always understand that they are not meant as an endorsement of the flaws you assign to them.

I love Tyler's relationship with his transexual paramour Army. Without it I think it's too easy to assume that Tyler is a good guy. After all, he puts his life at risk to thwart gangsters and government corruption. He cares for the little guy, no life is worth sacrificing for the greater good...

It's only through his relationship with Army that you see that Tyler does these things for completely the wrong reasons. He's controlling, patronizing ... he does good primarily for narcissistic reasons.

So while I really love Tyler and Army ... I'm also really scared of writing them. I think it's clear I'm not trying to advocate transphobia... but I've been surprised before. I thought the flaws of stereotype loving Harry were clear enough to avoid any misunderstandings about The Condor's critique on racism ... errr ... not everyone agreed ^o^

It's probably the hardest part of writing. Dealing with the people who don't like the book are easy ... dealing with the people who completely misunderstand what you're going for are very difficult.