Samsies
People who are attracted to people of the same gender have been around a really long time, probably since before our specific species of hominid has been around*. Not that you'd know that by looking at historical fiction, historical fantasy, or stories set in history-influenced alternate realities. That said, there's more to representing LGBT characters in historical settings than just letting characters born of modern views on gender and sexuality loose in the world of your novel.
In their hilarious and informative book How Not to Write a Novel , Howard Mittlemark and Sandra Newman caution that one should 'not use [gay characters in a historical setting] as a way to demonstrate your other characters' tolerance, which they would not feel [emphasis original]. Also refrain from remarks about the gay samurai's mincing walk or interest in clothes'.
While I think the second sentence is spot on, particularly in societies where gender is simply presented differently, I'd also like to elaborate on Mittlemark and Newman's first point, as the authors are actually addressing several issues simultaneously.
First is the 'accessorising with political correctness' problem, which crops up across many genres. Bottom line, if a character exists to show how benevolent your main characters are, either get rid of them, or better yet, develop the tension between the privileged and marginalised character and explore the power dynamic in more depth.
Second, and more specifically, there was a lot more variation in attitudes towards various genders and sexual orientations throughout history. For example, North American cultures as diverse as the Lakota, Maidu, Navajo and Cheyanne had special and celebrated roles within their societies for those who did not conform to gender or sexual orientation norms. Meanwhile, ancient Chinese society prioritised reproduction, and tolerated same-gender relationships as long as the participants also had children with other partners. Orthodox Judiasm has always forbidden same-sex relationships between men, particularly Levite priests. In 18th century England, attitudes were split by social class, with the poor and working classes being largely tolerant, while the upper classes were more vocally homophobic.
In the end, I'd encourage more LGBT main characters in historical settings, but your character needs to be first and foremost an individual, and secondly a citizen of your world. Their self-identity and their interaction with the society around them will be shaped largely by the attitudes in your society.
*All the cool vertebrates are doing it.
In their hilarious and informative book How Not to Write a Novel , Howard Mittlemark and Sandra Newman caution that one should 'not use [gay characters in a historical setting] as a way to demonstrate your other characters' tolerance, which they would not feel [emphasis original]. Also refrain from remarks about the gay samurai's mincing walk or interest in clothes'.
While I think the second sentence is spot on, particularly in societies where gender is simply presented differently, I'd also like to elaborate on Mittlemark and Newman's first point, as the authors are actually addressing several issues simultaneously.
First is the 'accessorising with political correctness' problem, which crops up across many genres. Bottom line, if a character exists to show how benevolent your main characters are, either get rid of them, or better yet, develop the tension between the privileged and marginalised character and explore the power dynamic in more depth.
Second, and more specifically, there was a lot more variation in attitudes towards various genders and sexual orientations throughout history. For example, North American cultures as diverse as the Lakota, Maidu, Navajo and Cheyanne had special and celebrated roles within their societies for those who did not conform to gender or sexual orientation norms. Meanwhile, ancient Chinese society prioritised reproduction, and tolerated same-gender relationships as long as the participants also had children with other partners. Orthodox Judiasm has always forbidden same-sex relationships between men, particularly Levite priests. In 18th century England, attitudes were split by social class, with the poor and working classes being largely tolerant, while the upper classes were more vocally homophobic.
In the end, I'd encourage more LGBT main characters in historical settings, but your character needs to be first and foremost an individual, and secondly a citizen of your world. Their self-identity and their interaction with the society around them will be shaped largely by the attitudes in your society.
*All the cool vertebrates are doing it.
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