The Harry Potter Alliance

By Erin Millar

September 29, 2011

Gay in YA

Recently, a conversation resurfaced in the Young Adult (YA) literature world. A blog posted on Publisher’s Weekly expressed how some YA authors have been asked by agents or editors to remove or change gay characters in their novels:

“The agent suggested that perhaps, if the book was very popular and sequels were demanded, Yuki could be revealed to be gay in later books, when readers were already invested in the series.

We knew this was a pie-in-the-sky offer—who knew if there would even be sequels?—and didn’t solve the moral issue. When you refuse to allow major characters in YA novels to be gay, you are telling gay teenagers that they are so utterly horrible that people like them can’t even be allowed to exist in fiction.”

The positive side of this is that it’s stirred up amazing conversations between authors, readers, agents, and editors. There has been an outpouring of support for gay characters. Authors like debut novelist Scott Tracey have stated their feelings on blog posts of their own. Nearly every social network has been talking about this. I agree with Maureen Johnson in saying that the YA industry is, in general, supportive of gay characters. Otherwise, her own novel, The Bermudez Triangle, wouldn’t have hit shelves. We never would have met Tiny in John Green’s and David Levithan’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

There will be the naysayers. There will probably always be the group of agents and editors who just don’t want to see it. It’s then that authors have to put their foot down. Just look at author Jessica Verday, who pulled her story from an anthology when the editor told her to make the boy/boy relationship in the story boy/girl instead. As long as YA authors are willing to keep standing for what they believe in, and sparking these conversations, as long as the fans of YA literature keep speaking up and reading these books, the naysayers in the industry will eventually have to look at the bigger picture.

It’s in having LGBTQ characters in the stories we love that help us keep open minds about the world around us. Even if you don’t particularly enjoy novels with gay characters, if they’re around and accessible and you have the option to read them, you expand your own understanding about a lifestyle that perhaps you aren’t familiar with. And the LGTBQ world is one that YA readers today can relate to, need to relate to. Think about Jamey Rodemeyer, who committed suicide last week after being bullied. Bullying often comes from not understanding someone’s life or choices. If teenagers were more empathetic to the LGBTQ lifestyle, perhaps they would be less prone to bully those who are part of that community. And if there continue to be gay characters in YA, perhaps the teenagers in the LGBTQ community won’t feel as alone in the world.

How fitting that this week is Banned Books Week. Censorship is something that the literary community is familiar with. So why do these agents and editors continually try to censor themselves? Yes, “homosexuality” is frequently a reason that books get challenged. Since when does the literary community do what the book banners want? This week, read a banned book. Read a banned book that features a gay character. Show how important these stories and these characters are to our society.