Game-changers 8: LGBTQ+ titles

I remember talking to my stepdad when I was applying to graduate school. I was interested in gender studies at the time and I gave the examples of specialization or gender. I remember him getting offended because he thought gender was a preposterous topic of study -- which only made me dig my heels in and insist it was what I wanted to do.

In the long run, I left gender studies behind not because of any disapproval or pressure, but because other things called to me - like museums and big cats and Albertopolis - but the issues swirling around, through, and about gender are still important to me (especially as a writer of slash fan fiction. In fact, before I get to the titles I'll be discussing, I should note that even as a young reader I was often convinced that the relationship between two male main characters trumped the love interest story. On one hand, this indicates a need for female characters who have the depth and personality of their counterparts. On the other, this indicates something about my way of seeing the world...

Things I have (mis?)seen and been influenced by (and sometimes convinced others of the truth of):

 The bond between Cutter and Skywise in Elfquest is actually canon, though it wasn't always explicitly articulated (elves are not exactly like humans when it comes to their sexuality). Also, Cutter's lifemate Leetah is as interesting as he is and has equal depth and personality, so I wouldn't have created this pairing out of whole cloth.

So plenty of people (almost all of them smarter than me) have had plenty to say about masculinity in Tolkien and its lack of romance. But, as a young Tolkien reader the Legolas/Gimli relationship was my favorite (it still is) and even though I didn't know anything about how sexuality is defined it seemed perfectly sensible and natural to me! And if I can't convince you, check out the mind-boggling writing of Determamfidd in Sansukh - who simply confirms what I already knew!

 As this small sampling of photographic evidence indicates, it's not my fault  that I started to imagine a Geddy/Alex relationship (called Dirxst by its proponents and called unrepeatable names by the rest of Rush fandom...) [and yes, I have enough of these photos to start a museum, but my husband would probably disapprove of it...] I realize that real person slash raises ethical issues, so I'm still not sure where I land regarding that. Can the celebrity version of someone be regarded as a character? That sounds like a loophole I can live with...

 As I've stated before, the Joker is the reason I visit Batman fandom and I'm not the first person to imagine their relationship in more than hero/villain terms [why doesn't Batman kill Joker so that he stops breaking out? Love. Why doesn't Joker kill Batman if he hates him so much? He doesn't.] As you can see from this illustration, even the animated series gives BatJokes a nod.

 The Kirk/Spock (or Spirk) pairing predates any imaginings of mine, too; many credit it as the first official slash pairing. I only very recently watched the Original Series and I was delighted at how obvious the subtext was! Thanks, Gene Roddenberry!

I was introduced to Angels in a Masterpieces of Drama class in college. Most of the class groaned at being forced to diversify their reading experience but I was swept away. I still can't think of a better blessing than "more life!"

 Donaghe's work isn't well known, but his writing is beautiful and has enough of a blend of realism to make it satisfying and enough of romance to leave you cheering for the characters.

The Folded Leaf is one of my desert island reads. It barely qualifies as LGBTQ+ (there's one kiss in the whole thing) but Maxwell packs so much into the silences... reading it always leaves me a little dazed and a little broken.

I've posted about this title before and it remains a go-to for smiles. Cotton-candy sweetness meets nerdy fandom references - who can resist?