LGBTQ+ Representation in Books
Before the 2010’s, LGBTQ+ book characters were almost unheard of. Nowadays, while books continue to be predominantly heterosexual, there are more and more books with LGBTQ+ main characters. Some of the most popular authors have written LGBTQ+ characters into their stories.
One of the biggest authors with LGBTQ+ characters is Rick Riordan. Almost every child read Percy Jackson and the Olympians in elementary or middle school. It was not until the fourth book of the second Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus, that Nico di Angelo revealed that he had a crush on Percy Jackson. In Trials of Apollo, Nico di Angel dates a boy named Will Solace. These are not the only LGBTQ+ characters. Apollo and Zeus are both seen to be bisexual along with other minor characters. In Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, the main character, Magnus Chase, is either bisexual or pansexual and his partner Alex Fierro is genderfluid.
Another well-known author with LGBTQ+ main characters is Cassandra Clare. Magnus Bane is a constant in each series in Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles. He is bisexual and is in a relationship with Alec Lightwood during The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. Clare also wrote The Bane Chronicles which is a compilation of stories about Magnus and his previous relationships.
Becky Albertalli has written a few books with LGBTQ+ main characters. She wrote Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda which become the movie Love, Simon which is now becoming a tv show too. Leah on the Offbeat is a sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda but it is about Leah, Simon’s best friend. Albertalli also wrote What if it’s Us with Adam Silvera, which is about two boys who fall for each other. Adam Silvera is a gay author who has written several books with gay main characters such as They Both Die At the End which takes place over one day. The two main characters, Rufus and Mateo met early in the day and had fallen for each other by the end of the day.
Other contemporary examples of LGBTQ+ representation in books are The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Gardin and many, many more.
There has also been LGBTQ+ representation in the 19th century. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman was republished in 1860 after originally being published in 1855. In the second version, the “Calamus” poems were added. These poems demonstrated homosexual love. Emily Dickinson also supposedly wrote poems about her affair with Susan Gilbert, her brother’s wife. After Dickinson’s death, Mabel Loomis Todd, her brother’s mistress, erased evidence of the relationship between Dickinson and Gilbert and made it seem like their relationship was frosty.
Not all literary representations of LGBTQ+ characters are done well. J. K. Rowling has said that Albus Dumbledore was gay, however, it was not until after the books were written that she said this. She also mentioned that Dumbledore had been infatuated with Grindelwald. The Fantastic Beasts series of movies has no mention of that so far and supposedly will not have mention of it. Rowling has also said that other characters were minorities, but only after everything was published. There has been quite a bit of outrage towards her because many believe that it is solely to look better in the public eye.