Ugh.
My character was originally written as heterosexual and would eventually go through one relationship with a girl as well as plans for there to be potential chemistry between him and two separate girls on two separate occasions. However, it was always a chore and even though I could coerce him into being cute, the relationships were extremely awkward and very platonic versus romantic. At first, I thought maybe he was just bad with women. I eventually came to the realization that perhaps he was homosexual…
Only to have someone comment at every given point that they “never got that vibe,” or “didn’t think so,” or that her characters “couldn’t believe it.” One: it’s my character, I can do what I want with him. Two: there is no one personality type for someone who is homosexual, regardless of portrayal in media. He wasn’t extremely effeminate, but still, that doesn’t mean he can’t be gay. Three: sexuality doesn’t even play a huge role for him. It’s one component of his character, it doesn’t define him. The declaration of his sexuality didn’t magically turn him into a “sassy, gay friend.”
This made me grin, because I had the exact OPPOSITE happen at one point. I was writing as a very VERY effeminate male character, who seemed the part of a “sassy, gay friend” and… Well he found the perfect woman. I originally had him even professing to be gay… The woman he wound up with was a professed lesbian, but he was girly enough, and she was manly enough that… They worked, WELL.
