: Re: How do I write LGBTQ+ characters for a romance story, as a non-LGBTQ+ person, without using potentially offensive stereotypes So today, some of my friends challenged me to write a short story

@Pope4766717

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I see two options, which depend on the "world" your protagonists live in.

In a perfect world, being attracted to a person of the same sex is accepted and nobody bats an eyelid about it. It's just a matter of fact, and then your story is just like a regular heterosexual relationship (or attempt at one): A has a crush on B, does B reciprocate? (Option for love triangles).

Some books, in particular some set in the future or in fantasy world, just take this approach. You have characters that are in a homosexual relationship that are discussed so matter-of-factly that you could just not notice the "homo" part of it.

You can have fun with that using otherworldly or ambiguous names, though in English (and probably many other languages, to varying degrees) you would then need to avoid any use of third person pronouns, which is probably difficult beyond a few pages if they are the main protagonists, unless it's all dialogue between them. You could then have a reveal at the end.
If however your characters live in the current real world, then you have to deal with the prejudice of people around your characters (of even that of your characters). People may not like it (not like it much, not like at all, hate it, want to kill them for it, it could even be illegal...). The subject of the attention may not like it. Or even the person in love may be torn between their education/religion/upbringing/culture which tell them it's a no-no and their feelings which tell them it's yes-yes.

The classic (and overused) twist is of course that the subject of the attention initially says no quite vehemently (cue violence) before ending up in a torrid relationship (cue sex scene).

Depending on the environment, all of this may play a significant role in your story, or just be a somewhat background story. It's up to you to pick which one you want, mostly based on whether the main plot is overcoming this toxic environment (love prevails, cue Romeo & Juliet), or something else entirely.

If your "stereotypes" are related to all of this (afraid of being identified as such, need to hide, violence ensues, etc.), then it's perfectly OK if that serves your story.

If your "stereotypes" are about being camp, effeminate, flamboyant (for guys), or butch (for the ladies), or having an apparent compulsive sex drive or non-stop sex life, or whatever other cliché, well, there are some LGBT people who are, and some who aren't. Like there are straight people who are and some who aren't. Some of your characters may exhibit some of those traits. You probably want to avoid all of them having such traits (especially all the same), but then it may be part of the story (or not) that some have some of them, to varying degrees.

In some cases, the outwards presentation of some people is just a reaction to their environment. Once you get over the stigma associated with your sexuality, you may well go over the top, or have a need for a feeling of "inclusion" in a "community". Others will just barf at that last sentence. So some stereotypes have a reason, and their presentation may be justified in the story. But don't overdo it.

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