Is LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream literature on the rise?
- Polly Angelova
- Oct 18, 2021
- 8 min read
As the 2021 edition of the Goodreads Choice Awards draws near, we examine whether the growth in queer representation reflects the overall cultural shift towards greater LGBTQ+ visibility
It's getting easier to find queer literature on the mainstream shelves, but the work is not done
(Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash; Goodreads Choice Awards logo by Goodreads)
There’s no more huddling in quiet corners whispering about and passing around a battered copy of a scandalous pulp novel. No more searching the depths of the internet for hours to find a queer romance written, at best, by amateur LGBTQ+ authors, and at worst by cis heterosexual men for other cis heterosexual men. No more reading any book with queer representation, from any genre, just to find some scraps of yourself in a story.
Nowadays, queer booklovers can enjoy a much more robust selection of stories featuring diverse characters. In 2021 alone, there has been a boom of LGBTQ+ books hitting the shelves, some of them backed by significant promotional efforts from publishers. Big publications are sharing whole lists with recommended queer reads, LGBTQ+ authors are getting raving reviews, and whole book fests are being created specifically around queer storytelling.
But much like Rome, the path for these stories wasn’t built in a day.
Queer heroes through the ages
As Book Riot author Danika Ellis explains, historically LGBTQ+ representation has been sparse, with most queer characters confined to the role of the villain or “the Sassy Gay Best Friend”. In fact, tropes like “bury your gays” (killing off your queer characters) date back to the 1950s, when queer pulp fiction first emerged and, according to Danika, saw all queer characters punished by the story’s end.
Queer narratives first started making their way into Young Adult (YA) literature though “issue” books, as Danika calls them, featuring homophobic themes and a bittersweet ending, before lighter reads with happy same-sex couples began cropping up.
Nowadays we’re starting to see more complicated narratives emerging, she observes. “We’re seeing queer books that explore different genres,” says Danika. “We’re beginning to see books that deal with how race and culture can intersect with homophobia and queer identity.”
One of the biggest strides made is the growing number of queer characters depicted in YA romance, fantasy, sci-fi, and generally “fun” novels
Vee Signorelli, the founder and editor of volunteer-run online publication YA Pride, agrees, commenting that only a few years ago, queer books felt like a rare jewel. “One of the biggest strides made is the growing number of queer characters depicted in YA romance, fantasy, sci-fi, and generally “fun” novels,” they say.
Up until 2018 very few of these existed, Vee points out, while shelves were stuffed full of straight books. “These days, it feels like I can’t turn around in a bookstore without one of these more “fun” books falling into my lap,” they exclaim.
Vee’s personal experience and industry observations are also backed by recent trends in the Goodreads Choice Awards, one of the most anticipated events in every book lover's calendar.
The “choice” in the Goodreads Choice Awards
The biggest distinction between the Goodreads Choice Awards and other literary prizes is the voting power. Instead of entrusting a jury with the decision-making, Goodreads combines data and public opinion to determine the winners. Shifting power away from the elite and their traditional view of “quality” allows for more contemporary tastes to seep through, and with them, diversity.
However, Vee offers a more sceptical view on the matter. “The Goodreads Choice Awards are supposedly focused on what masses of readers liked, but that is heavily influenced by the publishing industry and what books receive support,” they note. “So, it often seems like these awards are measuring simply which books had the most support from publishers.”
Even if that’s the case, it would seem queer stories are receiving more backing, because the 2020 edition of the Goodreads Choice Awards had its fair share of LGBTQ+ representation among the winners. Out of the 20 categories in total, at least seven feature queer characters in main or supporting roles, which accounts for over 25% of the winners.
These numbers may seem inadequate, especially considering how prominent LGBTQ+ issues are elsewhere in the mainstream, from news to TV and film. But it’s a step in the right direction compared to just five years ago, when only two winners (Morning Star and The Hidden Oracle) had explicitly queer characters.
For your bookshelf: seven Goodreads award-winners featuring queer characters
The Midnight Library
House of Earth and Blood
Heartstopper: Volume Three
Clap When You Land
The Queen of Nothing
The list of Young Adult Fiction runners-up in 2020 also looks very encouraging, says Vee. Only five years ago it would have been unthinkable for books like Felix Ever After and You Should See Me in a Crown to rank anywhere close to the top, they point out.
Stories like that didn’t exist yet, not because there wasn’t anyone to tell them, but because publishers had not yet decided that they were a worthy investment, Vee says. Now those stories are being released and promoted; however, the push for diverse YA and children’s literature is the result of sustained activism and work, they emphasise, rather than publishers supporting these books out of the goodness of their corporate hearts.
“That same thing has not happened in the area of adult literature, as far as I can tell,” Vee adds. “That is not to say [representation] is missing completely or that readers don’t care about diversity, but it has not become a norm in the same way it has for readers of YA.”
The YA Pride founder speculates that not only fewer adult queer titles get published, but the ones that make it to print often don’t receive big promotional pushes in the same way queer YA books do now.
That said, some adult genres in the Goodreads Choice Awards categories stand out with a decent amount of queer representation. Anxious People, the runner up in the Fiction category, as well as the second and third place in the Fantasy category (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue; The House in the Cerulean Sea) are all stories with great LGBTQ representation.
Overall, though, the Romance, Young Adult Fiction and Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction categories are indeed the most diverse by far, with multiple LGBTQ+ stories nominated in each section, which further highlights that queer stories are seeping into popular literature.
In 2021 alone, there has been a boom of LGBTQ+ titles hitting the bookshelves - here’s hoping that they make this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards shortlist!
What the industry experts say
Goodreads may have cracked the doors open for more LGBTQ+ diversity in their awards, but readers can’t vote for queer stories if they’re not being found. To glean the full picture, we should look across the publishing supply chain.
Meredith Schwartz, editor-in-chief of Library Journal, shares her view on the current state of affairs in the US market: “I think there’s both an upward trend of more LGBTQ+ titles being published and still a long way to go, particularly in getting books published by larger presses, with larger advances, and with larger first printings and marketing costs.
“Getting published at all is an important first step, but even after [the books] are on the list there’s still progress to be made in how they are treated compared with similar books featuring heterosexual main characters.”
What Meredith says resonates with other, more anecdotal observations, such as the lack of dedicated LGBTQ+ sections in many major bookstores, and the fact that, with a few exceptions, queer stories are still flying largely under the radar, unless you’re a part of a dedicated community with an interest in unearthing them.
Getting published at all is an important first step, but even after the books are on the list there’s still progress to be made in how they are treated compared with similar books featuring heterosexual main characters
Interestingly, when queried about efforts in highlighting queer books, Eva Von Reuss from the Waterstones PR department claims that the book retail chain stocks a wide variety of books with LGBTQ+ characters; and while she admits not all shops have a dedicated LGBTQ+ section, she maintains that they curate queer books as part of existing sections.
The Waterstones website also has a permanent dedicated Pride page, Eva points out, which is augmented by several blog pieces and a dedicated newsletter in celebration of Pride Month. “As with our website, our shops stock LGBTQ+ books all year round,” she says, “and customers will find additional shop displays in place to celebrate Pride Month.”
The Waterstones spokeswoman also confirms Vee’s theory that YA fiction is leading the way as the genre with the most LGBTQ+ diversity, though she does point out there are great new releases across various categories, including science fiction, biography, and history.
While it’s encouraging to see that some efforts are being made by big companies, and having a dedicated online section where people can seek out LGBTQ+ stories is undoubtedly an improvement, one must be wary of rainbow capitalism and profit as the potential drivers behind such decisions.
rainbow capitalism:
According to Refinery29, rainbow capitalism is a term used to describe the commercialisation of LGBTQ+ movements, most notably Pride
As Vee points out, the publishing industry does not care about queer stories for the sake of queer stories, it cares because publishers have realised readers want these books. “Which, don’t get me wrong, is huge,” they add. “When we started YA Pride, that was one of our first goals: get publishers to realise that there are people who want to buy [LGBTQ+] books.”
This, at least, seems to have worked. However, it’s also worth noting that out of the various publishers and literary magazines contacted for data and comment, including Goodreads, the majority responded that LGBTQ+ representation is not a metric they record, or did not respond at all.
This lack of data highlights that no one across the publishing industry has taken an interest in tracking and reporting on these diversity trends the same way they monitor other categories and fields. But is that as bad as it seems at first glance?
“My feelings are split on this,” Vee ponders. If publishers were to track these figures, they could start claiming “we already have enough books like that for this year,” they point out, instead of judging each book for its own merit the same way books by and about straight, white, able-bodied people are judged. But if publishers genuinely want to support queer stories, not tracking data might have the adverse effect of making them think they’re releasing more LGBTQ+ books than they actually are, Vee warns about the flip side of the issue.
“I think there are pros and cons to tracking,” they conclude, “depending on who is in control of the data and how they plan to use it.”
The importance of LGBTQ+ representation in books
According to Vee, representation isn't some new-fangled addition to traditional storytelling - people have always told stories about the range of human experiences, and that includes queer ones. “The thing that is unnatural,” they note, “is the attempt to control the kinds of stories that are allowed to be told.”
“I didn’t think trans people could be happy or loved until I read a YA book in which a trans character was given a happy ending,” Vee shares. “Knowing that those possibilities existed for people like me encouraged me to seek out those things in my own life.”
They are not alone in appreciating the positive impact of diversity in literature. Authors from across both YA and adult fiction have similar views on LGBTQ+ representation.
Isabel Sterling, author of These Witches Don’t Burn, claims: “The younger generation is just getting more and more queer. So, I think there's going to be lots of people who are hungry for these books.”
Talia Hibbert, author of Take a Hint, Dani Brown, agrees that many readers are part of the LGBTQ+ community, so increased representation will offer them affirmation and the joy that comes from reading a book where you can directly put yourself into the story.
“Also, I think it's great for readers who are not a part of the community,” Talia adds, “because it's very easy to be ignorant, and it's better for all of us if people aren’t.”
The appetite for LGBTQ+ representation in popular fiction, fantasy and romance is clearly out there, but the number of queer characters still doesn’t reflect the society we live in. More stories need to be written, and the books which have been published need greater visibility in the mainstream.
Still, the increase in LGBTQ+ stories that gain recognition and top the mainstream charts is a beacon of hope that as society embraces diversity, bestseller lists will change to reflect that. In the meantime, we look towards the Goodreads Choice Awards 2021, which usually kicks off at the end of October, for what would hopefully be an even more representation-packed shortlist.
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