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Hello! I am a reader of this board, but not a contributor until now. I am a straight white middle-class cis man from the UK. Please let me know if anything here isn't okay.
I'm basically looking for some views on the relationships I'm developing in my current WIP. I'm not looking for cheers for including non-hetero sexuality - more, I don't know if I might be unknowingly tripping over issues, or if there are things I need to bear in mind when presenting this.
There are two leads in my WIP. Lead 1 is Lydia, a French-English cis woman living in Hong Kong. She is bisexual, and starts the story attracted to a male character who dies fairly early on. She's very private to the point of withdrawn, and hasn't entirely come to terms with her sexuality. She suffers badly with depression and anxiety for a variety of reasons, but her sexuality is not the main cause.
Lead 2 is an as-yet-unnamed Chinese Muslim cis woman also living in Hong Kong. She is a lesbian, but was married to a man for several years. Her husband became severely depressed when he found out about her sexuality, and committed suicide a few years prior to the story. She has reconciled her sexuality and her religion, and remains a practicing Muslim, but keeps her sexuality a secret because of prevailing cultural attitudes.
In the story, Lead 2 takes Lydia in when she is in a particularly bad place. Lydia comes close to committing suicide (for plot reasons not related to her sexuality), and Lead 2 shares the story of her husband, which she has never told anyone before. Later in the story, when external plot factors have brought the world to the edge of chaos, Lydia and Lead 2 comfort each other and end up sleeping together. From then until the end of the story, they are in a relationship.
There are some things here I'm not sure about.
- I'm uncertain how to express Lydia's sexuality, as I wouldn't want it to appear that she's hetero from the initial relationship, with her suddenly turning gay later on.
- I'm also uncertain whether the subplot of Lead 2's religion (and her husband committing suicide) is a powderkeg of offensiveness waiting to blow up in my face.
- Lastly, the scenario of the two leads falling into bed together would be a bit of a cliché in a M/F pairing, and I'm unsure if that cliché carries different connotations in F/F.
I'm also aware that there are big gaps in my knowledge. If anyone can offer any comments or advice on this at all, I'd be glad to listen.
Thank you in advance.
I'm basically looking for some views on the relationships I'm developing in my current WIP. I'm not looking for cheers for including non-hetero sexuality - more, I don't know if I might be unknowingly tripping over issues, or if there are things I need to bear in mind when presenting this.
There are two leads in my WIP. Lead 1 is Lydia, a French-English cis woman living in Hong Kong. She is bisexual, and starts the story attracted to a male character who dies fairly early on. She's very private to the point of withdrawn, and hasn't entirely come to terms with her sexuality. She suffers badly with depression and anxiety for a variety of reasons, but her sexuality is not the main cause.
Lead 2 is an as-yet-unnamed Chinese Muslim cis woman also living in Hong Kong. She is a lesbian, but was married to a man for several years. Her husband became severely depressed when he found out about her sexuality, and committed suicide a few years prior to the story. She has reconciled her sexuality and her religion, and remains a practicing Muslim, but keeps her sexuality a secret because of prevailing cultural attitudes.
In the story, Lead 2 takes Lydia in when she is in a particularly bad place. Lydia comes close to committing suicide (for plot reasons not related to her sexuality), and Lead 2 shares the story of her husband, which she has never told anyone before. Later in the story, when external plot factors have brought the world to the edge of chaos, Lydia and Lead 2 comfort each other and end up sleeping together. From then until the end of the story, they are in a relationship.
There are some things here I'm not sure about.
- I'm uncertain how to express Lydia's sexuality, as I wouldn't want it to appear that she's hetero from the initial relationship, with her suddenly turning gay later on.
- I'm also uncertain whether the subplot of Lead 2's religion (and her husband committing suicide) is a powderkeg of offensiveness waiting to blow up in my face.
- Lastly, the scenario of the two leads falling into bed together would be a bit of a cliché in a M/F pairing, and I'm unsure if that cliché carries different connotations in F/F.
I'm also aware that there are big gaps in my knowledge. If anyone can offer any comments or advice on this at all, I'd be glad to listen.
Thank you in advance.