Discussion LGBTQ+ Chaos Characters

[Kirie]

Hi all, I've been thinking lately about representation in the SW universe. In all the Star Wars media over the years, there have been precious few depictions of LGBTQ+ characters, so few that with thousands of characters, only a baker's dozen or so who are explicitly gay, lesbian, or transgender.

In fact, in 2008, a Community Manager from Bioware stated that 'gay', 'homosexual', and 'lesbian' are terms that "do not exist in 'Star Wars'"

But, in recent years there's been progress made, with canonical representations of LGBTQ+ characters slowly but surely cropping up, starting with the SW side books and stories and in a brief same-sex kiss at the end of Rise of Skywalker.

It's pretty safe to say Chaos' representation is far better than canonical SW. This community is a respectful and tolerant one, and I think that's reflected in the freedom of writers to RP LGBTQ+ characters without fear of hostility.

So just how many LGBTQ+ characters are there on Chaos? Do you have any thoughts on representation in Star Wars in general?

This is also a fun thing shared in the TSE discord a couple of months back. Share your characters below!

Spoiler

Kirie!

 

[Junko Ike]

In star wars there is not really the terms... it just is what it is. The Mandalorians are one of the better examples. since they could just as easily have children as adopt children... the parents didn't matter and marriage was simple.

Doctor Aphra is maybe one of the better examples of the new recent ones where she just is into Magna and it is natural. Nothing massive made about it just a good story and fun adventures.

 

[Hailyn]

I take pride in the handling of my characters romances, like the rather tragic relationship that was between Braith and Corvus during 2015/2016, or as Nadja Keto with Val Aranda (I swear I'll post eventually D: ). All of that said, I don't make a character with the mindset of "this character is going to identify as X and be attracted to Y", through the natural motions of writing and the general pulling of characters towards one another it just tends to hit a point where I ask the other writer if they're okay with continuing in that direction if the chemistry between them reaches a point where I can see them being in a relationship.

The idea that these kinds of relationships progress or happen any way but naturally in the real world and that in fiction these things are any less natural than any other depiction of love or romance, are, in my opinion, why representation is generally so low. (Clarification: I mean by this that some authors think that, because they are not LGBTQ+ that they can't understand the feelings of people that are and are afraid to try because they treat it as a feeling that is alien to them. Similar to authors that try to avoid writing certain genders because they feel they can't understand them.)

 

[Ravraa Vyshraal]

Both Ravraa and Cuyan'ika Rook are LGBT, specifically bisexual. I myself am in real life, so I like to represent with my fiction. Thought romance will probably never be a major factor for either of them. It still is representation for the bi-community, and allows me to put a bit more of myself than I normally do when writing these toons.

Past that, Chaos is booming with LGBT characters, and I think the fact that the community doesn't shy away from it is a good thing.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

True, there is very little representation in the Star Wars movies, and I think the same sex kiss in ep.9 was beautifully executed. I don't know what was in the mind of the BioWare exec. when they made that statement, but I do think Star Wars might have a different perspective of sexualities which would have created different words. That does not mean we shouldn't use those terms now. I think we should use this platform to explore what we wish to explore within the rules of the site and the flavour of the setting.

Chaos really does represent a lot of lGBTQ+, and is all the richer for it in my opinion. I am not LGBTQ+ myself, but writing characters of a different orientation than myself has been both interesting and helpful in expanding my perspective.

My first character, Ophidia, is asexual/aromantic. And it has been a very eye-opening concept to not just avoid writing romance, but to write someone who does not really experience those drives, but is of course fully aware of how they function in others, and then how that plays into her overall character. Joycelyn was a different dive into sexuality and romantic relationship as she is not just bi/pan, but raised in a culture where bi/pansexuality and polygamy is the norm.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

In the Legacy of the Force novels, specifically beginning in Bloodlines in 2006, the Mandalorian Beskar Smith Goran Beviin was married to his husband, Merdit Vasur and depicted as having a thriving, supportive, and happy relationship as well as adoptive children. I find it interesting that BioWare made such a bold claim without doing the research to realize that they were wrong beforehand.

Disney did not take Star Wars under their umbrella until 2012, and so it would have been Canon during that time without the scapegoat of saying that "with Disney's takeover, the EU is no longer valid."

Kirie

 

[Darth Athora]

Alkor Centaris there's a huge difference between the terms not existing and the sexualities not existing. There's been lgbtq people in Canon, just those terms for those people don't exist in Canon cause I guess the writers just didn't feel they were necessary.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

I make most of my character's sexuality as ¯\(ツ)/¯ and let RP dictate what happens. You could say they're all pan and open to other species but that ¯\(ツ)/¯ in the bio makes me smile. I believe to date I've only written a single character that was completely on the hetero end of the scale.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

It's also noted that BioWare rescinded the statement.

"Dahlberg apologized for his comment within a day and Bioware removed the relevant words from its forum filter."

 

[Maou]

And now its time to throw a wrench in everything.

The Empire in Disney's canon didn't explicitly deny same-sex or interspecies relationships, but they heavily, HEAVILY discouraged it as part of a way to increase the population of loyal human Imperial citizens.
That being said, several high ranking Imperial officers and Moffs in the new Canon were in/sought out same-sex relationships.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan Kerrigan is bisexual and married to another woman, Tegaea Alcori .
Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori is a lesbian and dating.
Darth Libertas is asexual and Enyo Typhos is leaning pretty heavily in that direction, too.
Kaida Taldir is lesbian, but disinterested in relationships and talk about 'feelings'. She is very stoic. And so laconic that a Spartan might think she's a wee bit extreme.
Vaena Askari is bisexual. Likely to enter a political marriage with an Eldorai noble at some point.

How important romance is varies for them, but then I'm mainly interested in writing a good story. Romance can be a part of it when it suits the story and the character (it makes no real sense for Kaida, for instance and even less so for Libertas), but not the main focus. It's a side dish that's nice when it's well-written, but for me it should not be the main course. In keeping with this, sexuality is not a personality trait and should not be something a character revolves around.

A lot of my characters' development has been unplanned and in response to events rather than something I set out to do. Very little of Siobhan's story was planned beyond the very basics and the present character is very different from how she set out to be because a ton of stuff has happened and her role has evolved.

 

[Credius]

I generally avoid any and all of that...if it happens to a character, it happens, no matter what gender or sexuality. After all, I don't believe in representation, which has become such a forced term over the years, I rather use "don't worry, be happy" as my mantra in these things.

 

[Hont Atellies]

I personally myself and a Athiest but see the Christian core tenets and follow it as a simple code without believing in God or Jesus, but I am perfectly fine with anyone else or even a character I write being that way. As much as there is my opinion in matters I don't usually talk about with friends as much, but I thought it would be interesting to put my position down on here. If you are gay, trans or whatever go for it, but at the same time I don’t really like it myself. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the people, heck one of my best friends is gay, but I just don’t follow the ideal myself. It’s a touchy subject so don’t feel offended by anything I say, but I feel as if I want to put out my opinion on the matter.

I also feel as if being LGBTQ+ like things such as race shouldn’t be a defining feature of a character, and if I end up writing a character that way it will not define who they are. I personally don’t like character that are made with that in mind, but it’s just personal opinion.

TL;DR I don’t like LGBTQ+ ideals myself but I treat people who are that way the same as anyone else, I don’t care what you do but don’t expect me to conform to that way of thinking.

 

[Louise]

Why yes, yes I have.

Spoiler

Also, had some grand old fun with picrew.

 

[Nova Casamyr]

As someone who has struggled with gender for most of my life, I can't tell you how important it has been for me to see representation in media, of people who similarly struggle and evolve and seek answers or maybe who have figured out an answer for themselves and are confident in representing themselves. I chose the playby for this character because she represented someone that I admire for that very reason. In fact, Sense8 is a great example of a show that specifically uses representation as a plot device and does it well (in my humble opinion). Star Wars is getting there. Aphra is a fantastic example of a well-written LGBTQ+ character and I think more will follow naturally as more stories are told.

I'm fine with the "take things naturally" approach, and have often written that way. But I think that defining oneself is a journey that many people go on throughout their lives, not as a way to come up with some label that suits them, but as a way to understand the big questions: "Who am I? Why am I here?" I have a love/hate relationship with labels, at once terribly convenient and terribly confining. And I think certain members of the community have created an obsession with slapping a label on everything instead of just allowing for what is probably more realistically expressed as an ever-evolving spectrum. But the labels are still there, and, when appropriate, I use them. And, as a writer, I find it important to express the questions I have about gender and sexuality in my writing and through my characters. It doesn't matter if I ever write a romantic scene with a character. Those questions we ask ourselves are still there, they evolve, and they change the way we see the galaxy. So I embrace it.

It is so easy to tell when someone is shoe-horned into being something just to appease the "representation quota" these days. A lot of YA novels being released now suffer from this. There are even examples of some YA novels and authors being shunned because they didn't include enough representation, which is just foolish. There absolutely is a wrong way to write representation. But the answer to that is the same answer that every LGBTQ+ person, deep down, really wants: respect. Respect the character, respect their way, and you can't go wrong.

 

[Jsc]

I don't know what this topic is about but you know what my sexual orientation is? It's AMERICAN!

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOMMMMMM!!!

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Spoiler: I see the Cool Kid creator I shared is coming around again

The abundance of LGBTQ+ characters is pretty much ingrained into Chaos and I think it's a great thing. As for my own characters, Kaalia is lesbian and married to Ishana Pavanos. Every character I have made since (and will make in the future) is bisexual, purely to keep their options open.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

I've never really explored it, but I don't write characters that that would be important for.

Honestly I don't think anybody in Star Wars would face the same problems as we do. We've smashing aliens and all sorts, Star Wars isn't supposed to be cyberpunk but at the same time I'm sure throughout the Galaxy nobody cares what you were or are.

At least, that's what I'd hope. Though its awesome to see representation that's organic here, and I know people are probably talking about how your sexuality isn't your personality, and while yes - that is true. I don't see it much in people's writing, or at all really.

I'm glad our community is able to express themselves or explore things safely. Its great. C:

 

[Beltran Rarr]

In the Legacy of the Force novels, specifically beginning in Bloodlines in 2006, the Mandalorian Beskar Smith Goran Beviin was married to his husband, Merdit Vasur and depicted as having a thriving, supportive, and happy relationship as well as adoptive children. I find it interesting that BioWare made such a bold claim without doing the research to realize that they were wrong beforehand.

Disney did not take Star Wars under their umbrella until 2012, and so it would have been Canon during that time without the scapegoat of saying that "with Disney's takeover, the EU is no longer valid."

Kirie

I just adored the Goran Beviin and Merdit Vasur characters. I really wish we'd gotten to see more of them.