Kevin's Watch

How come SRD has every type of character imaginable in his series, except homosexuals?
BTW, my next artwork for the forum will be two bearded giants making out!
Hot bears! Grrrr!
barbarianclan.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=94

I'm quite positive this has been discussed before.


I like what Hashi said, that there was no need in the stories.

To extrapolate, the need was for straight couplings, so that children would be born.

The first, and really most important married couple, is Trell and Atiaran.
They needed to have child, Lena.

If Covenant was gay, and Lena a male, after the rape, Elena would not have been conceived.

There are the Lords Loerya and Trevor...again, they needed to be able have children, so we could see Loerya's despair at wanting to save her daughters.

Triock, I guess, could have been a female character, still in Love with Lena; also Lords Shetra and Verement could easily have been Same-Sex
But the unfortunate thing, is, if either of those scenarios were the case, then they would have been looked upon, through the reader's eyes, as being different; and with SRD, pretty near everything has a deeper meaning.

If he had some same-sex couples in the Land, we, as readers probably would not sit back and think what a progressive writer SRD is...we'd be trying to figure why that specific couple was same-sex, or why that specific character was gay.

Bare in mind that the majority of at least the TC chronicles was published in tho 70s - 80s. Homophobia was still pretty rife back then - it's still controversial now.

Even if SRD DID want to cover it in his series, he would have probably struggled to publish the material. He already covers many controversial matters, what with the rape and the incest. Why make it even /harder/? Particularly, as has already been mentioned, it was not important to the story as the other dark themes are.

Many characters could be gay. It just wasn't mentioned.
Foamfollower never mentioned any desire for family, nor did Mhoram.

Dumbledore was gay too but we weren't hit over the head with it.

The Ramen probably had a lot of gays and accepted it since they wore garlands of flowers all the time.
The Haruchai on the other hand not only had no homosexual tendencies they were all total homophobes too.
Why else do you think the Ramen and the Haruchai have never got along.
Think about it.

sohaliatalitha wrote:He already covers many controversial matters, what with the rape and the incest.

The Chronicles are still pretty tame compared to The Gap Cycle.

Lord Hyrim was probably in the closet...

The Chronicles are still pretty tame compared to The Gap Cycle.

I've never read the Gap Cycle to be honest, just beginning to get into reading adult fantasy - I'll hardly claim to be an expert.

Looking on good old wiki though, the Gap Cycle was published in the 90s. If you imagine that public opinion has gradually grown more liberal over the years this seems to make sense. (once again, I'm new to this whole world, so for all I know I'm talking complete rubbish!)

sohaliatalitha wrote:for all I know I'm talking complete rubbish!)

The only person making that assessment is you.

Now...get in the game and go read the Gap Cycle. Just watch out for mutagens and the crib.

The Ramen probably had a lot of gays and accepted it since they wore garlands of flowers all the time.
The Haruchai on the other hand not only had no homosexual tendencies they were all total homophobes too.
Why else do you think the Ramen and the Haruchai have never got along.
Think about it.

Ha ha ha: Cord Gay! Remember her?

Lord Hyrim was probably in the closet...

Oh yeah! Hyram was a swishy dude!

danlo wrote:Lord Hyrim was probably in the closet...

... I always wondered about the way the Haruchai treat Covenant - particularly Birin (sp?)...

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:Now...get in the game and go read the Gap Cycle.

I'll add it to my growing list and heed your warnings wisely!

High Lord Tolkien wrote: The Haruchai on the other hand not only had no homosexual tendencies they were all total homophobes too.

I don't know...I think they were maybe on the down low. Bunch of manly men, taking off on adventures for years [or CENTURIES] at a time, leaving the women-folk at home....

Well the Haruchai are somewhat akin to Spartans, but they had mindspeak instead of a King, and even though the Spartans were somewhat susceptible to homosexuality, of course Earthpower prevented the Bloodguard from leaning that way...

I vaguely remember a character or two in Donaldson's 'Mordant's Need' being bisexual at least..

As far as my own interpretations go, I expect there are homosexual and bisexual people in the world of the Land. But it's never really mentioned because it's hardly relevant to to the story Donaldson's trying to tell.
He's got the elohim and the demondim as well as others who are sexless, or asexual, or just don't reproduce..

Lord Zombiac wrote: Ha ha ha: Cord Gay! Remember her?

Think she was getting it on with the other Ramen chicks? That naughty little minx!

ninjaboy wrote:I vaguely remember a character or two in Donaldson's 'Mordant's Need' being bisexual at least..

What about the Gap?

Wasn't Min Donner bi?

What about Sorus?

Or is my memory playing tricks on me?

...intriguing, wonderful tricks..

Kasreyn of the Gyre would shag anything ...

It crossed my mind during one re-reading of the first chrons that Mhoram might be gay, he grew old without bearing any children - however, in TIW, he does say :

Why should I rest ? I have no wife, no children

, which kind of implies that if he was inclined to share his life with another it would be a woman ..

Horrim Carabal wrote:Wasn't Min Donner bi?

What about Sorus?

Min was "married" to her job. I don't think she had time or desire for a personal life.

Sorus? I don't think she thought of people in any sexual way, other than perhaps as tools to be used. It's possible she was bisexual, though.

Mhoram was more like a monk. His life was one filled to the brim with service and devotion which left no room for a personal life or family.

High Lord Tolkien wrote:Dumbledore was gay too but we weren't hit over the head with it.

Was Dumbledor ever portrayed or written as gay at any time in the books or did JKR just say that as an afterthought in an interview to get people going.
I can't remember encountering anyone who was clearly gay ever in a fantasy novel - this of course is not to say there aren't any.

I wrote a short story (almost a vignette) in the fantasy genre about a gay man.
"I'm just mad about saffron."

peter wrote:

High Lord Tolkien wrote:Dumbledore was gay too but we weren't hit over the head with it.

Was Dumbledor ever portrayed or written as gay at any time in the books or did JKR just say that as an afterthought in an interview to get people going.
I can't remember encountering anyone who was clearly gay ever in a fantasy novel - this of course is not to say there aren't any.

The background of him and Grindelwald as young men, and his influence over Dumbledore, feels like something more then brotherly love on Dumbledore's part, but, no nothing is specifically stated in the books.