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Ah, Fantasy. The narrative epitome of escapism and endless possibilities. Whenever I ask other Fantasy writers what their favorite things about it are, the answers come back almost unanimous: The ability to create things that don't exist in our own world may well be the single biggest draw of the genre.
To me as a queer writer writing often-queer characters, this raw potential carries possibilities of inclusion virtually unheard of in our own world. When I got the idea for this blog post, I tapped the shoulders fellow queer-Fantasy writers in several online communities, as well as combed through my own books for things I've tried. The result is this list: a compilation of ideas, inspiration, and pointers for weaving queer identity into your Fantasy (or otherwise speculative) worlds, and having fun while you're at it!
❖ ACCEPTANCE. When building a world from scratch, it's easy to fall back on what we know, and to populate our fiction with the same -isms and -phobias we're familiar with in our own world. Misogyny is a common one, but so is queerphobia of any kind. If you want a writing challenge, ask yourself what a world could look like if queer folks weren't discriminated against! What other reasons would people find to hate each other? (Hint: Humans have an astonishing capacity for this. The possibilities are endless)
❖ A lot of discrimination is systemic. Consider real-world norms around:
❖ Family structure
❖ Inheritance and biological lineage
❖ Adoption and associated social status
❖ Marriage and partnership
❖ Children and childcare in general
❖ Gender roles
All of these are often stacked against queer folks, even if the explicit queerphobia isn't there. They will need to be adjusted if you want your fantasy world to be truly queer-inclusive. But hey, worldbuilding's half the fun anyway!
❖ Once you've deconstructed any or all of the norms above, you get to rebuild them again. This can run the gamut from "Our world with improvements" to the limits of your own imagination. Is sex even required for procreation? How many parents does each child have? How is parenthood even defined? Do orphans exist if they were not born from a lady-womb and have a big village as parents? Oh, and what is your character's backstory trauma if it's not a discriminatory or hyper-traditional upbringing? Is being queer the norm, rather than the exception? (Note: do not take this the other way and discriminate against non-queers. That's not cool). How might a queer-default population be sustained? This is Fantasy; enjoy the brainstorming process. See what you find
❖ Normalize asking or indicating pronouns. You can get creative with how you weave this into your Fantasy culture: clothing patterns, hair decor, standard greetings, etc. Make sure there's space for people who're questioning, that this stuff isn't mandatory, that it applies to cis and trans individuals, and that people can switch easily and at will
❖ Use language to make space for gender. Do your characters need a language with binaries? No, they do not. Do they need a gendered language at all? Debatable! How many pronouns? Can you make up your own, use neopronouns, etc.? What is culturally encapsulated in "she" or "he" or any other identity? My biggest series has a side-language with seven different pronouns. I have ways of writing all of them. I am, to put it lightly, having a blast
❖ Normalize same-sex and otherwise queer relationships, as well as people who're happily single. Your Fantasy world can have words or turns of phrase for identifying people's relationship preferences, or you can literally just not label them at all. Naming can "other" something, depending on how it's done, and we as humans love to put fluid things into boxes. Especially resist the temptation if you find yourself picturing characters saying a particular word with any negative emotion, like disappointment or scorn
❖ Fantasy HRT. Got dragons? Got magic? Got anything made-up whatsoever (of course you do; it's Fantasy). Ta-da, you've got narrative capacity to give trans people the bodies they want! This could be spells, songs, potions, rituals, etc. Invent a plant that you can make paint with and paint on for a long-lasting effect. Give trans people illusion magic. A variation of a healing song that alters their bodies in justthat way. Just be careful of anything that insta-fixes dysphoria, if you're going for representation and aren't trans yourself. HRT is a lifelong process. Rather than a body swap, ritualize it! Make it easy. And make absolutely sure your trans characters are accepted as their true identity whether they transition or not—social transition can be just as (or even more) important than physical
❖ If you don't have fantasy HRT (or even if you do), there are all kinds of other gender-affirming things you can add to your Fantasy world to make your trans characters' lives a little easier. Experiment with different clothing, ways to thicken or limit hair growth, change voice, stop periods, etc. Even if a full transition isn't available to them, even little things can go a very long way
❖ Pay particular attention to nonbinary identities. Are there gendered roles in your society, and if so, where do enbies fit? How are they treated? What roles do they take? Be cautious of making them sacred or mysterious, especially if you're not nonbinary yourself; this identity has a long history of being othered and applied to non-humans more than actual human beings. Provide transition options (social or medical) for your enbies, too, if they want it. Not all will, and that's okay. Make sure they're still accepted. Tip: Normalizing pronoun-asking is probably the #1 inclusion strategy you can have for trans characters of all kinds. Don't make them have to correct people!
❖ Shapeshifters. Y'all, the queer community loves shapeshifters for a reason. With human forms, they can explore gender fluidity. With animal ones, gender neutrality or affirmative body image are a plus. Do human shapeshifters start to question their gender after enough swaps? Explore that and other such fun things
❖ Queer immortals. Come on, when you've lived that long, don't tell me you haven't experimented. Bored immortals is even a whole trope unto itself. Also, do your gods have genders? Do they change their own appearances, whether based on personal preference, or the preferences of those who see them? Think about it
❖ Build in gender-neutral language for social roles. Deity, heir, ruler, monarch, sovereign, liege, your majesty, your highness, your grace. Partner, spouse, lover, sweetheart, significant other, betrothed, sibling, parent, nibling, unty/auncle, kid, child. You can make up your own gender-neutral alternatives to greetings like "madam" or "sir," too. Even in a world where people ask pronouns, neutral is just easier sometimes
❖ And last of all: queer culture. Assume you've taken the route of "Our world with improvements" and totally accepted queers into your fictional world. There's no need for them to band together anymore... right? Well, here's the thing. In our own world, queer identity is still a minority—and a very, very small one at that. Unless you're artificially inflating that a la "Everyone is Queer" trope, your queer characters will still share a unique experience that others won't, the same way your women characters may still share kinship in the absence of misogyny, or your neurodivergent ones may still bond over ND struggles even in a society that accommodates them as best it can.
Explore what this queer culture looks like. Do queer folks gather? Share relationship / transition advice? Is there any intergenerational element within the community? Do older trans folks coach younger ones through their social or physical transitions? Do aces have inside jokes that only they understand? Do lesbians share bedroom tips? Do gay men have secret codes for identifying one another in a crowd? What kind of slang and shared language develops?
This is a harder one to pull off if you are not queer yourself, as queer culture is very much an ownvoices experience. But it's something to consider. After all, for many queers in real life, the community is the very best part.
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