Thread: Making Your Characters Sexuality Vague

How do you go about making your characters sexuality ambiguous? I would like to have my character be bisexual or at least to have had a "past" but I don't know how to go about making it vague so that it's up to the reader to decide what he/she thinks about their sexuality.

Can you recommend any novels that do this with their characters? I would appricate it.

subtle communications that may or may not be flirting with members of both sexes

subtle exchanges that express a history between them and cameo characters without expressly stating what that history is

I guess subtlety is the order of the day

I have a (rather minor, I admit) character who simply mentions her "partner". People'll probably assume said partner is male, so I haven't decided yet if we'll actually meet her. Though I guess that doesn't really apply here - never mind.

Can't think of any novels for you, but I guess I would just second Alanmt's advice.

Name the character Pat.

Originally Posted by JosephB

Name the character Pat.

Or Jessy, while we're being smart alecks

Actually, when I hear 'partner', I generally assume one of the same sex (esp if character is female) because, otherwise, the partner is usually referred to as a 'boyfriend'. "Partner" tends to be used by more passive or reserved people.

I have a (rather minor, I admit) character who simply mentions her "partner". People'll probably assume said partner is male, so I haven't decided yet if we'll actually meet her.

If a girl or guy refers to their love interest as "partner", I would assume their bisexual or gay and are talking about the same sex. I don't know why any straight couple would refer to their girlfriend or boyfriend as "partner". But maybe it's just me.

Make the character as neutral as possible to everyone else or make them react in similar ways to everyone. That doesn't sound right. Basically, I think simply not filling in some of the blanks is a good way to start.

To Seig and S1E9A8N5: Okok, I got the point, guys. This partner was first though to be a business partner, in my defense. The conversation went thusly, if you must know (it's a script):

Fang: My partner . . . is supposed to be meeting me here tomorrow.

Küren: But…?

Fang: Well, Nova’s working in Enforcer [police] space right now. There’s always that danger of never coming back. See, we split up for work, and meet together outside Enforcer space. We don’t have much time together before one of us is hired away again.

Küren: Why don’t you just take jobs for two?

[Explaination stuff that would make no sense.]

Küren: So, then…how can you be partners?

Fang (blinks in confusion): I didn’t mean—oh. No, no, no, I didn’t mean work partners. We’re engaged.

Alan and dwellerofthedeep had really good ideas.

Flirting with no one gives no clues, so you can have whatever the case is pop out as a surprise later. Flirting with everyone usually is understood as bi, so if you do it subtly it won't come off as much of a shock, but will be ambiguous enough for some. You're better off downplaying the hints with the character's seen actions and playing them up from backstage (second- or third-hand observations)

Also, if the person has a romance and talks about it, you can give the partner an ambiguous/unisex/foreign name. For instance, Sasha is a male name in Russia, but a female name in the States; Pat can be Patrick or Patricia; technically here Ira can be either (all the ones I've met are male, but it's listed as unisex in baby name books) and Hillary is usually a girl's name even though it started out as a boy's (and has a distinctly male meaning).

Originally Posted by seigfried007

You're better off downplaying the hints with the character's seen actions and playing them up from backstage (second- or third-hand observations)

Can you elaborate on this? I'm not entirely familar with writing lingo.

Wasn't aware that I was using writing lingo, sorry.

Say you've got an office setting. You want Bob to come off as a bit ambiguous, so when people ask him about his love life, he says he's married to Paris and they have a little girl. If he's wanting to be vague, he'll avoid using pronouns. Or you can have a guy and/or gal chatting about this fabulous weekend they had with Bobby back in college (third-hand info would be if Joe heard that Bobby gave good head.). Your character might wonder if Bobby is the same Bob from work.

With hearsay, it doesn't matter what the partner in the pictures stuck to his cubicle walls is. Paris could be either (Paris Hilton vs Paris of Troy), but if someone brings up Bobby giving good head or being a sucker for voluminous bush and succulent jugs, then, hey, you've got some ambiguity.

Originally Posted by seigfried007

Wasn't aware that I was using writing lingo, sorry.

Say you've got an office setting. You want Bob to come off as a bit ambiguous, so when people ask him about his love life, he says he's married to Paris and they have a little girl. If he's wanting to be vague, he'll avoid using pronouns. Or you can have a guy and/or gal chatting about this fabulous weekend they had with Bobby back in college (third-hand info would be if Joe heard that Bobby gave good head.). Your character might wonder if Bobby is the same Bob from work.

With hearsay, it doesn't matter what the partner in the pictures stuck to his cubicle walls is. Paris could be either (Paris Hilton vs Paris of Troy), but if someone brings up Bobby giving good head or being a sucker for voluminous bush and succulent jugs, then, hey, you've got some ambiguity.

Thanks, I appriciate it.

You might find the 'assassins apprentice' and the eight books that follow, interesting. The fool is the character you'd be looking for. He/she, is in all the books if I remember right. Robin Hobb. Fantasy.

Very ambiguous

=D>