(Gay) Pride and Prejudice

In which I muse about reaching a wider audience, perhaps

I make no bones about the fact that I am an LGBTQ creator and that my company, Two Gargoyles Comics, embraces diversity in its works, including the LGBTQ spectrum.

But that’s…if this phrasing makes any sense…not all I am. I know, it’s weird. You’d think that “inclusivity” would mean “all” but there’s a line somwhere in there that intimidates people, and makes them shy away from my whole oeuvre.

Submitted for your interest is the graphic that is the table backdrop I use when I exhibit at conventions:

Yes, it incorporates a rainbow. Comics are colourful, (heck, I’M colourful!), and the rainbow represents the entire spectrum—of story genres, in this case, is what I was going for.

But I’ve seen people walking by my table, looking up at my banner and flinching. Literally, physically shying away from it. I wondered what about it was turning them off; I had my suspicions about it seeming “too gay for some people” but I didn’t want to judge their reasons without any solid evidence.

Then one earnest fan stood before me at a con and gestured to the banner, then to my table of books.

“Is this all gay shit?” he asked openly, honestly curious.

I had to laugh. “I get what you’re asking,” I said, “but while I am all about diversity and inclusivity, I only have one specifically LGBTQ comic (Spectrum).” I went on to allay his fears about all the work I do being gay stories for gay people.

Now here’s the thing: I’m not not writing for gay people. I’m also not not writing for straight people. In another post I talked about writing for me, but the idea is that it’s available to everyone.

So then I had a dilemma: I like the rainbow and what it represents to me. However, there are people who are shying away from my work because to them, it represents only one thing that doesn’t interest them (I’m excluding the bigoted few who would adamantly refuse to read anything associated with a rainbow; not only do I not think I could ever reach them, I wouldn’t even want to.). What to do?

Is it compromising my principles to change my backdrop to something more generic, more accessible to more people, or is it good marketing, good business sense? I want to be true to myself, but at the same time, I also want people to feel welcome to read my stuff. I don’t want to put them off; the rainbow is supposed to be engaging, not off-putting.

So then I self-analyze: am I obstinately going to refuse to change because the rainbow shouldn’t be a problem, and therefore those that have a problem with it aren’t my target audience (so I should discount them completely?)

But then I consider my earnest fan. He just wanted to know if all my work was “gay” because he was looking for something he could identify with, and no shade to him, “gay” wasn’t it. Doesn’t he deserve to feel welcome at my table, too?

Ponderous, man. Truly a ponderous question.

I’m not trying to be political, here. I’m not screaming “EQUAL RIGHTS FOR EVERYONE, TASTE THE RAINBOW, MOTHER F***ERS!” here or at my comics table. I simply wish to present my work for the enjoyment of as many people as possible.

So therefore, going forward, I’m adapting to what I feel is a more welcoming situation, which is to focus more on the characters I write rather than the eye-catching blaze of colours I had before. Get to know the characters and their stories, I want to say with my branding and backdrop.

Hawkstone (l) and Thunder (r) WIP by Jazz Miranda

So, what I think I’m doing is evolving; transcending what I thought was inclusive and inviting to be (hopefully) even more so. Still being myself, but reaching out for a wider audience, speaking not from a lofty self-assured perch but from the pulpit of honestly trying to communicate.

Time will tell if I succeed! In the meantime, I’ll see you somewhere over the rainbow.