Dear Queer ~ Inclusive Storytelling?
Gayly Giving Advice Straight from the Heart ~ September 2025
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Dear Queer,
I work in creative writing and want to pen a novel where being trans is so normal it’s unremarkable. I also want to create an alliance between seemingly opposite energies, such as female and male. How can I do this effectively?
Sincerely,
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you for such a rich question! As a sister/sibling writer, your inquiry beckons my own creativity. I’ve been percolating over your words at length, and this is where I have arrived.
The best-case scenario is that your reader is actively working on unlearning and deconstructing all things gender-related. The worst-case scenario is that they don’t have a clue or the desire to go there at all. Truth likely lives somewhere in the middle.
From where I stand on the island of best-case scenario, folks have a long way to go regarding gender expression and acceptance. Even those of us committed to expanding our views and perceptions have the same tall order of things we must unlearn first. At this stage in humanity, it’s a big ask to present something traditionally female/male, even if you change the wording, and hope that the reader can decipher the ways it is new and improved, rather than the same old rhetoric. Our brains are hard-wired to go toward what we know first, and most of what we know is the cis-hetero norm.
What about this, creative one? Instead of a female/male dichotomy, how about your characters portray a trans/cis one? Psychological studies have proven that one of the quickest ways to form an alliance is by putting individuals with differences on the same team, working together towards a shared goal. It's the fastest way to break down harmful stereotypes. The dynamics of a cisgender character working in tandem with a transgender character in a team effort for a united outcome would offer the dichotomy you are seeking. It would also aid in building a bridge to the reality of trans folks being commonplace. If you write the end goal so the reader is rooting for the success of the cis/trans pair, that’ll be the whipped cream and cherry on top.
Have you heard of international bestselling author Rachael Herron? Her latest book, The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland, made USA Today’s Bestseller list, which is the most challenging bestseller list for an author to make in the United States. This novel has a trans character that any reader with a healthy heart will fall in love with. My favorite writing teacher once told me:
“You can only be as good a writer as you are a reader.”
Her sentiments, I share with you, along with the recommendation to read The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland. Heck, I’ll even buy you a copy! (For reals- e-mail me). As a writer wanting to include a trans character seamlessly, I am confident you will be inspired by the author doing exactly that. Plus, it’s such a lovely story. I listened to the audiobook and binged it in two days.
Lastly, I will add, if you are not trans yourself, please make sure your draft is read by a person who is. These individuals are called sensitivity readers, and their services are requested when an author is representing a race, culture, disability, or orientation that they lack lived experience with. There are so many elements that can only be detailed through authentically living it. You can find sensitivity readers at all levels, from volunteer to paid. Websites like Fiverr and Firefly Creative Writing are good places to search.
I love your desire to create a world where gender fluidity is so normal it’s unremarkable. Your role as a storyteller is powerful, as you can lead many to the heart of imagination with your words. We’ve got to imagine it before we can create it. Thank you for using your superpower for the betterment of humanity. I stand with you in paving the way toward a kinder, more loving, and less remarkable life for us all!
Stay queer, my dear!
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