Looking for gay characters in fairytales can feel like a fruitless endeavor.
— Liz Gotauco, Fucked Up Fairytales with Liz
And d she’s not wrong. Though the sexuality of the authors of many fairytales and classics is constantly debated, what is plain to see is that fairytales and classics have a serious diversity problem. So how do we fix it?
By adapting the stories to make them move queer inclusive. Because the world might not need another Cinderella retelling half as badly as it needs a remixed Little Mermaid where the mer-prince and octo-warlock end up in an enemies-to-lovers situation.
(Unless, of course, it’s the retelling where Billy Porter plays the “Fabulous Godmother.” Because the world always needs that.)
So here are 3 ways to adapt an old story to include your queer character(s):
1) Lead Character Gender-swap
Maybe your Juliet becomes a Julien or your Belle becomes a Bel. Or in the case of L.C. Rosen’s Emmett, your Emma becomes an Emmett.
It might seem like a simple change, swapping the gender of the lead character for something new. But that “simple thing” can change the whole dynamics of the story.
And it can lead to some interesting reworks like the ones I ran into while working on my upcoming novel This Fair City which is a remix of Romeo & Juliet and The Little Mermaid.
But a change like this can also make a huge impact. And the more stories that exist with queer persons front and center, the more queer readers across the world will have the opportunity to see people like them represented in stories.
2) But Make it Queer
Does recasting a character(s) from the original story as queer heighten the emotional impact of the story? Does something that might have been originally mundane, become almost heartbreakingly devastating with a simple change of gender or preference?
Not always, but it definitely can.
For example, in Anna-Marie McLemore’s retelling of The Great Gatsby, Self-Made Boys, McLemore transforms the characters of Nick and Jay into two trans boys. The title alone is a nod to the character’s sense of self.
And though it might seem a simple toss-away scene in the grand scheme of the story as a whole, the speakeasy section shouldn’t be dismissed.
Because speakeasies were not just a place to procure liquor during Prohibition, but were also a haven for the queer community during President Warren G. Harding’s “Return to Normalcy” movement. A place where everyone could be just “a little more themselves.”
Things like this are what make this story set a hundred years ago feel just as relevant as they would be today.
Or take Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno for example. It’s a manga/anime that blends Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 3, and Richard III and is told primarily through the perspective of an intersex Richard III.
It illustrates the heart-wrenchingly honest portrayal of a queer person in a historical setting. And shows how they deal with rejection from their family and society, their pursuit of love and acceptance, and the actions they must take to ensure their own survival.
3) We’re Living in a Queer-Normative World
Most fairytales and classics come from our world and are thus Heteronormative. But what if they weren’t?
When you remake an old story, you can set it in a world where the sexuality of the characters is neither an issue nor taboo. Basically where binary pairs aren’t the automatic given.
Essentially, you could wave your magic story wand and choose to make your entire supporting cast queer if you wanted, or a large majority of them anyway. Like comic creator Anne Luise Pätzke does in her series Bound: The Contract.
Looking for another queer-normative example? Then check out Netflix’s Dragon Prince which has several characters that have same-sex parents.
I hope these examples give you plenty of ideas for adapting your next fairytale or classic story.
Until next time, Story Quester, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat signing off.
