How do you feel when straight people try to tell a gay story?

[KawaiiKitty]

i trust people who haven't been into space to be able to write good science fiction stories .
i trust people who haven't time-travelled or who weren't born in a different century to be able to write good historical fiction .
i trust people who have had perfectly happy lives to be able to write good drama ~

it's not impossible to do research and get it right .

I never said it was impossible...I just said that sometimes it misses the mark.

[megumidesu]

I never said it was impossible...I just said that sometimes it misses the mark.

that's not a "straight person telling a gay story" issue ~
because there have been plenty of stories about straight people by straight people that have got it completely wrong and been awful . likewise with gay people writing about gay people ~

it's entirely dependent on the skill of the writer , not that writer's sexual orientation

[KawaiiKitty]

You don't "trust" straight people to tell a good love story? Laughable. Change some pronouns in Romeo and Juliet, and you have the most tragic gay love story ever told. I think it's on Netflix or something, even.

I've noticed this intense discrimination lately, even within the LGBT community, the backbiting and snide attitude regarding anyone that "just doesn't understand". Maybe I'm seeing the world through rose-colored lenses, but at the basic level, they are still human, and want someone to tell them they love them. I don't care who tells me they love me, as long as they mean it, and it comes from a sincere part of their heart. The same applies to love stories and songs; there are some songs written by men about girls that I relate to the sentiment, but not the pronouns.

I dont trust straight people to capture the true sentiment and feelings that a gay couple goes through when you figure in things like the gay culture and discrimination and other factors since that straight person has never experienced it.

When I see a movie that is told from a straight person's perspective of gay people it usually makes me cringe.(again not ALWAYS there are a few great exceptions) Its full of stereotypes and the like where one has to be flamingly and offensively gay and the other one very butch and masculine. Thats just an example though as well.

[KawaiiKitty]

that's not a "straight person telling a gay story" issue ~
because there have been plenty of stories about straight people by straight people that have got it completely wrong and been awful . likewise with gay people writing about gay people ~

it's entirely dependent on the skill of the writer , not that writer's sexual orientation

yes and my whole point is had they been gay or had more experience with the gay community/culture they might not have missed the mark because their writing/directing would have been better.

[naitsirc]

While I thought 'Brokeback Mountain' was a long boring cliche, so to are so many other movies and stories which deal with specific cultures, religions etc. At least it added to small list of gay movies and hopefully will lead to realistic portrayals in the future.

[Tim18]

I don't really feel anything .

[OrphanPip]

While I agree there is merit to the idea that one does not have to be gay to tell a good story about gay people. There is also a matter of self-representation versus the issue of dominant culture shaping our conception of minorities. One has to keep in mind the delicate balance involved in speaking about people who have less access to a voice in media.