Seeking nontraditional queer narratives

Post date: 2018-04-19 17:27:00

Nearly every queer character in every work of art I've experienced seems to figure out that they're queer easily and effortlessly. They fall in love or are hopelessly attracted to someone of the same gender, and quickly settle on a label (bi or gay or pan) to match. It's assumed that the romantic orientation matches the sexual orientation. Asexuality doesn't seem to exist. "Questioning" your sexuality is really just the process of coming to terms with the fact that you're not straight. But I want to experience works, in any medium (film, novels, comics...), fiction or nonfiction, where a character doesn't find it all so simple.

As an example, I recently read the graphic memoir My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi and was struck by her frank descriptions of her sexual exploration. She only reads gay male erotica despite identifying as lesbian. She doesn't seem to have ever had a crush on or attraction to anyone specific, and bases her identity on the fact that she finds female bodies arousing but not male. The few times she's had sex (through an escort service at age 28), she's found the experience awkward and uncomfortable. The work as a whole really challenges a lot of the tropes of queer sexual awakening in a way I've never seen before, and I found it incredibly relatable- thus my desire for more works that touch on the same themes.

I am especially interested in works that feature PoC. Thank you all so much!

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