Stereotypes

One of the more noteworthy aspects of Luck in the Shadows is its focus on two queer men (whether it’s regarding gender or sexual identity is uncertain. The book is set in a high fantasy land where society has different labels). While I found the characters’ identity, sexual or otherwise, progressive for the 90s, I thought that the characters followed stereotypes. For example, the Oracle in chapter 20 says that Alec will become Seregil’s “father, brother, friend, and lover” (271). There is a stereotype of what some people call a “gay coach” or a “goach” (an older queer mentor that leads a younger queer person into queerness). I admit that this does not explicitly follow the “goach” storyline, but I feel like the story certainly sets it up. Secondly, Flewelling portrays Seregil as an on-the-road, jack-of-all-trades, sort of guy which fits the stereotype of a queer person who is just living a “free lifestyle.” I do not think it is a coincidence Seregil’s reveals his queerness (when he is disguising himself as Gwethelyn) while he is deceiving others. His trickster personality falls within the “free lifestyle” stereotype.

Lastly, and probably most convincingly, are Alec’s feminine descriptions. Flewelling describes Alec as blushing (20, 31, 43, 85) and it is noted that he is most comfortable using a bow— an archetypal female weapon. When the audience first meets Alec, he is “weeping” and “hugging himself,” both of which are not stereotypically masculine behaviors (1, 10). Then again, having the protagonist start the book by weeping goes against the popular male hero archetype.

Despite finding Alec and Seregil’s queer identities somewhat stereotypical, I appreciated their identities as well. I loved that the book accepted their queerness as a fact rather than a problem to solve. Moreover, Luck in the Shadows was published in 1996, making it a miracle Flewelling wrote queer characters at all. The book portrays an equal society that sets an example for all of its readers. Personally, I find that more important than the in-depth analysis of their identities.

6 responses to “Stereotypes”

  1. akaron Avatar
    akaron

    I think the topic of the portrayal of Alec and Seregil’s sexual identities is interesting because it’s presented in such a nonchalant way as something in the background rather than being the main focus of the story. I think Alec was so blushy because the author was trying to portray him as a young boy more than a fully grown man and also just to be obvious or give hints that he will develop feelings for Seregil later on (such as when they were on the boat and Seregil was a lady). However, I don’t really see Alec as being feminine despite his weapon and how honest he is with his emotions, I just think he’s a character that breaks down heteronormative masculinity which is really great. The one thing that I’m left confused about is why the author chose not to have important female characters? Granted there is the whole matriarchy of Scala, but there are still some questions left to be answered about how women are viewed in their society and why the author chose two male leads (aside from the romance part). Maybe she wanted to focus more on queer representation than gender or race, but I guess you can’t have everything (especially in the 90s). I would agree that there are some stereotypes that the characters may follow, but I don’t think that it takes away from the fact that these are well written characters that readers can identify with. I like what you said about the most important thing being an equal society- I think that is the main takeaway when it comes to analyzing any of it, even if it’s not perfect, the way gender and sexuality are represented shows an ideal that real society hasn’t yet reached.

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    1. mahinasmith Avatar
      mahinasmith

      I also didn’t understand why there weren’t any strong female characters in the story. It almost reminded me of Alana in the way that (other than Alana) there were really no strong female role models for her to look up to. Maybe there is further exploration towards the matriarchy in the sequels allowing more female characters into the plot.

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    2. kedam07 Avatar
      kedam07

      I was also confused as to why there weren’t more important female characters because similarly to real life it’s possible to have different forms of representation within a single story. Maybe I may be asking for too much?

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      1. mahinasmith Avatar
        mahinasmith

        I found myself thinking the same way, but at the same time is it too much to ask for representation for half the population? Personally, I think that she just chose to focus on her main characters rather than trying to build strong female characters. Maybe it is more of a reflection on the state of the world rather than the author.

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  2. emilycollins7 Avatar
    emilycollins7

    While I too thought that some aspects of how Lynn Flewelling portrayed Alec and Seregil’s queer identities to be stereotypical, I found myself overlooking that because I was just happy and surprised that Flewelling wrote Alec and Seregil as queer. Knowing nothing about the book when I started reading it, I didn’t expect it and found myself overlooking obvious clues as to their sexualities because I didn’t expect a fantasy novel in the late 1990s to include queer characters. I would be interested to see how she writes and evolves aspects of Alec and Seregil’s queer identities as the series progresses.

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    1. mahinasmith Avatar
      mahinasmith

      From minimal research into the future books, I have found that their relationship evolves into a less stereotypical queer relationship. If you read them in the future please let me know what you think!

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