Why Poetry, Prose and Plays?

You very well might already be convince of that, but just in case, we’ll say it one more time: representation matters. And now louder for the people at the back: REPRESENTATION MATTERS. There we go. But why? Well, many reasons.

First of all, do you remember when you were a child or teenager and pretty much all the heroes, and heroines (and then again, that one is if you were lucky), were very much straight? Not great. Children need to identify with characters from their favourite books, it is proven to be better for their development and mental health. And as you grow up (and then old) it is just as important. Being able to see people who are like us helps us feel less alone, more visible, and more valid. And we all like different kinds of books, so it is essential to have representation in all genres of literature, be it romance novel or the latest Donjons and Dragons rulebook.

So that is for LGBT+ folks. But queer representation is also essential for straight people to see. It helps normalising diverse sexualities and gender identities. Reading helps people develop their imagination, and shape our perception of society. So we need to appear in those stories because diversity is part of society and needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. The more tells about trans kids are published, the more love stories between two women are read, the more non-binary folks are the protagonists, the more accepted it will be. And who wouldn’t want to live in a world like that?

We have been demanding more representation for many years now, and it is slowly but surely improving, no doubt thanks to the countless authors who have overcome initial rejection and kept fighting to have their stories published and heard. So the real heroes and heroines are not just in the books, but behind them.