Tuesday, June 12, 2012

On Orestes Dizon

I've been stuck for the longest time on my current writing project. It's the third volume in my series of young adult novels. Years has passed in real time since the first book was published, but in the timeline of the narrative, it has only been a matter of weeks.

Since I started writing the series, I've got lots of feedback from readers. Most of them positive, some not quite so. Which is just as well.

Anyway, clearly one of the crowd favorites is Orestes Dizon. Orestes Dizon is the son of a senator, and he's gay. He's in the closet because of his particular position among his peers, and he's finding it harder and harder to deal with dealing with public perception and his personal feelings.

What I find problematic about his character is that I'm really not trying to say anything about any LGBT issue. I don't want his story to be an LGBT crusade for acceptance or for gay marriages or whatever. I just want a character torn between his public persona and his private life.

Anyway, one time, I was browsing through the internet, and I saw a meme showing Disney princesses as hipsters. This led me to a link that shows Disney princes as sexy beefcakes (naked, save for the occasional loincloth).

Which got me into thinking, "Hey, the next Disney prince should be gay."

Which I think is a brilliant inspiration for Orestes Dizon.

At the heart of my narrative, Orestes Dizon IS a Disney princess/prince. He's an idealized / idolized person, he lives in his own fairy tale.

Despite JC Penney's initiative to redefine the family, I don't think Disney will be coming up with its own gay Disney prince soon. So, I humbly take on this challenge.

What if the next Disney prince is gay?

I suppose, we'll all have to wait until I'm done writing "DIRT" to find out.

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