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The “bury your gays” trope is seen often in literature and more than you’d think. It is seen through homosexual characters, whether coded or not, in support of the heteronormative gaze. The trope can be seen through many archetypes and often left with limiting outcomes; a pain and suffering path leading to their fatal demise or the image of the heteronormative moral villain leading their fatal end. When queer characters in media are pushed as secondary characters, they are sacrificial lambs to drive the main and often straight characters on their heroic journey.

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Okay? It’s just a trope, why is it so bad?

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Okay? It’s just a trope, why is it so bad?

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This trope causes harm at the expense of queer representation as it further pushes the derogatory archetypes queer people are catagorized. The queer archetypes are the set of depictions used to criminalize queer parties for existing. The archetypes include; the queer killer, the sexually degraded predator, the disease spreader, the queer security threat, and the young queer criminal. There are countless examples of these archetypes from Carmilla, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and the famous Harry Potter series. The concept of these archetypes has been written in stories for countless years and continues to exist, even in the 21st century, further establishing the “bury your gays” trope.

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What does this mean for the queer community?

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What does this mean for the queer community?

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When these archetypes are upheld and fortified in literature, it further supports the disenfranchisement of queer people, especially when they experience more than one system of oppression. These archetypes while just as harmful as stereotypes, focus on painting every queer individual through their personality as a threat to the heteronormative pathway. Archetypes provide the guidelines in which cis-straight members can point out anyone to accuse them as a danger to society.
When queer people ask for representation, they do not want a trope that only paints them as harmful characters who are treated to be villainized or a stepping stool for the straight main character. Queer characters in books that follow these guidelines revoke the erotic to queer bookworms. Avid and queer readers, like myself, do not get to see a happy ending for queer characters as much as you see when it is a cis-straight couple. While it is not to say that fruity characters cannot have human experiences of hardship and moments of sadness, being a well-rounded character also includes having happy endings where they achieve their goals or gain new skills to further develop their growth.

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What about books of today that provide that erotic and not the trope?

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What about books of today that provide that erotic and not the trope?

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There are books of today that challenge the trope and archetypes that damages queer representation. A great example is Loveless by Alice Osman. It follows Georgia’s journey exploring her sexuality in college. As Georgia discovers her asexual and aromantic identity, the book also prioritizes the development of family and friend relationships, which Georgia ultimately desires and achieves in the end. Another excellent queer book is Cemetery Boys by Aiden Tomas. The novel follows Yadriel, a transgender teen who desires to prove himself a real brujo to his traditional Latino family. Throughout the book, issues of acceptance are explored and questions what is “true acceptance”. While this book touches on some archetypes like Julian, described as the high school bad boy who is also a gay ghost, but instead of being a rebel villain, he is a part of the heroic team against the cis-straight uncle of Yadriel. Tomas does an excellent job giving the characters the opportunity for redemption and growth against heteronormative opinions regarding queer narratives, leaving a happy ending for a brujo and a ghost.

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While there is a sprouting development to turn the tables against the “bury your gays” trope, it still thrives on the exploitation of queer people. While this essay cannot solve the issue in one take, the awareness it spreads will be much more significant in the long run. The journey to advocate for better queer representation in literature, the more joy there will become for queer readers all over. As more readers become aware of the harmful consequences of the trope in literature, it will be harder to ignore the demands by bookworms for progressive change.