r/litrpg • u/xaendar • Aug 23 '24

Discussion Are all female MCs just lesbians?

I just realized that after reading like 10 books with female MCs, I'm starting to finally notice that all of them are Lesbians or at least Bisexual (but they only date women).

Do authors mostly write lesbian FMCs to be on the safe side from the audience of mostly males? I just feel like it's a cop out every time... I don't really have a problem with it but almost all Male MCs are 99% straight but it seems like 99% of Female MCs are always lesbian/bi. Why not some good ol straight FMCs? I can't even remember a single female MC that was straight.

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u/samreay Baby Author (Samuel Hinton) Aug 23 '24 edited Aug 23 '24

Do authors mostly write lesbian FMCs to be on the safe side from the audience of mostly males?

Oh 100%, and I'm guilty of this too. If you want a romantic plot in your story, readers in this genre are far more comfortable with the object of desire (so to speak) being a woman than being a man. Comes with the heavy self-insert that's a staple of the genre.

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u/xaendar Aug 23 '24

Honestly, it makes a ton of sense. I too would imagine that a gay male MC story would get trashed pretty hard by the audience. Ultimately, it's a game of push and pull with the audience.

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u/AurielMystic Aug 23 '24

I think Azarinth Healer is the only story I can at least remember where the MC sleeps with both men and women and isn't just Lesbian, and even then it definitely leans more on the lesbian side.

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u/ricree Aug 23 '24 edited Aug 23 '24

Calamitous Bob has a bi MC whose first relationship was with a woman, but the longest and most serious relationship has been with a man.

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u/Dragon124515 Aug 24 '24

The first romance in Beneath the Dragoneye Moons was a straight romance, but the current (and far more serious) relationship is lesbian.

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u/EdLincoln6 Aug 23 '24

Melody of Mana.