LGBTQ+ representation in storytelling is vital to almost half of UK adults, according to research

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 9 June, 2023

LGBTQ+ representation in storytelling is crucial for combating discrimination, says 82 per cent of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK, through a YouGov* poll.

Forty five per cent of general public too think the representation of LGBTQ+ community in literature is essential.

The study, commissioned by Audible (online audiobook and podcast service) to commemorate Pride Month, people believe they are seeing more LGBTQ+ characters in literature (52 per cent), more good stories for queer characters (52 per cent), and greater representation of the LGBTQ+ community (62 per cent).

Forty-nine per cent of respondents from the LGBTQ+ community who were surveyed said that LGBTQ+ literature has aided them in determining their gender or sexuality.

A Pride List of Queer Storytelling has been compiled by Audible in collaboration with the non-profit group Out on the Page, which supports LGBTQ+ authors and literature.

The list, which contains over 100 publications, was compiled by 42 LGBTQ+ authors, and voices from a variety of genres, Val McDermid, Liv Little, Travis Alabanza, and Juliet Jacques. It includes poetry, novels, memoirs, talks, and speeches in all forms.

Following are some important LGBTQ+ books to read during Pride Month.

• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: Sarah Waters’ 2002 book, set in Victorian-era Britain, follows orphan Sue Trinder, a fingersmith and petty criminal, as she gets entangled in a scheme to deceive a wealthy heiress by working as her maid.
• Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters: When it was released in 2021, Torrey Peters’ debut book Detransition, Baby, which explores the complicated relationships of a trans woman, a detransitioned male, and a cis woman living in New York, received an incredible number of positive reviews.
• Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson: In 1985, Jeanette Winterson’s iconic book, which is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian reared in an English Pentecostal community, was published. It was the winner of the Whitbread Award for a First Novel.

*YouGov: a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm.