The Dragon Keeper "Controversial?" Hobb and sexuality. *Major Spoilers up to RWC!

[Farseer]

...I think Hobb was showing that gay people are just as likely to be weak or cruel as straight people are. And in terms of Sedric being weak, he grows stronger and developes considerably by the end of DH, just as any straight characer might develope and overcome their problems.

I agree. Certainly some people may feel that their comment re stereotypes are justified but then Sedric ends up with Carson, a very un-Hest-like character...someone who gives Sedric back more of himself rather than seeks to take it away. The very same could be said of Alise, earlier the submissive one in her relationship with Hest, and Leftrin (as for a 'straight' example that mirrors that of Sedric's relationship post-Hest).

If Sedric had fallen into yet another relationship where he was being dominated, then maybe people may have had something to use in the stereotypical gay debate. Maybe. Even then, it would still mirror many relationships I directly know of where women and men fail to escape dominating partners within hetrosexual relationships. They escape out of one only to fall into another. If it is fairly common in heterosexual relationships, how can it truly be deemed stereotypical in homosexual ones? It just IS.

Still, in a totally different location and group of people, the ratio of dominant relationships (regardless of their being heterosexual or homosexual) may be minimal, in others significantly higher. For me, it is the personalities of those involved that truly determine the outcome, not their sexual orientation.

On that, while I acknowledge the obvious referencing and implications etc, I really don't tend to look at books or characters in terms of gay or straight. They're just a snap-shot of a given moment in time or just 'people'. And I certainly never look at a plot and think, "There really should be more or less homosexuals in this story or else it's not true-to-life" , in much the same way that I don't look at a fantasy book and think "There should be more or less magic or dragons in this story or else it's not true fantasy".

If we had dragons about the place who could make comment, some of them may say that they got offended that they were being cast into stereotypical dragon roles throughout the books but then, suddenly, we'd have a dragon like Heeby come along and blow that debate to bits. Stereotypes exist because there are people who fulfill the stereotype (as much as those who want to buck the stereotype hate that! ). To completely put aside stereotypical behaviour from within a plot would delete a good proportion of any society and would ultimately be as unrealistic as having over-included the stereotypes and ignored the rest.

My understanding or interpretation is that this is what Hobb portrays at every level...that these 'extra' things don't matter...male, female; homosexual, heterosexual; physically sound, physically deficient; of the land, of the sea; educated, uneducated; free, enslaved; rich, poor; dark, light; human, non-human; barbaric, refined; under the protection of Eda, overseen by Sa...it's the small, everyday choices we make that count.

I could be wrong and I say these things knowing that the RWC are the books I have delved into the least? I am looking forward to reaching it during my re-read though, so I can come back and go over comments!

EDIT: To be honest, I think even the term "straight" vs gay creates a stereotypical mindset...the antonym of straight is bent or askew and this word play alone conjures up all sorts of immediately negative images for the members of the group that is "not straight". Doesn't it? END EDIT