The diversification of literature is reaching new levels. No longer is literature dominated by the straight, white, cisgendered male.

Lately, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) characters have been appearing more frequently in books and movies.

This is fantastic for raising awareness and promoting equality.

Just 40 years ago, an LGBTQIA character would never have made it into media.

One of the first notable appearances of such a character was Jodie Dallas in “Soap,” who was a gay man played by Billy Crystal.

Dallas premiered in late 1997.

In those times, a novel featuring someone kissing the same gender would condemn the book to fail.

It probably wouldn’t even make it to publishing, and even if it did, it would receive extremely limited sales.

But times are beginning to change.

Recently, the character trope of “gay best friend” has become popular in all forms of media, and is the gateway for more to come.

Characters such as Alec Lightwood from “The Mortal Instruments” series and Damien in “Mean Girls” have introduced LGBTQIA characters into the matrix of fictional universes.

Lately, media has stepped it up a bit by introducing a gay main character.

Movies such as “GBF” (standing for Gay Best Friend), which uses irony to mock the above stereotype.

“Geography Club,” which showcases the problems facing closeted teens in high school, helped diversify the public outlook on LGBTQIA people.

The LGBTQIA acronym stands for more than just homosexuality and bisexuality. It includes transgender, intersex, and the asexual spectrum, none of which receive adequate representation.

Transgender people do not identify with the gender they were born with.

Instead, they either identify with the opposite gender, or with a gender outside of the binary gender system.

The only notable transgender character is Unique on “Glee,” which is ending after this season.

Many people still have false notions about transgender people, which can be ended with just a bit more true representation.

The asexual spectrum defines those who feel no or next to no sexual attraction.

True asexual people have no sexual attraction whatsoever, whereas demisexuals only feel sexual attraction once they are emotionally attached.

I can’t think of any particularly notable characters on the asexual spectrum.

That is simply terrible, considering that they are even more misunderstood than transgender people, to the point that they are almost being erased from society.

The only times I’ve seen even minor asexual characters in media, they’ve almost always realized that they “just needed to find the right person” and end up with a “happily ever after.”

This is completely disgusting, considering that it belittles and demeans actual asexual people.

In fact, the idea seen in that trope is demisexuality, not true asexuality.

My point is, we’re on the right track with literature, but there is still a lot more work that needs to be done.

Transgender, gender neutral, gender-fluid, asexual, and many more are woefully underdeveloped in fictional media.

It’s important to realize the scope of what writers need to do.

Society needs to understand that media, whether it be literature, movies, television, or any other kind, is the main way to spread awareness to the ignorant.

When media diversifies, society’s view diversifies.

So yes, literature is heading in the right direction. We’re seeing more types of people already.

There’s a lot more ahead, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for literature.