I'm sooo extremely happy that your new... â€� Jennifer Marie Thorne Q&A

moonyangelica asked Jennifer Marie Thorne:

I'm sooo extremely happy that your new novel, The Inside of Out contains LGBTQIA themes in it! As a LGBTQIA teen, I seriously think that YA needs more representationâ€� or maybe that's just me, since I've probably read all of them already XD. What was your favorite part so far researching LGBTQIA and incorporating it into your writing?

Jennifer Marie Thorne This is such a great question! I totally agree that YA needs much more LGBTQIA representation and I am very optimistic that we're headed in that direction. My favorite part of the research process for TIoO was a simple but life-changing one. This is going to sound crazy, but bear with me: I followed a lot of new people on Twitter. And I lurked. :) I listened to trans authors talking about their day to day experiences navigating the world. I listened to bi friends talking about stereotypes and erasure. I listened to gay teens, who were coming out online first to test the waters, then sharing their experiences coming out in the real world. And I felt humbled and enlightened and heartbroken and inspired and ultimately hopeful. I still do - this is a forever process! But just that simple step of seeking out more voices and listening to them was what really informed this book. I also paid attention to my own knee-jerk reactions and questioned them - asked myself which of them came from empathy and which from privilege - and those insights definitely found their way into TIoO as well.

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