some thoughts on sexuality in fiction
Sep. 21st, 2011 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jana_denardoUnless you've been under a rock, it's hard to have missed the flack flying over an agent saying they would take on a story if the authors changed one character's homosexuality or just remove it. I wish I could say I'm surprised by this and yet, I am just a little.
Let's travel back in time nearly twenty years. Mercedes Lackey had a gay main character in one of her series. For that matter, in Vanyel's world (and how's that for rattling the old memory banks to get that name) she even had worked out a name for homosexuals that was something of a name of honor in some countries. Other countries had varying levels of acceptance. I have a piece of that story lodged in my mind that had Vanyel talking with his relatives who were not approving and they asked something derogatory about him being a mare to someone's stallion.
Overall, the homosexuality was a small part of the story but it was very obviously there. It was published (though Lackey was already an established author and not a new author trying to break in). I do remember a bit of a flack about that too, at least by some of my friends and fellow readers. The words that stuck with me were 'How can we take him seriously now?' They would deny adamantly that they had a problem with gays and couldn't see how statements like that proved they did. Gays weren't to be taken seriously. I had heard statements like that directed at me for writing gay characters of my own. That was about the same time I stopped asking for editorial advice from that particular writing group.
That said, I don't remember a huge stink about homosexuality being shown to young fantasy readers. More recently Cassandra Clare wrote the Mortal Instruments series. I know there is a gay young man in that fantasy series as well and don't remember much of a fuss but to be honest I don't really like the series that much so maybe I just wasn't paying attention
So that leads me back to why such a fuss now. I did see someone saying it could be for other reasons the book was rejected. Maybe. Obviously I have no idea what was in the letters/emails between authors and agent. I rather hope the author kept them to prove their case (since I have also seen the agents saying that really wasn't what was said)
So why now. The scary answer to me is that we're getting more polarized and more fearful as a society. It's reminding me of the 1950's and McCarthyism. I might be reading Fahrenheit 451 for banned book week and that probably brought up that image but still it's been in my mind a while now. My parents grew up in the 50's and have an idealized view of it. Mine comes from a history book. the reality is surely between but there was a lot of repression of anything not straight white male christian. many years down the road I'd like to think we're doing better but in the last decade I feel a lot less free than I did in the 90's or the 80's (but the 80's were my teen years so like my parents and the 50's my view is probably idealized).
This whole topic concerns me as an author, greatly, especially since I do have a YA story (non-erotic) that is basically hinged on the ideas of homosexuality and equality of women and I would hate to see a letter that says 'we'd take this if...'
Let's travel back in time nearly twenty years. Mercedes Lackey had a gay main character in one of her series. For that matter, in Vanyel's world (and how's that for rattling the old memory banks to get that name) she even had worked out a name for homosexuals that was something of a name of honor in some countries. Other countries had varying levels of acceptance. I have a piece of that story lodged in my mind that had Vanyel talking with his relatives who were not approving and they asked something derogatory about him being a mare to someone's stallion.
Overall, the homosexuality was a small part of the story but it was very obviously there. It was published (though Lackey was already an established author and not a new author trying to break in). I do remember a bit of a flack about that too, at least by some of my friends and fellow readers. The words that stuck with me were 'How can we take him seriously now?' They would deny adamantly that they had a problem with gays and couldn't see how statements like that proved they did. Gays weren't to be taken seriously. I had heard statements like that directed at me for writing gay characters of my own. That was about the same time I stopped asking for editorial advice from that particular writing group.
That said, I don't remember a huge stink about homosexuality being shown to young fantasy readers. More recently Cassandra Clare wrote the Mortal Instruments series. I know there is a gay young man in that fantasy series as well and don't remember much of a fuss but to be honest I don't really like the series that much so maybe I just wasn't paying attention
So that leads me back to why such a fuss now. I did see someone saying it could be for other reasons the book was rejected. Maybe. Obviously I have no idea what was in the letters/emails between authors and agent. I rather hope the author kept them to prove their case (since I have also seen the agents saying that really wasn't what was said)
So why now. The scary answer to me is that we're getting more polarized and more fearful as a society. It's reminding me of the 1950's and McCarthyism. I might be reading Fahrenheit 451 for banned book week and that probably brought up that image but still it's been in my mind a while now. My parents grew up in the 50's and have an idealized view of it. Mine comes from a history book. the reality is surely between but there was a lot of repression of anything not straight white male christian. many years down the road I'd like to think we're doing better but in the last decade I feel a lot less free than I did in the 90's or the 80's (but the 80's were my teen years so like my parents and the 50's my view is probably idealized).
This whole topic concerns me as an author, greatly, especially since I do have a YA story (non-erotic) that is basically hinged on the ideas of homosexuality and equality of women and I would hate to see a letter that says 'we'd take this if...'
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Date: 2011-09-22 11:25 am (UTC)http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/993710.html
At least people are becoming more vocal about it than they were years ago and there is more support and thanks to the internet, things go around pretty fast.
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Date: 2011-09-23 03:07 am (UTC)And yes people are definitely more vocal now which is a good thing