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Quote of the Day:
Q: Do you think ‘lesbian fiction’ pigeonholes itself by identifying as such?
A: Maybe it does, but that isn’t necessarily a bad idea. I would hate to go into a mega-bookstore and have to find the lesbian offerings from among the thousands of mainstream titles, all grouped as romance, mystery or sci-fi. That said, I think the sub-genres, particularly romance, can be very constraining in format. It’s tricky to deliver a satisfying romance that isn’t wholly predictable.
~from L-Word.com's Interview with KG McGregor.
That's something I've been thinking about, seeing as I'm fairly vocal on not grouping lesbians together just for being lesbians, and so on and so forth, but that's a pretty darn good reason to stick them all in one place. However, what happens is that one can easily miss the mainstream fiction with just as good lesbian content. The question is, what's the difference between mainstream and lesbian? What makes Val McDermid, Laurie R. King, or Ann-Marie McDonald mainstream whereas Radclyffe, Melissa Good, or Ann Bannon lesbian? Any self-respecting GLBT bookstore would carry them all, but a larger chain would have the first three under mainstream and the last three under gay & lesbian.
Hmm. I gotta think on this for a while.
Laurie R. King talked in her blog about a reader who wanted there to be warnings on the Martinelli books as to the 'unsuitable lifestyle contents' or whatever the hell, and I immediately got very defensive (not to mention pissed off) because what the hell is so dangerous about me that I need a warning? (Being very inspired here by old Ellen interviews from back when they put a warning on her very non-explicit sitcom.) Of course, throwing in 'gay & lesbian' among the other categories into which a book fits isn't quite a warning, but still, it's a label that I would probably huff at if they put it on Laurie's books. And yet, if they didn't put it on Radclyffe's books I'd be just as annoyed, because... well. I don't quite know why. Because I wouldn't be able to find it?
Why is there a difference? Is it the number of lesbian sex scenes? Missy Good is the queen of PG-13. I have no idea why, but I certainly make an emotional difference. Does it have anything to do with internalized homophobia? Are there essays on the subject (gotta check L-Word.com literature)? Anyone?
Q: Do you think ‘lesbian fiction’ pigeonholes itself by identifying as such?
A: Maybe it does, but that isn’t necessarily a bad idea. I would hate to go into a mega-bookstore and have to find the lesbian offerings from among the thousands of mainstream titles, all grouped as romance, mystery or sci-fi. That said, I think the sub-genres, particularly romance, can be very constraining in format. It’s tricky to deliver a satisfying romance that isn’t wholly predictable.
~from L-Word.com's Interview with KG McGregor.
That's something I've been thinking about, seeing as I'm fairly vocal on not grouping lesbians together just for being lesbians, and so on and so forth, but that's a pretty darn good reason to stick them all in one place. However, what happens is that one can easily miss the mainstream fiction with just as good lesbian content. The question is, what's the difference between mainstream and lesbian? What makes Val McDermid, Laurie R. King, or Ann-Marie McDonald mainstream whereas Radclyffe, Melissa Good, or Ann Bannon lesbian? Any self-respecting GLBT bookstore would carry them all, but a larger chain would have the first three under mainstream and the last three under gay & lesbian.
Hmm. I gotta think on this for a while.
Laurie R. King talked in her blog about a reader who wanted there to be warnings on the Martinelli books as to the 'unsuitable lifestyle contents' or whatever the hell, and I immediately got very defensive (not to mention pissed off) because what the hell is so dangerous about me that I need a warning? (Being very inspired here by old Ellen interviews from back when they put a warning on her very non-explicit sitcom.) Of course, throwing in 'gay & lesbian' among the other categories into which a book fits isn't quite a warning, but still, it's a label that I would probably huff at if they put it on Laurie's books. And yet, if they didn't put it on Radclyffe's books I'd be just as annoyed, because... well. I don't quite know why. Because I wouldn't be able to find it?
Why is there a difference? Is it the number of lesbian sex scenes? Missy Good is the queen of PG-13. I have no idea why, but I certainly make an emotional difference. Does it have anything to do with internalized homophobia? Are there essays on the subject (gotta check L-Word.com literature)? Anyone?
exanimate
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