Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Where are all the lesbians at?
This question has come up several times in class and I believe there are a few explanations. 1. Being a gay man has historically been more taboo than being a gay woman and perhaps there is more of an urge to debunk those notions by writing books like Freak Show and The Vast Fields of Ordinary. 2. On the other hand, gay men are now FABULOUS and that might make the market for gay boy books more feasible. 3. (My "real" theory, or thoughts at least...) The books that we've read so far with male characters, gay or straight, have focused a lot on teenage sexuality. Think about all the boners and boobs in Little Brother and the wet dreams and straight up fucking in Boy Toy. Girls portrayed in YA lit. are much more prone to crushes and (gasp!) even falling in love with little to no mention of having a wet vagina or hard nipples. (Both indications of arousal, FYI). Looking at these aspects makes it seem reasonable that there are no books focusing on lesbian love, let alone lesbian sex. I mean, even Body Drama, the book for girls and their bodies, mentions NOTHING about being turned on, masturbating or anything that's great about being in a healthy sexual relationhip!
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We actually talked about the lack of LGBTQ content in Body Drama last night, and you're dead on about that. It's funny what you say in a couple of ways because there are taboos against both gay men and lesbians that may or may not impact how they're represented in the media--which always astounds me. when it comes to lesbians in YA fiction, there are several titles out there; it's just for some reason the quality isn't as strong as the ones about gay boys (or trans ones as the case may be)...we're still waiting for the right one, though. I have a friend who keeps saying she's going to have to write it herself. I think she should.
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