Not Erotica (Thank You Very Much)
When browsing through Kindle's general "Fiction" section, I don't have to scroll past dozens of erotica titles to find a serious book, yet the "Gay & Lesbian" section is full of covers boasting the top halves of naked men.
"Straight Out of University" is competing with titles such as, "Cocktails and Cockpics - A Grinder Love Story (Gay Novel)" - thanks for the clarification, "Muscling Through" and "Surrender To The Wolf (Channing's Wolves)". All of those have a half-naked man on the cover.
Now, it's not that I have against erotica per se, or lustful gay werewolf stories for that matter, it's just that my book doesn't belong among them.
The internet seems to think that "Gay & Lesbian Fiction" is synonymous with "Unrealistic romp to be read with one hand." I've been trying to find authors who have written books similar to mine, but I keep uncovering porn.
Sophie Robbins, author of "A Hole in the World", points out that Kindle's number 1 spot is occupied by a pornographic book.
This imbalance only serves to propagate the misconception that homosexuality is all about gratuitous pleasure and failing to suppress sexual urges, rather than a deep, emotional state of being.
I suggest we get all the authors of non-erotic LGBT books together to reclaim the genre. Or failing that, we start our own better genre.
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2 comments
Perhaps authors of books where sex isn't central, don't choose the gay and lesbian category. Am I right in thinking, there are a limited number of categories you can choose?
You mean Sophie doesn't turn into a werewolf? Not even once? Well I want a refund!