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What? Ahem... *clears throat*
Today, I’m blogging about being in
the closet or on the down low about reading gay fiction. I’d like to
thank, fellow gay fiction author, Christopher
Koehler for this idea since it came up in the interview
I did with him a while back.
Are you, as readers, ashamed to
admit you enjoy gay fiction or erotica? Does it bother you that you have it in
your library? I’m wondering because there are a lot of people out there with
opinions or valid reasons and since I’m one of the authors contributing to the Its Raining Men blog, I
decided to bring it up.
A while back on one of our blog
posts, we had a commenter say she wouldn’t be able to join the Facebook IRM
page because her friends or friends of friends not liking the fact she reads
gay fiction. In other words, she was concerned she’d receive even more
flack if the page profile showed up on her personal page.
Now, let me preface this by saying I
will not get into anyone’s personal
business by getting involved in discussions between friends or relatives.
However, I’m miffed as to why what you read would bother someone that claims to
care about you.
Here’s another example. Does it
bother those same people that you read Steven King, who often writes stories
about murders, horror, and such or are they concerned about the vampire stories
by Anne Rice that have homosexual overtones?
Again, it’s only an opinion but I'd love to understand why someone would be offended by what you read.
DO they think you’ll become gay by reading it? *laughs* OH SHUDDER. Will you
become a psychopath by reading Carrie? Hope not!
Why is it when we talk of something
unacceptable by friends or family, it involves the gay community? The bottom
line is, the hetero women, married ones especially, love gay fiction! In the two years that we’ve ran the IRM blog, the majority of visitors to our
Facebook are women. UNREAL right? It shows up on our insights. Yep, Facebook is
following you! Gay writings are very “hip” these days. And the number of female
gay fiction romance authors and readers increases by leaps and bounds everyday
which means lots of ladies love it. Why be ashamed? Why let your friends
dictate what you are and what you enjoy? In my opinion, they aren’t people who
care about you but again, that’s only my opinion.
Even if this were true in my case, I
wouldn’t allow my friends or family tell me what to read or write. My mom is a
Jehovah’s Witness and is very aware that I read and write gay fiction. So is my
husband, my 14 year old son, and my little brother. My friends are my fans,
even those who don’t read gay romance. Do they understand that I read and write
it? Probably not. Do I care? NO!
I’m sure this blog will piss a lot
of people off but the bottom line is, everyone has their own thoughts and these
are mine. I’m sure a lot of people who write and read some blogs aren’t into
gay fiction or m/m but as a writer, the internet, specifically blogs, is a
perfect place to express our thoughts. In no way is my intention to change
anyone’s mind, only to invoke conversation.
So, in closing, how do you feel
about it? Are you hiding your enjoyment of gay fiction? Are you concerned
about what your family and friends think about our choice? If so, why? Your
enjoyment is your pleasure. It shouldn’t have to be hidden. You are your own
person and should be able to like what you like.
Now go out there and support your
gay fiction authors. *laughs* I’m joking. Do what you feel you need to but, in
my opinion, you should “come out” from under the cover’s ladies and
gentlemen because no one should be able to steer you away from the
simple pleasures you enjoy.
Live your life for you!
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That's right, Shar and buy more gay fiction and m/m romance! Especially ours! Ahem...
Now for the next giveaway!
CONTEST 5: Some swag. Another giveaway from ILEP
Next promo Under the Gun 2 is coming out next month. Read more about the Hardy and Day series in this link
Check out the other bloggers!
2 comments:
I tell people what I read. They just chalk it up to my weird reading habits.
debby236 at gmail dot com
I never have anyone looking into/asking about my reading habits and have so little luck recommending things to people I know, which annoys me to know end.
My family (husband and kids) know about what I read, and they're the only ones who'll listen (captive audience) to me tell them about "this great book I read," whatever genre I'm talking about.
I think I get more looks from strangers who happen to ask what I'm reading when I say "romance" than when I say "gay fiction." There's still so much romance stigma, which is another thing that bugs me to no end.
Yup, there's still a lot of judging going on about what people are reading, but you just have to let it be their issue and just pity them for missing out on great books!
caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com
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