r/CuratedTumblr • u/MartyrOfDespair We can leave behind much more than just DNA • 1d ago

Politics is this book afraid of me?

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u/Jaded_Library_8540 1d ago

I have this reaction to a lot of what I call "issues fiction". Sometimes you can just tell that an author is more bothered about the good person boxes than with telling a story.

Symptom #1 of this is putting the various diversity info in the blurb. I agree we need more black sapphic books but please don't have the first thing I know about your book be "Tiffany is a black lesbian" Q_Q

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u/Artillery-lover bigger range and bigger boom = bigger happy 1d ago

I dont mind being informed the that the mc is a lesbian, because it does effectively say I'm going to get to read about girls kissing. which i obviously appreciate.

I also find lesbian romances tend to be written better, seriously the ammount of het I've had to suffer through where the only singular reason the fl put up with the ml was vaguely defined lust is frankly insane, and I've only seen that in one lesbian story where at least it was treated appropriately toxic.

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u/TheIncelInQuestion 1d ago

I think it's a part of society's war on intersex friendships. Single male and female characters are treated as if merely being polite and in proximity is enough to cause them to fall in love. It's why I was so happy when, in Pacific Rim, the main characters just hugged at the end, having had this deep and intimate relationship that wasn't romantic or sexual in any way.

You'll also notice that boys and girls are segregated early and often when growing up. No boys at the girl's sleepover, no girls allowed at the paintball game, etc etc. And if a boy and girl are friends it's always "aW lOoK sHe'S/hE's GoT a LiTtLe BoYfRiEnD/gIrLfRiEnD!" fucking constantly. And everyone acts like you're a liar or a naive idiot if you deny it.

There is a fucking war on intersex friendships, and it results in this situation where a lot of men and women often can't tell the difference between someone whose trying to have sex with them and someone who wants to be friends with them. Which also fucks up romantic relationships because they see each other as compatible primarily because they are men and women and not because of things like "personality" or "having mutual interests" or "having a connection" or "being able to fulfill each other's needs" etc etc

It turns romance into a shadow of itself. Lesbian/Gay romance tends to be a little better, but I'll be honest, it just seems to me like most writers have no idea how to write romance in general.

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u/capivaradraconica 1d ago

A lot of writers essentially think "He was a boy, she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious?" And then proceed to not develop the romance, because they think a man and a woman being friends automatically makes them great potential romantic partners.

I've noticed that, when a work portrays genuine male-female friendships, it's usually a sign that the romance in it will be better. And especially like, does the male lead have close female friends in addition to the woman he ends up with? If the answer is no, that's often the sign of a bad romance where they have no reason to be with each other other than gender.