(no subject)

[erastes]

I think the world is trying to annoy me today. Just seen on a submissions call: No bestiality, rape, incest, male homosexuality, sex with minors, simultaneous submissions or excessive wordiness, please!

Male homosexuality is ... what? *speechless* lumped together with these other banned topics but female homosexuality is fine? I bet menage is just fine and dandy too, eh? For goodness' sake, it's up to the publishers whether they want gay erotica or not, and that's completely OK, but please don't lump it between incest and child molestation as if it's as offensive as those subjects. Needless to say this call will not be appearing on EAA. (and it seems like this is the fourth year in a row they've used this wording for this call, I see, from a quick google. Grr)

My domain expired, and although I've reassured that it's back up, I can't see it from work. Must be something to do with the settings.

Roll on Friday night.

Comments

[eledhwenlin]

You mean the Erastes one? I can see it just fine.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Bah - must a work problem. And my email is not getting through - which explains the no comment notifications. How much else am I not getting? eep!!!

[aigooism.livejournal.com]

Your domain, if it's erastes.com, works!

. . . And yes, male homosexuality isn't allowed, but female? Nice. Real nice.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I couldn't see it at work,and the email isn't working at all. argh!

Well, it is a man's wank mags, so that's understandable, but listing the gay with taboo subjects like that, is deeply wrong.

[storm-grant.livejournal.com]

I thought the same thing when I saw that yesterday, but... the call was for Hustler magazine and so it's more about target market than discrimination. You can't buy bras at a menswear shop, eh?

Still, the wording is offensive and the fact that no one on staff has ever noticed or cared to change it is indicative of their thinking.

Maybe we should write a letter to the Editor. ;-)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I might, if I can pluck up the energy. Am just exhausted!

[jmsnyder.livejournal.com]

I question the term "excessive wordiness." This is a call for story submissions, right? Not flash fiction or poetry. So what's their definition of excessive?

You should've posted the name of the market so we all know who NOT to submit to in the future, or who to purchase books from, for that matter. Money speaks louder than words and if everyone boycotted publishers who offend them, sooner or later the publishers would listen.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

It's Hustler, and it's not politics... so excessive wordiness is probably stuff like characterization, plot, etc... Odds are genuine lesbian stories wouldn't be welcome, either--girl/girl fantasy for het men has very little to do with f/f relationships.

Thanks for the warn-off. I wouldn't touch these wankers with a barge pole.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I guess that they don't need more words than "He fisted me" or something.

:D

[omnivorously.livejournal.com]

... sometimes I forget the extent to which other people don't think like me. But I do not grok how someone can specify no male homosexuality, but not female. I am boggled.

Lumping gay sex in with other, even more despised (whether rightly or wrongly) sexual practices has an honorable history. From the proposed [Jesse] Helms Amendment to the NEA charter-thingie: "obscene or indecent materials, including but not limited to depictions of sadomasochism, homoeroticism, the exploitation of children, or individuals engaged in sex acts". Of course, Helms thought SM was just as icky as the exploitation of children. How long will it be before consent becomes the primary point in judging a sexual act or situation?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

He obviously didn't know the first thing about sadomasochism!!

*rolls eyes*

[megleigh.livejournal.com]

Kind of an unpleasant way to word their call.

I can see erastes.com quite nicely. :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

it's just a work pc thing, I think.

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

Omigosh! No Male Homosexuality or Simultaneous Submissions! I think it's obvious. One must keep the Empire safe from such things.

Excessive wordiness? Do they pay by the word, do you suppose?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I suppose - as it's a wank mag - they don't need purple prose, I guess. Which is sad, because MEN takes my wank fic, and that's wordy!!

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

wordy, but good. (I see an ad with a middle-aged mom like me winking.)

Another interesting juxtaposition....

[muroku.livejournal.com]

(warning: do not read this article if you aren't inclined to learn of a very strange case of cruelty to animals)

http://cumhitherglobal.blogspot.com/2008/04/author-escapes-to-zimbabwe-after-being.html

"Swanker is also a published e-book writer. Writing as Tigress Claw she has published over 30 stories and novels. These writings are of an erotic nature involving subjects generally categorized as non-traditional, such as Yaoi, Snuff, Auto-erotic asphyxiation, Necrophilia, extreme Bondage and Discipline, Cannibalism, Slash fiction and Zoophilia."

Yaoi, and can we assume mxm in general, is right up there next to necrophilia. Wow.

Re: Another interesting juxtaposition....

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm so glad that "slash fiction" AND "yaoi" are both non-traditional. Why didn't the reporter just toss "male/male" in there to really make the point?

And I'm sure that Stephen Sondheim and Tim Burton will be delighted to know that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is non-traditional, although that probably means that the work is unsalable. Can you imagine mainstream America going to see a work involving snuff, serial killers and cannibalism? It will never happen.

However, I must question the notion that auto-erotic asphyxiation is non-traditional. Dick Francis wrote about it in Wild Horses, back in 1994. I think that once Francis writes about a subject, the non-traditional aspect vanishes.

[/sarcasm]

Re: Another interesting juxtaposition....

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I couldn't believe the person who commented on that thread who said that yaoi writers only wrote to shock!

[fiona-glass.livejournal.com]

I was just about to weigh in with 'and f/f homosexuality is just fine?' and then I read the other comments and found everyone else had beaten me to it. ;)

I think it's the juxtapositioning that sucks. If it's a het magazine I can understand them not wanting m/m stories (because their readership might not be interested). But to bung it in their with bestiality and rape is a little, er, insensitive to say the least. :(

[erastes.livejournal.com]

exactly. call for what submissions you want, fine, but don't be an insensitive offensive jerk.

It's been an angry day!

[sleveen.livejournal.com]

That's amazing...you wonder who writes these things and if they have any brains at all...male homosexuality? Ohmigod! Teh Gay! It like, kills!

/sarcasm

I wish ignorance really was painful... o_O

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That would be a good solution...

[girluknow.livejournal.com]

Wild Rose Press does almost the same thing, listing homosexuality as a no-no, included in a list with rape, pedophilia, bestiality, and "depraved and illegal acts". What was additionally offensive was the wording that came after homosexuality-- "our romances celebrate heterosexual monogamous relationships", which left the impression they don't believe homosexuals have monogamous relationships.

All in all, not a publisher I would ever submit a story to, even if it fit their guidelines, nor would I purchase from them. Wild Rose isn't the press you were referring to, is it? I think I have seen at least one other press do the same thing.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Good Lord, I didn't know that. No, I wouldn't (now) advertise Wild Rose for that reason. How awful. I understand that any publisher has the right to publish what genre they like - but I believe that they have to be a little more liberal than the average joe in the street, or at least not to be offensive to others. *shudder*

And no - this is Hustler Magazine.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

it's up to the publishers whether they want gay erotica or not, and that's completely OK, but please don't lump it between incest and child molestation as if it's as offensive as those subjects

Or, even worse, excessive wordiness. Talk about perversion! *g*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I know! WHAT FILTH!!!

:)