The idiocy is never ends

[erastes]

Library of the Living Dead put a call out last month for a GLBT anthology, and this week the project has been cancelled because – HORROR – some of the writers aren’t GLBT.

And it was the GLBT contributors who complained! 

I find this sad, rather than annoying. I, as you know, don’t see why one’s sexual persuasion has any bearing on what one writes, same as it doesn’t matter what nationality, colour, race, planetary origin or subspecies of animal.  Part of me is cynical – perhaps the contribs and the publisher knew that it wouldn’t be eligible for GLBT only awards if it contained hetero writers.

What I find hard to grok though, is how anyone knew the sexual bias of the writers in the first place?  Was there a quiz?

Full details here

I hope this isn’t going to become a trend and that most publishers will realise how very silly it is.

Comments

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I suspect that there was no determination of sexuality at all. The whole thing probably went something like this:

SOME LGBT WRITERS: Hi there! Welcome to our forum/Yahoo group/Wordpress community! We're all writers for this anthology, and we're LGBT writers!

OTHER WRITERS: We are too, since we're writing about LGBT people.

SOME LGBT WRITERS:...that sounds like you're not LGBT yourselves.

OTHER WRITER #1: I'm single and heterosexual.

OTHER WRITER #2: I'm straight and married.

OTHER WRITER #3: I'm bi but in a heterosexual relationship.

(SOME LGBT WRITERS flee to the PUBLISHER.)

SOME LGBT WRITERS: We've found out that some of the writers for this anthology are straight!

PUBLISHER: Does that matter? I mean, their stories are good...

SOME LGBT WRITERS: Of course it does! They can't possibly write well about something they know nothing about!

PUBLISHER: They could do research and use their imaginations--

SOME LGBT WRITERS: They cannot possibly write well about something they know nothing ABOUT. And the stories will be all wrong! And insulting to gay people!

PUBLISHER: Uh...I really have no reason to buy manuscripts that are going to represent the gay community in a bad light, since the gay community is part of my market.

SOME LGBT WRITERS: INSULTING. An anthology written by straight authors could cast a bad light on the gay community!

LGBT WRITER #1: Forget could. Gays will be displayed in a bad light!

LGBT WRITER #2: Straight people writing about gays is a gimmick.

LGBT WRITER #3: No good can come from straight people writing about gays.

PUBLISHER: So, straight people, how do you feel about writing for this anthology?

OTHER WRITERS: We're fine with it.

PUBLISHER: No complaints about gays writing about gays? Or gays writing about straight characters?

OTHER WRITERS: Why would those be problems?

PUBLISHER: ...right. Uh, listen, guys. I'm gonna have to pull the anthology.

OTHER WRITERS: What!

PUBLISHER: You're just not gay enough for some of the writers. This is upsetting to them.

OTHER WRITERS: So our sexual orientation counts for more than our talent or skill?

PUBLISHER: Er...

OTHER WRITERS: Dude, if you said that to gay writers, you'd be smacked upside the head SO fast with complaints about discrimination based on sexual orientation.

PUBLISHER: It's not about that! It's just that the gay writers are my friends and I don't want them to be upset. You understand, right?

OTHER WRITERS: ...not really.

[joannesopercook.livejournal.com]

Yep. I think that's very probably it, in a nutshell. Amazing how it's okay for gender discrimination to go one way (i.e., towards the non-LGBT writers) but not the other... ::evil eyes::

This is so tiresome. One wonders where it will all end up...

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

That is exactly how it goes.

I mean, I can contribute to the all QuiLTBaG anth, but do I really WANT to be a member of any club that will have me.

[lg-larocque.livejournal.com]

That is very sad, indeed.

I have seen anthos where they ask ahead that the authors be of a specific orientation and not writing under a nom de plume of the opposite gender--but it was the theme of the antho and didn't have anything to do with sexual bias.

At the end of the day, it shouldn't matter who is writing about whom--it should matter how good the writing is and how the story moves the reader.

[n8an.livejournal.com]

Egad.

I've certainly seen anthology calls where the request for submissions was very clear about who could (and, I guess, by deduction, who couldn't) submit, I'm a little confused that someone would get upset after a call about who else submitted. If the call was for horror stories with gay characters, that's it, that's all - the writer's orientation shouldn't matter a whit. Wow. What a strange thing to have friends get upset about.

That's... Wow. Sorry, losing words here.

[johnrw.livejournal.com]

I hope this isn’t going to become a trend and that most publishers will realise how very silly it is.

It would have a catastrophic effect on multiple genres if this spreads. I mean Vampire/werewolf fiction is either going to die as a genre or authors are going to be spending a hell of a lot of time in protective custody. Is someone going to go after the Tolkien estate because he wasn't a resident of Middle Earth? ditto the estate of Barbara Cartland. Mills and Boone would find it's supply of romances severely depleted

SF and Fantasy - well think of your own reason!

[rwday.livejournal.com]

Well, I think they should have pulled the anthology when they found out that some of the writers weren't actually zombies.

Come on. It's one thing to post a call that's restricted to a certain type of writer - I've seen calls limited to writers from West Virginia, or writers over 50, or GLBT writers. If that's what the editor wants, fine, it's their call. But to change the rules, or as in this case, to pack up the toys and leave AFTER the submissions have been received? That's really bad form.

[joannesopercook.livejournal.com]

And further to that, what's going to happen when my publishers find out that I...well...I can't stand bright sunlight and crucifixes make me nervous and...and...I'm uh..."allergic" to garlic. Yes, that's it, allergic.

WILL I EVER BE ALLOWED TO WRITE ABOUT MORTALS EVER AGAIN????

*wails*

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I can just see the baninations going out.

"Dear Mr. Butcher: You are no longer allowed to write either The Dresden Files or The Codex Alera series because you are neither a wizard detective in supernatural noir Chicago nor a descendant of ancient Romans living on another planet. Sincerely,"

"To the Tolkien estate: We require medical evidence that Mr. Tolkien was, in fact, either an elf or a hobbit or we cannot allow his books to continue to be published. Sincerely,"

"Dear Monsieur Flaubert: Unless you are an adulterous French matron or identify as such, your novel Madame Bovary will be unacceptable to modern readers. We trust that you will provide information regarding your gender identity as soon as possible. Yours very truly,"

"To the members of the Mystery Writers of America: We have received a number of complaints from murderers who feel they are being misrepresented. Therefore, if you wish to commit a fictional murder, you must first commit an identical one in fact. We feel that this will add verisimilitude to your writing. Note: if you are planning on writing about fictional spousal murders and are married, we do require that you give your spouse at least 48 hours head start. Yours sincerely,"

[copperbeech.livejournal.com]

Well said. It boggles the mind. And I find it rather sad, too.

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

I suggest they send examiners to authors' homes to Test For Gayness.

Please make mine extra super duper hot. Kthxbye.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

But are they gay ZOMBIES? That's the crucial issue.

Idiocy is too kind a word. Zipper-sniffing morons, maybe.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Nothing like the smell of fresh zipper in the morning!

[smurasaki.livejournal.com]

In addition to everything else, where does this way of thinking leave writers who are asexual or who have very low sex drives and don't really engage in relationships? If you're an asexual who finds members of your own gender more companionable, are you close enough to gay? Or a person who's never bothered to have a relationship because you're just not that interested, but still find your own gender desirable in an abstract way, do you count?

Or what if you're not out under your real name? Or, like in Gehayi's theory of how it went, bi but currently in a heterosexual relationship?

This line of thought really opens a strange can of worms.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Exactly - I self declare as bisexual because I've had both relationships in the past, but I can't see me every having another - as you say, it's a can of worms and worrying. and how does anyone know in this anon internet world? and why do they care? To be honest, it's not the Booker prize, it's an anthology about zombies!