The Interview Is Out!

[erastes]

ETA: I’ve heard back from the magazine and they are going to change it in the Online version and correct it in the next print edition. That’s good.

As you probably remember, Alex Beecroft and myself were interviewed by OUT magazine a few weeks ago. Luckily before my eyes went wonky, and were bemused and excited by the experience in turns.

Well, the interview is now out, in OUT’s September issue, which is good. Me and Dan Radcliffe on a gay cover. It’s pretty funny.

However, what's NOT so good is the headline: “The Straight Women behind Gay Erotica.”

Despite fact that we shared our sexual preferences with the reporter (galling enough, really) we have both been labelled as straight. I find that quite disturbing, and that’s the only way of putting it. Anyone who’s had to come out to family, friends, workmates etc will appreciate how difficult it can be, usually is, and to be simply “inned” by a gay magazine is pretty annoying.

I wrote to the magazine this morning, expressing my concern. Too late to change anything, of course, but I wanted to state how I feel, although I hardly know myself.

I feel that some people will think I deliberately misrepresented myself, in the same way I was accused of that when I had a male persona—simply because my publisher of the time said that was a good idea, being a female writer of gay erotica. I haven’t read the actual interview itself, as I haven’t received my copy of it yet, and it may be that inside it mentions that I’m bisexual, but the headline doesn’t imply that on the outside. Ho hum.

And again, the interview appears to be taking the same old line (despite the fact that we mentioned to the reporter that this happens  over and over and over) of “What are those crazee straights doing now” or “straight women taking over gay lit” – neither of which are true. (Well, perhaps about the crazy…)

Anyway – just wanted to state my opinion, before anyone goes and reads it.

- -

Comments

[jenniferkoliver.livejournal.com]

Wow, that would shock me too, as I'm sure it would shock anyone. It's a shame they can't change it to be more accurate, but hopefully your email will prevent this from happening in the future.

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Glad you and Alex got the interview, and sorry that the editor took that annoying line with it, which I would think is more likely to tick off readers also. Nothing to do with what the writer actually produced, perhaps.

[rj-scott.livejournal.com]

I will read with interest. Sorry they f****d up...

HUGS X

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you got the interview, but Jesus! You'd think Out would be the LAST magazine to erase bisexuals, even in a headline. It's both annoying AND offensive. I sure hope that what the reporter wrote is more accurate. Sheesh.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Ack! at the cover text, but congratulations on doing the interview in the first place.

Bisexuality is still annoyingly invisible with a lot of gay men: I encountered a prime example yesterday. But sometimes headlines bear no relation to the actual story (says someone whose only experience of writing press releases was for a module of a medical writing certificate)< so lets see if the article comes out better.

Fingers crossed...

[cerisaye.livejournal.com]

You would think Out would know better than to be so offensive for the sake of a headline. I hope the interview doesn't take the same line- did they not send you a preview copy?

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

Can't they put something in their next issue apologising for getting it wrong/misrepresenting you just to 'get the headline'? That's totally twisted!!!!!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

The corporate press has its 'narrative' in place before they even do the interview. The facts get stretched to fit. Controversy sells.

Everyone who is irritated by this? Don't just vent here--write OUT magazine and tell them what you think. Please!

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

Being "inned." That's a good word for it. And all for the sake of a headline. Grrrrrr.

[eroticjames.livejournal.com]

That's what happened to me and AM Reily with the LA Weekly. We were both up front about our sexuality and with me my genderqueer nature.

But for the article and headline we were "straight."

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Oh good lord. That's ludicrous. I mean. really!! I'm sorry that happened to you, hun

[jl_merrow]

Damn, that must be annoying. I guess GLBT people writing GLBT fic just isn't headline-worthy enough.

Here's hoping the article inside is more accurate.

[markprobst.livejournal.com]

The article does indeed mention your bisexuality.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Good - well that makes the headline even worse, then really doesn't it? It's an eyecatching headline, to evoke a reaction (and i know that's what headlines are supposed to do, but generally I prefer them to be accurate!) - and then you get to the article and find that the women aren't straight at all. Oh well.

[cassiopaya.livejournal.com]

Well, according to some, being a bisexual woman doesn't count. That still puts you in the In crowd instead of the Out crowd.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Really? I'd like someone to say that to my face!

[josephine-myles.livejournal.com]

I'm thoroughly pissed off on your behalf. It's insulting for a GLBT publication to take that line for a cheap shot at provoking readers. Shame on them.

Sometimes I think the media has absolutely no understanding of bisexuality - maybe they think we're just pretending.

[beckyblack]

Must feel like you're bashing your head against a wall sometimes. Trust the press to always take the predictable line.

[cassiopaya.livejournal.com]

Only if you get hit them afterward right?

[bunnytrouble.livejournal.com]

Hear hear, Lee.

[bunnytrouble.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's not great about the headline business. Even so, I am looking forward to reading the interview, and congratulations! xx

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I do, that's exactly it. Alex said 20 times if she said it once "i don't write erotica" which she really doesn't--much normal romance is far far more erotica than she writes. And neither of us really identify as straight, which we discussed at great length. How are we ever going to be taken seriously as authors by gay men if this is the exposure we are given?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Well, they have apologised- which was nice of them - but I don't understand why it was done in the first place. Being a bisexual in a very isolated place, and with little care as to whatever other people think of me, I suppose I've never experienced this behaviour before. I know a friend of mine has, when she changed from a woman partner to a male one, she had a huge backlash from the lesbian community,they even tried to get her to lose her job in the gay section of the magazine she was working in.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

apparently so. I'm not anxious to read it, I'm a big chicken.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

They said they would, but as it's in the US, I'll probably not know if they do.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

No - the copy went up to press literally two days after the interview, there wasn't time to insist on an editorial pass. Lesson learned, I guess!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I hear the article is a bit more accurate, but still - the headline is galling.

Sorry about your experience!

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Gay man in question has now done the email equivalent of flouncing out of the room and slamming the door, because the constructive criticism I gave him for his blog (as he'd requested) was a little snarkier than he was expecting.

Glad to see your update that they've made some attempt to fix things.

[seraphim-grace.livejournal.com]

never mind being "inned" they called you a crazy cat lady! The whole article had me crawling the walls wanting to claw someone's eyes outs - possibly with my thirty two imaginary cats!
I'm sorry one of the joys of writing that much porn is we don't have boundaries, and if we do they're pretty far down on the list of things that make people blink, gender is the least of them...
the woman who wrote that article is notorious for being a bitch and you got worse off by being named
but.......
you went to talk about your books and genre and she wanted a byline....
must stop talking or I'll go to the shelter adopt and train attack cats just for her

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I think I may have called myself that - I think she actually said that you need more than 3 to be one of those.

:)

[bialogue.livejournal.com]

I realize that we are approximately the one millionth person to chime in on this, but umm . . aren't you actually a bi-identified LGBT person?????

not in any way to diminish your writing whatever identity you claim (think of all the Gay Men and Lesbian Women who have written tons of stuff with Str8 people in it) but before getting into a tizzy, just want to get the facts (if you will pardon the expression) straight.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Yes, I am. But apparently, according to many on the backlash on the recent Lambda wank threads, I'm probably lying.

[bialogue.livejournal.com]

So OUT Magazine has basically lied and slandered you, which has then subject you to further public ridicule and harm. As you live in the UK, have you contacted places such as:

* http://www.bisexualindex.org.uk/

as a first step and asked for assistance in clearing your good name?

And also (looking at the logo next to me as I type) have woul contacted Lambda Literary?

Also are you going to to BiCon & 10ICB being held in a few days in London? It would be a good place to raise this and immediately get something going.

Also are you on academic_bi? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/academic_bi/ it is an international group that would no doubt be quite interested in what has been done to a bisexual writer by a mainstream American G/L magazine.

Also with your permission, since it is an American media outlet that started this by publishing falsehoods, I'm gong to contact GLAAD, US Anti-defamation campaigners for the LGBT Community, tell them what happened and ask for their help.

[bialogue.livejournal.com]

oops sorry, I'm reading thru your posts while writing to you so just saw the bit about Lambda, just having trouble concentrating since I'm so angry on your behalf as well as all other bi-identified writers and artists

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I did write to Lambda, but I only asked them to close the Brownworth thread, which they did immediately. There'd been five days of damage by then, and people were having such fun...

I didn't know there was a conference. I would have loved to have gone, but I'm entirely housebound at the moment (e.g. can't drive) as I have developed double vision - I will certainly look out for the next one, I feel quite isolated up here in Norfolk and would love to connect with the community.

If you think that contacting those organisations might help -- and would not make the matter ten times worse, then yes - but Brownworth does come over as a bit of a loony, so I'm sure it will just all fizzle out. My sales have rocketed, though, which is terrible of me!