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From: on@hpda.UUCP (Owen Rowley)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: Sexual Slant in Novels - "Stars in My Pocket..."
Message-ID: <1268@hpda.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 2-Jan-86 13:59:25 EST
Article-I.D.: hpda.1268
Posted: Thu Jan  2 13:59:25 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 4-Jan-86 06:25:42 EST
References: <827@bu-cs.UUCP> <1656@bbncca.ARPA>
Reply-To: on@hpda.UUCP (Owen Rowley)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 43

>In article <1656@bbncca.ARPA> rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) writes:
>Disclosing sexual bias in a book?  Advertising its sexuality?  Hey, what
>is this?  It sounds like some looney project from Andrea Dworkin or some
>other political crazy.  Apply any of these recommendations to books
>"slanted" to heterosexuality (god forbid!); the result would be clearly
>perceived as off the wall, AND obnoxious by more than a few readers.

I am glad that someone finally has pegged this argument for what it really is.
Homophobia is so common in our existence that it can often pass as honest
inquirey.

>I find the allusion to a kind of "truth in advertising" idea applied 1)
>to sexual matters; and 2) to what is though of as a minority orientation,
>really offensive.  And it smacks of puritanism.

Some people buy books for the purpose of expanding their store of knowledge
and their realm of experience. science Fiction in particular is
supposed to stretch our imaginative abilities. Would we consider it
a prejudice if this gentlemen had said these characters are all chinese
or all black, I don't want to read about them!? You bet we would.

>Finally, it betrays a lack of knowledge of publishing: publishers are
>legally free to put anything they like on book covers; not even the
>author has ANY control over what goes on them.  The disclaimers being
>suggested are not only utterly irrelevant to publishing practices, they
>imply a warped kind of public service at odds with what publishing houses
>see as effective and appropriate cover advertising.
well I guess I agree with everything else in this base note so will leave with a joke..

Do You know why publishers smell so bad ??









So blind people can hate them too!
LUX.. on
Owen Rowley
hpda!on