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From: awc@bu-cs.UUCP (Alex Cannon)
Newsgroups: net.motss,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Sexual Slant in Novels - "Stars in My Pocket..."
Message-ID: <827@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Dec-85 17:56:00 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.827
Posted: Sat Dec 28 17:56:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Dec-85 05:32:36 EST
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 73
Xref: linus net.motss:2128 net.sf-lovers:10569

>Recently I bought an sf novel from the Quality Paperback
>Book Club, Samuel R. Delany's "Stars in My Pocket Like Grains
>of Sand."  The book club's blurb had read something like:
>"drama of life, death and sexuality in the distant future."
>The problem I have with this is that the ad didn't disclose
>that the "sexuality" was predominantly gay sexuality.
>Despite some features of interest, I stopped reading the 
>book about half way through, when it became evident that just
>about all the romance and sex was to be gay.
       .
       .
       .
>to identify with the major characters.  This leads to my questions
>(at the risk of getting flamed as homophobic, etc.):
>
>1) Should ads for novels at least suggest whether the sex/romance
>   is predominantly straight or gay?  (I don't think this would be
>   necessary if the main themes are not romantic, such as novels
>   about social/political oppression.)
>
  This is only my opinion (that applies to everything I say here);
it makes no difference to me whether the sex in a novel is straight or
gay, unless I'm looking for pornography. In that case, I'd like to know
the sexual slant (that's usually not hard to figure out from the cover).
I too, read "Stars in My Pocket...", and I was indifferent at the sex scenes,
but they did not significantly affect my reaction to the book. I put it
down halfway through because it was a ponderous, unreadable mess.
I don't believe that the sex/romance was the major theme.

>2) Should it make any difference? In other words, should it have
>   mattered to me?
>
  There's no "should". If you dislike gay (or straight) sex, I can't think
of a compelling reason NOT to mention the type of sex on the cover of a novel.
After all, the box any appliance comes in tells you what color the
thing is... :-) Publishers, though, are not likely to identify novels in this 
manner because they hope to sell them to *everybody*. (If anyone has a good 
reason for disguising the sexual slant in a novel, please correct me.)

>3) Was it my fault for not remembering or knowing that Delany's
>   sf writing has a gay slant?
>
  Since it doesn't seem likely that it would be labeled as having a gay
slant, I guess it's your responsibility to either discover or remember that
Delany writes about gay characters.

  BTW, I met Samuel Delany at a S. F. Writer's of America party a few years
back (he tells everybody to call him Chip). We talked for a while, which was
a real thrill for me, because he's one of my favorites. He's a very warm, 
friendly person.

>4) Do I have a point in objecting to the way the book club advertised
>   the book?
>
  Maybe. Send them a letter, asking why the sexual bias wasn't specifically
mentioned. I'd guess that either they wanted people to buy it who wouldn't
if they knew the kind of sex in the book, or they wanted to show they don't
discriminate against gays, or both. Or maybe they just reprinted what Delaney's
publisher sent them, without reading the book. If it's important to you, ask
them to include sexual slant in ads in the future; maybe they'll do it.

>5) Was the book such a work of creative genious that it transcended
>   such considerations?
>
  Jesus Christ, no! However, there is another book by Delany, "The Einstein
Intersection", in which the sex is straight, gay, and hermaphroditic (something
for everybody! :-) ) which I think is worth reading even if you dislike sex
which isn't of your persuasion. The mood Delany creates in that one is 
fascinating. 
>--Henry Friedman

Alex Cannon
Boston University