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From: hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.women
Subject: Women in sf/fantasy summary
Message-ID: <1662@teklds.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Feb-86 01:17:35 EST
Article-I.D.: teklds.1662
Posted: Thu Feb 20 01:17:35 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Feb-86 02:58:14 EST
Reply-To: hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 124
Keywords: Part 3
Xref: lsuc net.sf-lovers:6066 net.women:4327


                    **General comments of interest.**

barb@oliveb
   "..I was irritated by Elizabeth Lynn's work, because I felt she
was beating me over the head with her gay is ok characters.  Personally,
I DON'T CARE!  It was not integral to the plot -- let the story tell itself,
don't PROVE into the ground an aside point."

davidl@teklds
>>7. Will you continue to read novels about bi/gay female protaganists
>>   even when plainly detailed on the cover?
"Yes.  Actually, I think the whole idea of labeling the type of sex in the
book can, if taken to extremes, lead to silly labels like this: 

	+-----------------------------------------------------+
	|						      |
	|                       WARNING			      |
	|						      |
	|     Contains descriptions of sexual activities      |
	|						      |
	|  [] Heterosexual		[] Homosexual	      |
	|  [] Interracial		[] Interspecies	      |
	|  [] Oral 			[] Anal		      |
	|  [] Bestiality 		[] Bondage	      |
	|  [] Sadism 			[] Masochism	      |
	|  [] Fetishism 		[] Voyeurism	      |
	|  []_________________   	[]_________________   |
	|						      |
        |  If you are offended by any of the acts indicated   |
        |    by checked boxes, do not purchase this book.     |
	|						      | :-)
	+-----------------------------------------------------+

I'm sure that some people out there would even consider this label offensive.
I think that there's someone bound to be offended by ANYTHING you can put in a
book, and it's not the publisher's responsibility to explain exactly what's in
each book.  That's what reviewers are for.  There are even specialized 
reviewers in publications directed to parents and conservative people,
dedicated to pointing out material these people might find offensive
(presumably so they can avoid it).

Not afraid to sign my name, but with tongue firmly implanted in cheek:
[ommitted]


ellen@reed
**Would you, as a reader, prefer your heroines be gay? Bi? Straight?**
"I prefer that the possibility of alternate sexuality exist.
However, I do not need the heroine to *have* an active sexual
life in order to enjoy a book.  Since there are rather more
strong bi/gay heroines, I often end up reading about them.
That's perfectly fine.  What I *really* hate is heroines like
Heinlein's who start out strong and end up clinging and
screaming.  What a waste of a good character."

jody@inuxd
	"The female protagonist, I would like is well educated
but not a brain, is straight but not victumized but men nor
having casual sex here and there.  She is motivated but has
to work around the system in some way-- creatively (sex is out too
boring).  In a sence a normal female.  Well normal may not be
a good work--what is normal??  But nothing special about her
except her own personality, that way when she does something 
in the story it really seems wonderful.  I guess it is because
I think gee maybe I could be like that one day...or...
I will never be superwoman if for no other reason then I am
to small in stacher, and I can not believe in a universe
that would make unfeminin females."


[login name ommitted. -ed.]
>5. Would you, as an author, prefer your heroines be gay? Bi? Straight?
"This is tricky.  I'm a male bisexual author: as such, I'm exposed to many
facets of women's sexuality: I may sleep with straight/bi women; I raise
my consciousness with women of all preferences; and so on.  However, I'm
not a woman: this (I find) makes writing about the intimate (not necessarily
*sexually* intimate) experiences of women difficult.  It's not very often,
therefore, that I write about them (though I'm doing so increasingly), and
not because of any separatist feeling."


li@fluke
"Interesting article.  As for most of the questions, I'll give the simple
answer "It depends on the character."  Just as I would withhold judging
a person if I were just given their sexual preferance.  There is a lot
of fascination with the complexities involved with sex of any kind, and
the twist of bi- or homo- sexuality is sometimes fun and filled with all
the connotations of the words.  But I really don't think that a woman
has to be bi- or lesbian just because she is stonger mentally or physically
than a lot of men."
                             and
        ...."I think that, at this moment, people are just discovering
that side of sexuality and all the following developments that go with
them.  I think that it may be a trend, as in trendy, but I think that it
will slow up eventually; but at the moment authors are exploring the
possibilities."

                          END

		My deepest thanks to:

			STella Calvert
			Anne Marie Quint
			Barb Jernigan
			Chuck Koelbel
			Mary Couse
			David D. Levine
			Ellen Eades
			Liralen Li
			Charlie Sorsby
			Trevor K. Flory

And other contributers whom I was unable to identify.

Shalom
Hank Buurman


    Hank Buurman      Tektronix Inc.      ihnp4!tektonix!tekla!hankb
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    "The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long, and you
   have burned so very very brightly, Roy". -- Dr. Tyrell, Tyrell Corp.
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