Message Board Topic For 4/23

[Topaz]

We've all read many of these stories online since we've run across them. Many of us have even taken to writing our own, putting our own thoughts and emotions into words for other people to read. Some of the folks who do read these works regularly can be pretty impressionable when it comes to a subject like this. (And I'm not just talking about underage teenagers. Adults too.) Being a homosexual can be an uphill battle for a lot of people, and finding a story or series that truly relates to them and makes them free can be a highly influential experience.

 

The question is...do you think that these stories might have a possible 'negative' impact on the people who read them?

 

Do you think it encourages certain behaviors? Maybe it advocates casual sex? Maybe it sets false standards and hopes for that magical romance? Maybe it inspires a poor self image for people who aren't always slim and blond and 18 years old with a bubble butt and bright eyes? It may even cause a slight depression in people who are looking for something special, and just can't seem to find it? No matter what the case is...do you feel that the stories and their authors should take some responsibility for what they write and what effects it has on people reading it? Let us know your thoughts.

[Graeme]

I can see the point, but I think it can be exaggerated. Most people know they are reading fiction and that it doesn't represent reality. They can dream that it happens to them, but most won't get false expectations from the stories. Some will, but I don't think the author can be held responsible for that.

 

Many people read for escapism (it's probably one of the reasons I read huge amounts of fantasy and science fiction when I was a teenager). They don't want reality -- they want to dream. There will always be a few that think their dreams will become reality, but that's true in all fields of endeavour (think of the aspiring football player who thinks they'll make it to the NFL -- most won't, but is it wrong to dream? No, but it IS wrong to expect....). Some of the questions above could also be raised at the large Romance book marketplace, where there are endless stories of dream romances. I think we have to accept that they are generally harmless. Closeted gays may get more into a story than the typical straight romance reader, but the vast majority are not going to take more out of it than a feeling of happiness.

 

To write something that has a universally positive impact I think is impossible. When I think of the stories I read and enjoyed only a few years ago, I knew they weren't reality, but they helped me accept myself. Overall, they had a positive impact and I think that suffices.

[JamesSavik]

In my own work, I don't think so. I try to put up some big red signs around dangerous places that read "thar be dragons here".

 

There are several issues that do concern me.

 

First- I fear that some young people will be motivated to come out who shouldn't and it will lead them to disaster. Coming out can be, and usually is, a good experience for most people. However, there is a sizable minority of kids with fundamentalist or otherwise nutty parents who would be opening the gates of hell for themselves if they came out. They could be exposing themselves to quack therapy and all sorts of abuse at the hands of intolerant or otherwise ignorant parents without any recourse since they are under 18. Some stories paint too rosy a picture of gay life: everybody gets the guy of their dreams, gets rich and live happily ever after. While I'm not opposed to happy endings, I am afraid that they are few and far between in the real world.

 

Second- I wouldn't want my work or anyone else's to inspire any young people to enter into sexual relationships before they are emotionally read. In many stories, the hero finds the love of his life in seventh grade. In the real world, kids that start out that young are in for a lot of challenges. The very people who are supposed to protect teens from harm, the law, labels adolescents having sex as delinquents. While teenagers have been having sex since there have been teenagers, American society is entirely too neurotic about sex in general to handle str8 kids having sex. The very idea of gay teens having gay sex makes ordinarily sane people nuts.

 

Finally- our community faces many serious challenges: AIDS, discrimination, bigotry, homophobia, discriminatory laws, our relationships are not recognized by law and our communities rate of chemical dependency is triple the national average. I know that a lot of people are reading for escapism but as writers, we don't do ourselves or our community any favors by failing to acknowledge the pack of 800 pound gorillas that assail us. It isn't necessary to write all depressing and sad stories per see. I believe that a good writer can write a good story while acknowledging those challeges that we all face as individuals and as a community. Those problems and challenges that we face provide an endless well of drama if we have the imagination and courage to face them.

[TonyM]

When I first discovered gay themed stories, I already knew enough about my own situation that I shouldn't expect everything to be rainbows and kittens. I quickly came to realize that most of the stories where everyone was perfect, their families accepted them and fell in love with the hottest guy around held little interest to me. I quickly grew bored with them. I really enjoy the stories with some type of drama in them. Even the stories I do like where everything is perfect, I gave me hope that I would someday be able to find just a little bit of it myself. It took several years, but ever since I decided to stop hiding in the closet I've never been happier. Even when I had only come out to a couple people, others noticed that I appeared happier. Do I expect to meet the guy of my dreams and live happily ever after because that's what happens in many of the stories? Absolutely not!

[Madbomber]

I have to slightly disagree with what Graeme said. I have a saying that I use quite often in life. HOPE for the best, but EXPECT the worst. So, I don't think it's wrong to expect, just wrong to expect gumdrops and candy canes all the time. I got this saying from being in the military for eight years. If something could go wrong, it would. So I found that if I always expected the worst, it wasn't so bad when it actually came. As for writing uplifting stories, hell no is it wrong. f**K all that political correctness bullshit. Sorry to sound harsh, but I really hate it when people try to please everyone. I say, if you don't like what's on the television, change the channel. And if you're trying to protect your kids, then teach them what's real and what isn't and let them fend for themselves. If people get so sucked in to stories on line and can't distinguish between fiction and nonfiction, well then, they have counselors for that.

 

Sorry about that, kind of went off on a tangent I think. I had a rough night at work. But I won't take back what I said. In a nutshell, write what makes you feel good and what might make others feel good too. You don't think Tolken worried about whether or not people were going to think there were really Hobits and Orks in the world do you? No, it's fiction, just write it as such. Let the reader beware. Good thread though. Later, Me.

[Graeme]

I have to slightly disagree with what Graeme said.

Thank you! I worry when too many people agree with me -- it makes me think we're all suffering from the same delusions.

 

I don't have a problem with what you've said Ultimately, every reader is different and takes something different from the stories. The same applies to every writer.