[ SECRET POST #5103 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5103 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



__________________________________________________



02. https://i.imgur.com/tY3l0Jf.png
[OP warned for NSFW classical art]


__________________________________________________


03.
[venom/venom 2 (movie)]


__________________________________________________



04.
[Helluva Boss]


__________________________________________________






















05. [SPOILERS for Mandalorian]



__________________________________________________



06. [SPOILERS for Mandalorian]



__________________________________________________



07. [WARNING for mention of incest/underage]



__________________________________________________



08. [WARNING for mention of rape/abuse]



__________________________________________________



09. [WARNING for mention of abuse]


















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #730.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[feotakahari]

The whole thing feels incredibly consumerist. Sell more books about gay people! Spend more money on books about gay people! Create more Twitter posts telling your followers to buy these books about gay people!

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Yes! It really does. The big change that needs to happen imo is that the people commisioning and financing shows should be looking for talented story tellers and actors from a range of backgrounds. The quality should be more important than anything else.

[(Anonymous)]

(Cozy Werewolf Anon)

It's very hashtag generated and 'we care' and 'money money money' feeling. "Do you love gay content? I'm writing gay content! I'm gay!"

The gatekeeping on ownvoices too. -wince-

Then you read the summaries and it feels very checkboxey geared towards a very specific reader who... aren't actually gay.

As a bisexual who isn't writing gay books it can make me feel guilty I'm not jumping on this bandwagon and then I have to remind myself... "your sexuality isn't the core of your identity, nor is it for your characters."

And my dad, who doesn't know I'm Bi and is a conservative christian, reads my books so if/when I do write something like that, I'll have to make up a new name and not tell him. You know. Right now, I've got spoons FOR two series of books and I'm not branding them as "gay werewolves" so, yeah.

[(Anonymous)]

Why does it have to be GAY werewolves and not a horror story that includes lgbtq people? I mean queer characters are nice to have, but a story either has the interesting big idea or it doesn't.

[(Anonymous)]

(Cozy Werewolf Anon)

Okay, that's 2 different types of marketing. I agree with you, I would prefer "Fun Adventure/Drama Story about werewolves who happen to have -insert sexuality/minority/disability/neurodivergent behavior-." And so, I market them as "genre cool creature" first (aka cozy werewolf dramas) and leave it up to the reader to find out what the different characters are race, sexuality, or whatever as it is important to the story.

What original commentor and I were commenting more about is the type of book marketing/branding, often found in romance and/or YA but not always, where the not heteronormative/cis-whiteness/european culture is USED as the SELLING point. "You want African centered media, read this!" Often coming under the hashtag "ownvoices." Instead of feeling like a fun story with characters who happen to have representation, the core of the book is "it's gay and you should like it."

If it's a good STORY, no one outside the -phobes are going to hate it if they enjoy that particular type of story. It won't matter that the main character is a purple cat being of a race with four genders as long as they are having fun adventures. But if you spend the entire book focused solely/centered around on the fact it's a purple cat being of a race with four genders and the stereotypical things that came with it, well, it's going to feel pandering.

-gestures vaguely Happiest Season- Versus -gestures at Last Holiday-

Branding/Marketing is hugely important to find an audience. It's just as important as what is in the book. And there is a lot of unintentional pressure (even in the casual werewolf community or even the casual indie author community a lot of whom are gay) to produce gay content. And as an author, you at some point have to go "I can't do everything. You have to do something. If you want XYZ, please write it. My hands are FULL."

[(Anonymous)]

Ayrt: I frankly don't have time or money to spend on stuff that doesn't have a great review or a superlative sample. And now that I'm spoiled for choice, I don't have to.

That said, I treat complaints that a work is too gay with a grain of salt. Often it's not, and the relatively rare queer-centered works often have interesting ideas.

[(Anonymous)]

As another Bi person that doesn't write about being Bi or other Queer content. I kind of agree...

I mean, I think it's great that other writers are writing about the LGBTQ+ experience, but I just feel guilty for not doing the same.

[(Anonymous)]

(Cozy Werewolf Anon)

Solidarity hug.

It's okay to have like an author theme/message to your books and it doesn't have to be your sexuality. I write about family and hopefully healthy family dynamics and yes, at some point I want to have the lesbian werewolf couple with a litter of kids, or a teenager going "I'm gay" and being accepted. But oh MY GOD, I'm still digging through the toxicity of hetero normal relationships. A teaspoon at a time, please! Emotional labor is labor!

Give yourself a little grace. Write what makes you excited and happy. If it ends up being bi or queer, yay! If not, yay! You only have so much energy. Spend it on what sparks joy.

[(Anonymous)]

I have no problem with writing about my sexuality in order to sell, given that before the issue was that people had to refrain from writing about my sexuality in order to sell.

[(Anonymous)]

It's that really what's happening? I feel like inclusive sff (with some foot dragging at the feature film level) is the new normal today, when it wasn't even a decade ago.