Compared to gay and lesbian teen fiction, sales of gay-themed books for younger children remain “very dicey and very different”. It has been proven that the majority of the LGBTQI people who have come out across social media have had an incline since their younger years. This topic is in no way advocating for strong gay-themes, but in line with the short film “In a Heartbeat”, themes of love and social acceptance should be made available to anyone who is questioning, without fear of prosecution.
That isn’t to say that there is no gay-themed literature circulating. A quick google search, across all ages, will list must-reads.
But there still persists a closeted mentality in revealing characters to be gay. It wasn’t until after the series had finished, that J.K. Rowling announced that Dumbledore was homosexual. Outside of mainstream literature, the only medium I have ever witnessed open homosexuality has been within comic books. Furthermore, many mythologies exhibit homosexual themes, and even consist of deities who were openly gay, or bisexual in nature. The very philosophers who have contributed to societies mainstream thinking, and understanding, partook in homosexual acts and love; Socrates, and Plato to name a few — and even wrote about gay love.
There are many factors that can answer why gay literature is still only mentioned quietly, even in today’s age many countries are still very conservative. But with the rise of opinionated millennial’s, who for our very credit ask why we must be a certain way, this stodgy mindset could change – in no small part to social media, and online influencers.
It’s time we brought more focus to these types of literature, and have them available for those in the community, or who may be questioning. But where do we start?
We start by writing some great fiction, and getting it self-published. If you know of any writers, or stories, message them below so that someone questioning or who is actively seeking gay-themed content, can connect with a character not usually seen in mainstream media. It’s time this genre came out of the closet.
I think this is an important discussion to have. As even though there are a plethora of queer characters that are occurring in literature, if they are the protagonist in literature it is often only unspoken, or allegorically suggested, and if they are openly queer then the text as a whole gets sidelined into Queer Literature, rather than remaining as mainstream literature. I think this is a disservice to today's youth that do appear to be more open minded and accepting. As with feminist literature, it really is only through the immersion of queer protagonists in mainstream literature and television that significant changes will start to occur. – SaraiMW7 years ago
What causes people to buy certain books, is it the author, the title or the book cover? Publishing houses aim to sell books and in doing that they are conscious of what is on the book cover. From the font of the title and authors name and any pictures that represent what the book is about, the publishers arrange all of this so that the cover will catch the eye of a potential buyer. So, do people focus more on how the cover looks or are they more interested in the actual story of the book?
On Goodreads, I occasionally come across readers who buy a book because of how gorgeous the cover is - and they later find out it's just a bad story in a pretty wrapping. (I myself have been guilty of this, which now makes me wary of buying a book based solely on its cover.) But I do think the author's name is a big factor; if you've read a good series/standalone by a certain author, you're more likely to purchase their newest publication, perhaps without even looking at the new story's synopsis because it's expected the newest venture will be just as well-written or funny or action-packed as the last one. Even if it's a flop or not as great, copies will still sell solely based on the success attached to the author's name. For example, I know people who bought J.K Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" simply because of her name on the cover, even though they were warned it was nothing like Harry Potter and they inevitably hated or gave up reading it. – Karen7 years ago
Good topic. So good that a really interesting book of scholarly essays has already been compiled on the subject. It's worth checking out if you're interested in paratextuality of this kind: Judging a Book by its Cover: Fans, Publishers, Designers, and the Marketing of Fiction (2007), ed. Nicole Matthews & Nickianne Moody. – ProtoCanon7 years ago
Obviously people are going to judge a book by its cover. We shouldn't, but it happens all the time. Covers are designed to grab our attention with the most marketable facets of the book. The only real way to combat a bad cover is good buzz circulating around the book community. – AGMacdonald7 years ago
Nice topic. We all can't help but judge a book by its cover occasionally. A good cover and title grabs our attention it makes us pick it up and read the description. I've noticed that I am more likely to buy or check out a book with a cover I like, but only if the story sounds interesting to me. I still pick up books even if I'm not a fan of the cover. – TooBusyReading7 years ago
This is a really interesting concept. In my study of black female street lit (sub genre of crime fiction), I noticed some interesting tensions between the cover of the novels - which were often hyper-sexualised , bold colour and graphic images - and the content of the books, which were much more nuanced and complex. This relationship, and the context of these books readerships - which are generally young black females, was really interesting to consider. Looking at specific examples of authors, genre and readerships would be really interesting to develop this concept! Thanks for bringing this up – izsy7 years ago
It's quite true, we certainly do judge books by their covers, and sometimes they can be so misleading. You might be interested in am essay called 'The Clothing Of Books' by Jhumpa Lahiri. She speaks about her experiences with books covers, both good and bad. – Ferix7 years ago
When I buy print copies, content and cover are equally determining factors. If the cover doesn't fit my tastes, I usually go for the cheaper e-book version. I have never bought a book solely because it looked nice, though. Definitely an interesting topic. – captom7 years ago
Magazines also try to entice potential readership with tantalising misleading covers. Book covers, with many now reverting to simple monochrome with just the title and author’s name, played an important part in attracting me to science fiction adventure fantasy stories. – Dr. Vishnu Unnithan4 years ago
The women in Faulkner’s novels are volatile characters (as most characters in his books are), but in a different way. The women are often stronger, more brusque, and generally independent, traits that the men in the novel wish they had. Specifically looking at The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, how do the women appear more "masculine" than the men they interact with? How does their masculinity positively and negatively affect their relationships with others?
1. Please, define "stronger," "brusque," and "independent." Examples will be greatly appreciated. – T. Palomino2 years ago
2. Please, elaborate the following: "traits that the men in the novel wish they had." Do these men actually say that or is it implied? Or is it something you, as a reader, perceive? – T. Palomino2 years ago
3. Please explain the following: "Women in Faulkner's novels are volatile characters, but in a different way." Different from what? From men? – T. Palomino2 years ago
How will the increasing move to online social worlds such as Facebook and Instagram influence the consumption and production of literature. Will the move from physical books to technological based formats change the way words and ideas influence us. Is the day of the long classic novels coming to an end? Is this move making written word more accessible to mass audiences. Will this inevitable cultural and technological shift be the dawning of a new age of literature, or the death of an ancient human practise?
Its clear the way we use them is evolving, I think it creates an opportunity for new techniques to be used by writers, like a painter discovering some new colours. Especially as a new realm of experiences to decipher and dramatise. – beekay7 years ago
I have read many books that have detailed futuristic worlds in which physical books are 'ancient, with yellowing pages and brittle spines' and wondered myself whether this vision of the future could, in fact, become truth, particularly with the creation of ebooks and the ever increasing ability to purchase texts online. – SophIsticated7 years ago
Would it be helpful to look at games and our ability to participate in the story - has their level of characterisation rivalled (or does it have the potential to rival) 'long classic novels'? – Els Lee7 years ago
How does the 2017 YA shortlist fare against the timeless classics? Is it full of another stream of overused and cliched story lines and characters, or has it emerged into a fresh line of strong protagonists and insightful morale messages?
Well, I don't know enough about the current short list to write this topic, but I'm definitely interested in what the writer comes up with. There are certainly plenty of clichéd storylines, especially in the dystopian genre. But I have seen some unique twists on familiar premises. – Stephanie M.7 years ago
Hmm, this should be interesting. After what I feel has been a pretty dry spell in YA novels in recent years, I'd be happy to see an uptick in originality for sure. – jaysongoetzz7 years ago
Teaching the Bible in any context, especially the classroom, is tricky. Teachers and professors have to be careful not to present the text in a devotional context, because not everyone is a devotee. However, the Bible is also a rich literary work; excerpts from it appear in many curriculums, especially World Literature textbooks. With this in mind, discuss the best way to teach the Bible as literature. For example, could certain parts of the Bible be paired with different classics (the story of David and Bathsheba Romeo and Juliet, excerpts from Revelation a time-honored apocalyptic or dystopian novel)? What would be your chosen pairings? Are there any parts you’d want to stay away from, or parts that lend themselves to literary teaching better than others?
Eschatology, the study of end times, as related to the dystopian future could be useful here. – Munjeera7 years ago
Thanks. I hope somebody writes this. I would, but as a Christian and religion/philosophy major, I'm probably too biased toward certain POVs. – Stephanie M.7 years ago
An overwhelming amount of critical literature has been produced on this subject; just type "bible as literature" (preferably with quotation marks retained) into a good library catalogue, and you'll find no lack of research materials. Though only a drop in the vast pool, one of the major influential writers on this subject (to my knowledge) is Northrop Frye. He'd probably be the best place to start for a novice. Also, a useful narratological concept which may be applied is Gérard Genette's "conditional fictionality" (see Fiction & Diction, p.24), which he proposes as a means of evaluating narratives which can be seen as "a true story for some and a fiction for others"; he goes on to cite mythology -- irrelevant to whether referring to the polytheism of antiquity or the monotheism of today -- as a prime example of this category, saying "one may accept a religious narrative as being both truthful and literary, in which case its literariness owes nothing at all to fictionality." Hope this helps. – ProtoCanon7 years ago
A mash-up novel (also called mashup or mashed-up novel), is a work of fiction which combines the text from pre-existing literature, often a classic work of fiction, with another genre, such as horror, into a single mashed-up narrative. Though the term itself wasn’t coined till about 2009, the first mash-up (of sorts) may have been "Move Under Ground" by Nick Mamatas, a 2004 novel combining the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The first mash-up proper was Seth Grahame-Smith’s hugely successful 2009 novel, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". Subsequent mash-up novels include "Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters", "Little Women and Werewolves" and "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" (also by Grahame-Smith), the last of which was adapted into a film of the same name. A more recent phenomenon within the genre is the combination of more than two original works, or genres, as in the case of Robinson Crusoe (The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope), which combines the original novel with elements borrowed from the works of H.P. Lovecraft as well as the popular genre of werewolf fiction, and is accordingly attributed to three authors – Daniel Defoe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Peter Clines. Mash-up novels are, by their very nature, derivative and lacking in creative substance … or am I being hypercritical? Is it all just a cheap marketing gimmick that’s doomed to die from lack of originality… or does the mash-up have potential creative legs to keep it running?
You knocked the nail on the head with this one. Often these books will coast along on the popularity of the source material and come off as a gimmick. – AGMacdonald7 years ago
I hope it isn't dying out! Maybe a more judicious choice of original source material could be considered - I think Jane Austen has been done to 'death', pardon the pun. – JudyPeters7 years ago
Difficult question. We will have to analyze specific titles and see how they work and what they achieve. But in general, these kinds of literary projects are just pop culture phenomena, and are not meant to last or become canon. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Children’s and young adult (YA) literature has exploded in recent decades, giving young people more reading options than ever. Additionally, young protagonists have more power than ever. Harry Potter is a wizard. Tris and Katniss from The Hunger Games are almost unstoppable heroines of dystopian societies. The Descendants protagonists are the magical offspring of Disney villains.
While these protagonists and their books are wonderful, they bring to mind a question: do today’s protagonists always need powers, magical and supernatural connections, or the high stakes of dystopia? Put more succinctly, do they always have to be "the chosen ones?" What does fiction for young people gain by putting protagonists in that position? Does it lose anything by not focusing on more common kid/teen issues? Or, do we actually have a good balance between powerful and ordinary protagonists in our current literature? Discuss using the above examples and any others that fit the topic.
This is definitely an interesting concept. As a writer, I find it's less and less common for regular protagonists to make an appearance, especially in teen fiction. I'm in the midst of writing a book with an ordinary protagonist, and the biggest comments I've gotten back on the beginning of the book is that the protagonist is normal, and that he shouldn't be. We've gotten into a tradition of extraordinary protagonists, and I think it's important to bring back the ordinary kid protagonist. – LilyaRider7 years ago
I'm also a writer, and one of the things I constantly have to remind myself of is, it's ultimately my story. Some critiques are valid and some are not. Calling a character "too normal" is not, IMHO, a valid critique. Now, if "normal" means "boring," as in undeveloped and flat, then that needs to be fixed. But personally, I miss normal protagonists. I miss the average kid or teen who stumbles into adventure, maybe didn't even want it, and struggles with what to do. I miss characters who can't do everything well, who make mistakes, who do something that doesn't involve saving the world. I wonder, in fact, if all these larger-than-life characters are making real kids feel like they aren't good enough. – Stephanie M.7 years ago
Patrick Ness wrote a book called 'The Rest of us Just Live Here', which is from the perspective of the 'ordinary kids' in a school full of heroes. It was quirky and thought provoking. Heroic child protagonists do seem to be the current trend, though.
– JudyPeters7 years ago
I'm gonna have to investigate that book... :) – Stephanie M.7 years ago
