All the Colors of the Rainbow

Welcome to the 2013 Hop AgainstHomophobia and Transphobia! More than three hundred authors, publishers and reviewers of LGBTQ-themed literature are joining this event, which runs from today until the 27^th of May. With our blog posts, comments and giveaways, we're celebrating International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17th). Our goal – to make as many people as possible aware of homophobia's costs, and to encourage them to honor, not fear, sexual diversity.

Last year's event focused only on M/M issues. This year we've expanded the scope to include all orientations under the LGBTQ umbrella, since lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals suffer from the same types of discrimination and harassment as gay men.

Our message is the same, though. We are humans first - gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight or queer second. And every human being deserves the same rights, the same freedoms, the same respect. When we condemn or oppress another individual because of his or her orientation, we are not only wronging that individual, but diminishing our own humanity.

Authors of LGBTQ-themed books have a big role to play in reducing homophobia, I believe. When a reader becomes emotionally involved with a LGBTQ character, he or she begins to realize that we're all far more alike than we are different. The greater visibility of gay and lesbian characters in literature and in media, especially characters who don't follow the stereotypes, has led to a greater acceptance of different sexual orientations, and a relaxation (at least in Western countries) of some of the legal and social barriers to equal rights. We authors feed this trend. I'm quite certain that the many women who read M/M romance have played a role in the recent advances in marriage equality, for instance. Slowly but steadily, we're helping to chip away at the old attitudes.

I'm personally thrilled by the more inclusive definition in this year's hop. I write not only M/M erotica and erotic romance but also lesbian and bisexual stories. I've written a couple of transexual secondary characters as well, and a tale featuring a transexual heroine is simmering on my mental back-burner. I also have a story idea I hope to develop, a science fiction love affair between a woman and a hermaphrodite. You might say that I write all the colors of the rainbow.

I'll step into controversial territory now, though, by saying that I sometimes find LGBTQ readers and writers less tolerant of diversity than I'd expect. Some M/M readers refuse to read anything else. I've had fans who love my gay books tell me that lesbian content is “icky”. Meanwhile, some F/F authors not only restrict themselves exclusively to tales about women with women, but also protest that a male could never write convincing lesbian fiction. I've had gay erotic romance rejected by M/M review sites because it incorporated half a page of heterosexual interaction.

Please! Isn't this a kind of reverse discrimination? In fact the guidelines for this hop exclude M/F authors. This actually bothers me a bit. Can't an author who focuses on straight relationships contribute to the effort to erase homophobia? Don't we need all the help we can get to fight bullying and secure equal rights for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation?

Anyway, my personal preference is to mix things up in my fiction. My most recent release, Rajasthani Moon, is primarily a M/F/M title, but it includes a bit of lesbian sex – first of all, because that fit the story, and second, because I personally found it arousing. I hesitated before adding this scene, worrying about alienating some readers. I may pay for this indulgence in lower sales. But ultimately, it was the right thing to do and I'll stand by my decision.

All the colors of the rainbow, to me, means the freedom to explore one's sexual preferences, whatever direction they might lead, without fear of being ostracized or otherwise punished. And for me, at least, sexual orientation is relative and variable. I'm attracted to individuals, not to a particular gender, and that's the way I write, too.

What do you think about this issue? Leave me a comment, with your email address. On the 28^th, I'll draw three winners. One will win a copy of my F/F romance Velvet. One will win a copy of the M/M anthology Gaymes, which includes my story Crossed Hearts. And in honor of the third winner, I'll make a $10 contribution to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund: http://www.lambdalegal.org/

I hope you'll visit at least some of the other participants in the Hop, too. You'll find links to all their posts below.