tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post7695149780804303074..comments2024-01-08T22:45:33.445-08:00Comments on The Bi and Lesbian Romance Book Reader: Review- Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway ScottLVLM(Leah)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02967270446547400006noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-73174054841216683362010-02-22T14:45:25.594-08:002010-02-22T14:45:25.594-08:00It's a tricky situation because I can imagine ...<i>It's a tricky situation because I can imagine all sorts of scenarios when or if a totally up until now straight person suddenly finds themselves attracted to the same sex. So many things taken for granted would suddenly be an issue, like family and social acceptance. These are things that a person who has been bi or gay since they were teens has come to deal with and so while it's still an issue, they are somewhat used to it. Whereas, a person just waking up to being gay or bi could have all kinds of conflicts about what that means to them outside of the actual love story. </i><br /><br />*shrugs* Again, this is just my opinion, but I truly believe this depends on the individual. <br /><br />While I myself am not GBLT, I have close GBLT friends and family members, I've expressed support for the community through popular events in my area. I think, were I to experience a positive, mutual attraction to a woman...I just don't think it would be a big deal to me. I would not entertain concerns about what my family thought or what society thought.<br /><br />Maybe that's why I get put off by stories that do angst about those aspects of GBLT self-discovery. They just don't "ring true" to me.<br /><br />It would seem to me if one was experiencing real fear and concern about a change in sexual identity, that might be a sign the change isn't "right" for them. Again, just my opinion.M.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03927406376034120121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-77612432930601447952010-02-22T12:17:48.415-08:002010-02-22T12:17:48.415-08:00Should the writer make a point of chronically ment...<i>Should the writer make a point of chronically mentionning, "And Mary normally did not feel this way for boys." How many times should it be addressed before it sounds a bit silly?</i><br /><br />Yeah, I would agree that pronouncing it over and over is over kill. Heh. But I guess it would all depend on how deep in the closet the formerly completely straight person was and what their feelings about homosexuality are. <br /><br />It would get tiring to me if a straight character had an intense same-sex attraction and kept going on about the oddity of the attraction over and above what they feel. I can deal with that for a while, but if the suddenly bi or lesbian character doesn't come to terms pretty quickly, then yeah, I get annoyed. <br /><br />It's a tricky situation because I can imagine all sorts of scenarios when or if a totally up until now straight person suddenly finds themselves attracted to the same sex. So many things taken for granted would suddenly be an issue, like family and social acceptance. These are things that a person who has been bi or gay since they were teens has come to deal with and so while it's still an issue, they are somewhat used to it. Whereas, a person just waking up to being gay or bi could have all kinds of conflicts about what that means to them outside of the actual love story.LVLM(Leah)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01344785501583933784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-3151964392786798562010-02-22T12:06:12.567-08:002010-02-22T12:06:12.567-08:00I agree with your points. I could see a character ...I agree with your points. I could see a character (or a RL person) being surprised to experience same sex attraction if it's something new to them. And I think writers can and should handle the concept with sensitivity. There's a first time for everything.<br /><br />To me, the "litmus test" of a potential scenario in a nontraditional relationship is to compare it to a traditional relationship.<br /><br />To elaborate: Mary experiences attraction for Joe. Mary has never experienced attraction for another boy, before.<br /><br />Should the writer make a point of chronically mentionning, "And Mary normally did not feel this way for boys." How many times should it be addressed before it sounds a bit silly? <br /><br />It's easy for me to say this -- talk is cheap -- but I truly believe that, were I ever to experience romantic attraction for a female, the "novelty factor" would probably be very brief. More like, "OK, I'm really into her. She's a she. That's different. All right. Moving right along." <br /><br />I found it particularly odd in "Duchess" because, truly, Sarah and Anne's relationship was so intimate even without sexual involvement. From the time they were very young (tweens and teens) they ate together, played together, lived together. It just seemed odd to me that Sarah could separate the sexual intimacy as something "other" from the rest of it. <br /><br />And yes, bisexuality was tolerated among the upper class in this particular era. Charles II had a mistress, Maria Mancini, who cross-dressed in court. They were on-again off-again, and at one point, when they were Off-again, she seduced his daughter. Truth really is stranger than fiction. LOLM.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03927406376034120121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-871910147674653622010-02-22T11:16:18.528-08:002010-02-22T11:16:18.528-08:00Crap, I don't know what's up with blogger,...Crap, I don't know what's up with blogger, or maybe Google, but I can't copy and paste a quote now. I get this weird page that comes up. Ugh.<br /><br />Anyway, I wanted to comment on the treating of f/f with regard to bisexuals in that "Protest too much syndrome" you mentioned. <br /><br />I think you are probably right in that when it comes to authors who want to portray a bisexual outside of having to talk about the specifics of love and sex with a same-sex partner, they do try to downplay it or act as if it's just a blip in the person's character.<br /><br />But I think it depends on the author and how they do it. I can imagine that for some women who do discover at some point in their life that they are bisexual or bi-curious that it is a shock and that they would react in such a way as to subtly deny it by downplaying it or acting like it is a freak thing. "I'm really attracted to you but I've never been into women" kind of thing. <br /><br />This would be a normal reaction until the character could warm up to or come to terms with something that they feel shocked about.<br /><br />I'm not saying that in this case because you prefaced or explained that during these times, bisexuality was not considered something weird or scandalous. So in this case, yeah, the author, to keep this book from being a GLBT story might have written Sarah in that light. <br /><br />I'll try to read this book one day. You've made me very curious. While I do enjoy historicals, I have absolutely no knowledge of these time periods so I wouldn't know if the author is off or not. But on your recommend, I'd read it as authentic.LVLM(Leah)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01344785501583933784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-21993273160117324552010-02-22T10:16:52.099-08:002010-02-22T10:16:52.099-08:00It's a great story. Scott did a fantastic job ...It's a great story. Scott did a fantastic job with research and with capturing the era. <br /><br />Even though I did not like Sarah personally, I liked this novel. I guess it helped that, at the end, she sort of got her "comeuppance" for taking advantage of Anne's affection, although Sarah herself is too egomaniac to recognize the fact. <br /><br /><br />The main issue I have with "Duchess" and with some other F/F books is it contained a lot of what I call "protest too much syndrome." When portraying a female bisexual, some female authors seem to need to state things like, "Although (the character) preferred men, she was not averse to a woman's touch." <br /><br />I recognize this kind of ambivalence because I wrote like that myself in my earliest fem slash manuscripts. I think it reflects the author's fear of being mistaken for GBLT. <br /><br />After reading my own manuscripts I realized how irksome it is to read that kind of thing. I mean, imagine falling in love with and having sex with someone who "normally you wouldn't like as much as being with a different gender." It's the equivalent of Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth Bennett, "I love you...even though your family is impoverished and inferior in rank and behavior to my expectations."M.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03927406376034120121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987282986651733585.post-86594803928187470612010-02-22T07:44:30.337-08:002010-02-22T07:44:30.337-08:00Nice review Mia. This looks like a really good boo...Nice review Mia. This looks like a really good book. I rather like that the relationship between Anne and Sarah seems to come across as realistic and complex. <br /><br />I'd definitely read this one.LVLM(Leah)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01344785501583933784noreply@blogger.com