Working at Barnes and Noble, I've had a chance to notice things I wouldn't have otherwise. One thing I've noticed is the amount of women writing about sex, or porn for women, or so on that's out there. Oh, I've known about romance novels, but these are shelved in fiction/literature, or on big displays in sci-fi (I'm looking at you, Laurel K. Hamilton), not in the little "romance novel" ghetto shelves. I could speculate about this meaning greater acceptance of women's sexuality or something, but the root reason is probably because it sells. One publisher makes money with it, another hires somebody to write a similar book and there you go. But still, it seems odd to me.
I guess it could be my patriarchal upbringing, threatened by women or something, but I don't really feel threatened. Confused, kinda, since porn for guys isn't sold in "reputable" bookstores, or when it is, it's tame stuff like Playboy, and hidden up on the top of the magazine rack, in the back. (Yes, I know, teh nekkidness, but I've never understood how, exactly, the sight of a naked body is supposed to scar kids for life. Especially in these days of the Internet, when the cover of Playboy is positively tame.) Also, I'm confused because where were all these women when I was a teenager and in college? Or, heck, now? The answer to that, of course, is places I'm not, out doing things. Or they could even be right in front of me, and I wouldn't notice or know, since I wouldn't ask, and I'm unattractive, poor, shy, and uninteresting, so they wouldn't have any reason to tell me.
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