Interview With an Agenda

[gehayi]

Yesterday I read an interview in Out Magazine with alex_beecroft and erastes--and a commentary on the interview here.

I'm afraid that the interview and the commentary are not very accurate and are, in some ways, rather offensive. The Gawker article starts off this way:

It's a bit of a joke that straight guys are into "hot girl-on-girl action," but what's new is the

Comments

[rubygirl29]

I loved your rant! You hit all the right buttons, just as the interviewer hit all the wrong ones.

I stopped making assumption about women and why they read/write slash or m/m romance, the day a little old lady and I had a discussion about Suze Brockmann's books featuring a gay couple. She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye when I told her that that particular book did feature some discreet, gay sex. She said, "Oh, I think Jules and Robin are hot! I nearly fell over.

I agree 100% that writers can write what they want, what is right for the characters, what works. And the same goes for readers. Sometimes, I'll read a traditional romance novel because the characters intrigue me, sometimes I'll read testosterone-laden thrillers - and it's not because I want to be a guy with a gun, or a woman swept away by Prince Charming. It's my choice!

I don't write slash because I want to be a man, or I'm denying my femininity. I write slash because it's the story. I've set out to write gen stories that turned into slash, and slash stories that I decided needed to be gen.

I would tell the interviewer (who is a dreadful writer, BTW), to stop trying to analyze in order to create sensationalism, and work on his own skills. And just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's bent.

So, I've added my rant to yours. I was insulted on all levels, as a writer, as a woman, as a reader, by the tone of the interview. What a putz!

'Nough said by me.

[gehayi]

I don't write slash because I want to be a man, or I'm denying my femininity. I write slash because it's the story. I've set out to write gen stories that turned into slash, and slash stories that I decided needed to be gen.

YES. THIS.

I would tell the interviewer (who is a dreadful writer, BTW), to stop trying to analyze in order to create sensationalism, and work on his own skills. And just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's bent.

Wilson seems to make a habit of vilifying subjects of her articles.

I was insulted on all levels, as a writer, as a woman, as a reader, by the tone of the interview. What a putz!

A-fucking-MEN. Perfect description.

[spindriftdancer]

So, you mean to say that was Cintra Wilson trying to be *nice*?

Hmm.

She needs to practice a little bit, maybe.

[gehayi]

No, I think she learned her lesson about being nasty with the J.C. Penney article, so she was trying to push the envelope here and see how much she could get away with. She suggests far more than she actually says, and what she mostly suggests is that she's thought ever so much more about feminism, womanhood and sexuality than the writers.

[spindriftdancer]

Hey, she's kind of like that poison pen journalist from Harry Potter, isn't she?? What was her name again?

Too bad we can't turn *her* into a beetle to teach her a lesson ;p

[dharma_slut]

Showing up a little bit late here, as the links filter through the blogosphere.

But you know-- wikipedia can be edited. I think there should be one more "controversy" added into that section on wikipedia!