ladybusiness | (Reply)

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I kind of think there are still what I'd call 'SFF mainstream' stories being published that fill the world at least with lesbian, gay or bi characters. Idk I have difficulty defining SFF mainstream because there's what's mainstream to everyone who doesn't read a lot of SFF (like Guardians of the Galaxy) and there's the mainstream for people who are already in SFF. Maul, published by Orbit in 2003 is probably the best example I can pull to mind. Jo Walton's Small Change books were published by Tor in 2007 and reissued in 2014. The Summer Prince was a huge hit in 2013 and I'd say definitely SFF YA mainstream(although that contains the death of a main bi-character) is about a world where gay and bi relationships are all around. And maybe Hurley counts as mainstream - at least in the SFF web world (although again character deaths)? Maybe Nalo Hopkinson's output in the 2000's would fit here (although I haven't read anything except The Chaos yet), although I'm never sure how mainstream those books are even in SFF circles.

I don't list these books to go 'see, you're wrong'. I named, what, eight books when thousands are published each year and billions exist - come on, that is not enough or even a positive pattern. I still think these books are few and far between and that you have to dig to find them. And then you have to dig again the find the ones you'll like. And even those books I did name have their own troublesome stuff going on. I'm commenting more to offer some hope that this isn't about an impenetrable wall of modern publishing disinterest which would be pretty depressing because it's so difficult to change. Instead, I say 'sometimes people will put out stuff like this, but it's still a really hard road'. Which, I don't know if it's helpful? It's small comfort I know and it shouldn't be this way at all :(