A Question to Ponder

[hrj]

This will become more relevant when I write a review of the book I'm currently reading, but for your general consideration:

When a fantasy author writes something characterizable as a "lesbian fairy tale", why does the reading public seem to demand more justification for the presence of lesbians than for the presence of fairies?

Comments

[eowyna.livejournal.com]

because they don't disbelieve in lesbians?

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Um ... that's the whole point. If one doesn't disbelieve in lesbians, why would one consider them less inherently plausible as plot elements than one would consider fairies to be? It's like swallowing FTL travel but balking at the idea of other inhabitable planets.

[ursula]

It's a genre thing, surely. An axiom of fantasy novels is that fairies might show up. You won't buy the book if that assumption drives you up the wall.

[eowyna.livejournal.com]

I still think it is because they can suspend their disbelief about the existence of fairies, knowing in their heart of hearts that they are not real -- but they can't disbelieve in lesbians, much as they probably say that they do.

So - those talking probably profess that lesbians don't exist, but in their heart of hearts, are afraid they do.

I understand that the James Bond movie with the Space shuttle was considered more unrealistic for the use of the space shuttle as a setting than for all the other fantastic stuff he did. But the space shuttle does exist, and those other mad inventions did not.

[eowyna.livejournal.com]

Or maybe it's because the fairy fantasies of those complaining don't include lesbians. Their fantasies probably don't include ethnic groups that the readers don't consider cool, either.