Heated Rivalry has pushed gay romance as a genre into the mainstream eye, which of course means we must now be subjected to an endless stream of video essays and thinkpieces about whether certain demographics (women, straight men, people who aren’t into hockey) are “allowed” to like it.
I do understand why this happens. Capitalist society in general (and USAmerican culture in particular) likes to frame consumption as a political act. This, among other things, fosters a desire for one’s consumption habits to convey the “correct” politics; if voting with your wallet is the only real vote you have, then buying the wrong thing — or even buying the right thing for the wrong reasons (voyeurism, ignorance, horniness, etc.) — makes you a bad person. Add to that the perennial audience desire for fictional characters’ experiences and values to perfectly reflect one’s own experiences and values, and you create a perfect storm of derangement in which reading about someone who isn’t like you is somehow stealing from people who aren’t like you.
This is stupid. Thought crime isn’t real. The point of fiction is to explore a point of view outside your own. If you needed me to tell you that, I’m glad I told you that. And speaking as someone who writes this stuff, I don’t particularly care who engages with my art or why — I just care that they’re doing it.
Yes, even if they’re jerking off to it. That’s their business, not mine.
New Short Story: “Covert Entry”
Sebastian, sitting next to Jay on the sofa, reminded him, “You wanted to learn how to pick locks.”
Jay’s exact words at the time had been “How hard could it be?”
In the latest interlude of The Casefile of Jay Moriarty, Jay learns a new skill and Sebastian is up to something.
This Week’s Links
‘A Directive From Above’: Former NYT Editor Lays Out How The Paper Pushes Anti-Trans Bigotry
Trans communities have known, and sounded the alarm, about the NYT’s increasingly anti-trans stance for years. Sadly, too many cis people have ignored these warnings, especially as many of the details have often remained obscured behind the paper’s extensive corporate hierarchy and established reputation.
The great Ministry of Defence-to-Palantir pipeline
When openDemocracy approached Palantir to ask about its recent hires from the Ministry of Defence, it responded via a spokesperson who worked at the Ministry of Defence in 2015/16.
Prior Lake woman arrested with bag of drugs labeled ‘Definitely not a bag full of drugs’
When police asked the woman if she’d been drinking, she responded with, “A lot.” She added she took a Jagerbomb just before driving and had been drinking Jameson and Red Bulls. A breathalyzer test came back with a blood alcohol content of 0.195, more than twice the legal limit.
Police arrested the woman, who told them they were going to “find a bunch of s**t” in her car.
Not to be all Bluesky liberal about it, but if you’re worried about watching boys kiss and whether it makes you a bad person while all this is going on, maybe worry about something else.
-K
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