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Without further ado, here are the links
to the articles I referenced in the panel for those who were there.
I'll explain them to the readers who weren't below the links in the
blog:
My apologies for the delay. This was my
first convention in a number of years. It's taken me a while to get
settled and catch up on my life. I'm slower than I once was.
For those who weren't at Yaoicon last
weekend, I shall now tell the saga of the panel, Why Can't No Mean
No?
I hadn't planned on running a panel.
This was my very first ever Yaoicon. I was hoping to meet some
favorite authors (and to my absolute delight, I did, but that's for
the next blog) and hopefully, do some networking for Ensnared and my
other titles. Conventions that have as many years in operation as
Yaoicon does have groups that know each other well. The last thing I
wanted to do on a first visit is to alienate people I want to make
friends with by flouncing in with a controversial take on a very
sensitive topic. But I literally asked for it.
The three instigating events began with
me having insomnia which I often have of late. I was trolling through
the various yaoi forums and ended up in a spirited discussion (or
actually, a fight) with a webcomic critic whom I thought said some
terribly unfair things about a comic I like a great deal. The critic
said that
Starfighter Webcomic was nothing but a story about a
psychopath who is constantly raping his co-pilot. The critic cited a
page where the pair kiss for the first time and called that rape. I
am not a fan of non-consensual couplings in fiction, and I consider
myself very sensitive to an imbalance of power between characters and
the least bit of coercion involved in the seduction. I not only
didn't see this in
Starfighter, I found it to be a very
sophisticated depiction of power exchange. There are reams of subtext
beneath each page of story. The relationship is unfolding with an
incredible subtlety. I changed no minds in that argument, but it
bothered me. The critic maintained that all the yaoi she ran into was
somehow about rape.
That same week, or at least it seemed
that was the case, a fellow publisher posted a link on her Facebook
from the website TV Tropes which covers all things pop culture
related. She was excited that the columnist knew what yaoi was. I was
impressed with that, but not so happy that the writer said that all
yaoi published in the US had rape as a theme. Now, all their readers
thought the same thing.
On the heels of that nocturnal battle,
I was searching for a new cover artist for my books. I needed to have
the covers more closely match the artwork we were using in a live
action version of one of the books. I had a new title coming out, and
decided to have one artist do them all. The artist I wanted had a
stipulation that I had to meet before she agreed to take the job. I
had to give her synopses of the work to show that I had no
non-consensual relationships in the books. She had very compelling
reasons that I very much respected. Fortunately, I do no write that
short of pairing at all. We made the deal. But that exchange made me
curious about how yaoi was seen amongst my gay friends who run pop
culture web sites. I had long wondered about why my yaoi titles got a
very cool reception in some gay media and with gay booksellers. My
friends told me that yaoi had a reputation for portraying one half of
the couple as predatory. That was not an image they wanted promoted,
especially coming from primarily straight writers.
All of this happened just as there was
a call for panel ideas. I wrote the panel admin to ask if there had
ever been such a panel on this topic. I was thinking that there had
been or they'd think it was a good idea for a more experienced
attendee to run. The next thing I knew, it was suggested that I
submit that idea and run it myself. On the one had, I thought this
would be great. I could meet people I really wanted to meet and have
a thoughtful discussion on a topic that could be important to
marketing my book. On the other had, I was freaking out at how badly
it could go – if anyone showed up at all.
I was in a unique position to run such
a panel. I could certainly appreciate the seductive allure of a
beautiful, sensual man submitting to the desires of a very powerful
man. I am actually a lifestyle Dominatrix and I have an extensive
catalog of fiction based on Dominance and submission. Ensnared is
about a complex D/s relationship that includes the submissive
accepting ownership from the Dominant. What I do not condone is
writing a character that is forced into accepting that submission in
any way. Like my leading man, Lord Darius Galatea, it is more
pleasing to find a way of seducing the beautiful being into
surrendering in every way to his desires.
Despite my own stance, I did not want
to bash anyone's tastes or writing styles. I also wanted it clear
that I was in no way talking about fan writing forums where the point
is pushing the boundaries to explore their writing and sexuality. My
question was more about how yaoi is perceived to the rest of pop
culture and to venues that I'd like to be able to market my fiction.
I was petrified at offending anyone, yet I really wanted to explore
this topic.
To my relief and utter delight, the
audience was very open to what I had to say, and highly articulate
about their points of view. I may not have agreed with many of the
positions stated during that time, but I came away with a much better
grasp of why writers and readers are drawn to non-consensual
pairings. I think they understood my views as well though I don't
think I swayed many to my side. I also figured out how to better
handle my marketing during the course of that hour. It seems that I
should take a page from the fan forums and label my work as D/s but
consensual in my press releases for reviews and advertising. Best of
all, I felt very welcome in this community. They were very kind to
this newbie. I can't wait to get to know them better.
