It's all about being edgy and selling books. Hurting people by portraying gays as confused, messed-up sex fiends who just haven't met the right girl yet doesn't matter one bit as long as the dollars keep rolling in. Just like it doesn't matter that Anita rapes men, because after all, men can't really be raped, can they? Oh, or that LKH tells us that everyone in the BDSM community are just a bunch of sadistic perverts who wear leather and rape each other all day. According to LKH, all of these people are sexual deviants who do what they do because they were abused as children and just need the right woman to *ahem* "straighten" them out. As a bisexual woman who was raped, I find this theme to be horribly inaccurate as well as just plain nasty. I'd call GLAAD if I didn't think that LKH would just enjoy the exposure and ignore what's behind it. Apparently, any attention is positive attention to Team Laurell.*cough*Penny Arcade*cough cough*
I wonder if LKH is the only one writing the books these days. According to her site, Jon has quite a bit of input nowadays. The author of the newer books is "Ma Petite Enterprises", not Laurell K. Hamilton. The blatant homophobia and misogynistic undertones would make a lot more sense if a man (with little life experience, and no, I certainly don't think that all men think this way.) were helping to write the books. Maybe I just have trouble believing that a woman could be that ridiculously close-minded, especially about rape. I've got to keep reminding myself of the upbringing that LKH had, and that old habits seem to die hard, if at all.
What I do know is that,in the books, as long as it's Anita's kink, it's ok. Everything is dirty and wrong. Gays are gross, but public sex is just dandy. Lesbians are icky, but orgies are A-OK. Sure, Anita bitches and moans about it all (over and over and over), but she doesn't do anything to stop it, either. Jean-Claude has the Ardeur, and he isn't bonking one half of the free world. Anita doesn't control the Ardeur because she doesn't want to. Plain and simple.
I agree with you about Anita's jealously issues. She certainly does have a problem, doesn't she? A long time ago, these books ceased to be a story with a real plot and became the writer's fantasy vehicle. If you look up the definition of "Mary Sue-ism", you will see the Anita Blake series listed there as a reference. Anita has multiple sex partners but refuses to allow any of her many and vast lovers to do the same. The fact that all of the men are just fine with this is completely ridiculous. In the books, it was chalked up to, get this, magic. Wow, that's a plot device for you! Way to puzzle it out, Ms. Hamilton! When he was three, my brother blamed "magic" for the destruction of my barbie collection. The fact that a grown woman uses it over and over as a plot device in her books is very telling. What it really is, is the author's fantasy world where everything that her avatar does or says is right and just. Of course, all of the supporting characters would go along with this because it's a fantasy. It's not writing. It's pretend time. Of course, many people would love to have a similar set-up. That doesn't make it a plausible storyline.
I used to read and enjoy the AB series, but once "Narcissus in Chains" came out, I lost all respect for the books and for their author. I wonder if LKH understands how many of us feel about the way she portrays alternative lifestyles (god, I hate that label but I can't think of anything else to call it), but I doubt she cares. Like I said, it's all about the money. She has her little band of merry enablers, and her big paycheck. That's all that seems to matter. It makes me sad, to be honest.
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I wonder if LKH is the only one writing the books these days. According to her site, Jon has quite a bit of input nowadays. The author of the newer books is "Ma Petite Enterprises", not Laurell K. Hamilton. The blatant homophobia and misogynistic undertones would make a lot more sense if a man (with little life experience, and no, I certainly don't think that all men think this way.) were helping to write the books. Maybe I just have trouble believing that a woman could be that ridiculously close-minded, especially about rape. I've got to keep reminding myself of the upbringing that LKH had, and that old habits seem to die hard, if at all.
What I do know is that,in the books, as long as it's Anita's kink, it's ok. Everything is dirty and wrong. Gays are gross, but public sex is just dandy. Lesbians are icky, but orgies are A-OK. Sure, Anita bitches and moans about it all (over and over and over), but she doesn't do anything to stop it, either. Jean-Claude has the Ardeur, and he isn't bonking one half of the free world. Anita doesn't control the Ardeur because she doesn't want to. Plain and simple.
I agree with you about Anita's jealously issues. She certainly does have a problem, doesn't she? A long time ago, these books ceased to be a story with a real plot and became the writer's fantasy vehicle. If you look up the definition of "Mary Sue-ism", you will see the Anita Blake series listed there as a reference. Anita has multiple sex partners but refuses to allow any of her many and vast lovers to do the same. The fact that all of the men are just fine with this is completely ridiculous. In the books, it was chalked up to, get this, magic. Wow, that's a plot device for you! Way to puzzle it out, Ms. Hamilton! When he was three, my brother blamed "magic" for the destruction of my barbie collection. The fact that a grown woman uses it over and over as a plot device in her books is very telling. What it really is, is the author's fantasy world where everything that her avatar does or says is right and just. Of course, all of the supporting characters would go along with this because it's a fantasy. It's not writing. It's pretend time. Of course, many people would love to have a similar set-up. That doesn't make it a plausible storyline.
I used to read and enjoy the AB series, but once "Narcissus in Chains" came out, I lost all respect for the books and for their author. I wonder if LKH understands how many of us feel about the way she portrays alternative lifestyles (god, I hate that label but I can't think of anything else to call it), but I doubt she cares. Like I said, it's all about the money. She has her little band of merry enablers, and her big paycheck. That's all that seems to matter. It makes me sad, to be honest.