This post is inspired by a poll on Afterelton which asks women to vote on why they love gay men in movies and television. I have run many polls about sex in M/M books and other related topics, but I was wondering about whether there are similarities between movies, television, M/M books and real life.
We love our M/M books. According to one publisher (Amber Allure) that I interviewed recently, their percentage of M/M books released compared to straight erotica and non-erotic titles has increased over a 6 month period to the point where it is now 80% of their total output. Clearly we love gay romances but why the explosion of interest NOW? It can’t be the Internet because that’s been there forever. It can’t be the fact that publishers are releasing M/M stories. They have been doing that for a number of years. So is there something in the food or are the guys throwing fairy dust at us? 😀
Why do so many women – bi, straight, and lesbian love to read about romances between gay men?
Is it because it’s somehow forbidden?
Do you just love the fantasy?
Do you think gay characters are more sexy than straight ones?
Is it because there is not the usual” traditional” female roles in the book e.g. damsel in distress, TSTL heroines so you can enjoy the stories?
Is it because two guys together are just hot and really, really cool?
Is it because the men are unattainable?
Do women see gay couples as more romantic than straight couples?
All of the above? None of the above?
What about metrosexuals? Do you like to fantasize whether they are gay?
In real life some women say they have gay male friends because they like typical female pursuits such as shopping, cooking, decorating etc. They can even go to the spa with their favourite gay man. However, this is a stereotype because some gay men are hunter/gatherers just like straight men. In real life it’s sometimes difficult to tell who’s who, even if you have gaydar. 😀
Why do women become “fag hags”? (I’m not using this term in a derogatory way). 😀
Is it because a woman just wants a gay man as part of her “collection”?
Is it because gay men appreciate you as a person, without the hassle of sex?
Do you just love the fantasy of having a special gay male friend with whom to do fun things?
Would you go out with a gay man if you had the opportunity?
Do you have gay friends? If so, what kind of relationship do you have?
Are you more “yourself” around gay men?
Esquire magazine suggested here that vampires have overwhelmed pop culture because young straight women want to have sex with gay men. Is this why women love to read M/M romances? Because they want to have sex with gay men even though they know gay men are only attracted to men?
Why do you love gay men in real life and in books?
What are your reasons for reading romances about gay men?
In the past I’ve generally made friends with gay guys. This hasn’t been because I’ve sought them out, somehow it just seems to happen. I’ve worked behind the bar many a time and inevitably a gay guy will start chatting. But then, I’ve always had guy friends, particularly when I lived in London – over and above female friends. Platonic male friends straight ones too – I think I’m just wired that way. I don’t know if there’s something masculine in my genetic make-up but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it so. I was (was? what am I talking about – still am!) a tomboy–mother had to force/bribe/beg me to wear a dress and i’m the same now – last time I wore a dress was about 15 years ago or so.
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I put on clothes like men, arms first–I read magazines like men, back to front. I enjoy getting drunk and being a bit rowdy. So I suppose we just click.
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As to why I like them in books..well, I don’t like romances in general. I don’t buy and or read heterosexual romances. I went through a phase of Mills and Boon addiction when i was in my 20’s but haven’t picked on up since.
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I don’t buy gay fiction for the romance plot, I buy them to read about the story–which is why I prefer historicals because they generally have to have more plot otherwise it’s just a case of two men who can’t do much in public. The romance for me has to be secondary to what’s going on, like DAsh and Dingo, Alex’s books, Charlie Cochrane’s series–yes, the boys are getting together but that’s almost a subplot that runs through the series. Take out the romance and you still have a credible and enjoyable book. That’s my criteria really, “would this book work without the romance?”
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I suppose I’m just addicted to historical novels, because generally that’s what I read–that, and fantasy. The part about gay historicals that makes me come back and back is that we know so little–even about the recent past, much of the gay experiences during the war for example was hushed up until recently–we know that there’s always BEEN gay men, and the delight in writing it and reading it is to discover how it was managed in times when it was downright dangerous.
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I do find two men naked sexy, and I am never going to apologise for that. Perhaps it is objectification and I can’t apologise for that either. I’m not lurking around in changing rooms hoping to spot naked men, and I’m not leering at the swimming pool. I don’t hang around gay bars and go “phwoar!”
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I go onto porn sites with models who are willing able and being paid, I look at pictures of men who are proud of their bodies and are showing them off.
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Why does there have to be reason? Why is there such an interest into WHY women might be interested in men, gay or otherwise. No-one’s making polls about “why do guys like lesbians” or “why do guys like looking at and reading about naked women”
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Sorry, got a bit ranty there, but really–I DON’T think we have to make excuses, or justify ourselves for celebrating sexuality.
Hi Erastes,
First off, you misunderstood the reason for the post. I wasn’t asking women to justify their liking for gay men and their stories. All I wanted to do was find out, collectively, why this sub genre is so popular NOW, after years of being in the doldrums.
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As I mentioned in the post, when I interviewed Trace Edward Zaber of Amber Allure, he mentioned the literal explosion of interest in M/M romances in a very short period of time. He said that their numbers spiked in 6 months when normally something like that would have taken years, and apparently the interest is not waning.
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So I guess I should have asked another question – Why this sudden interest by a huge number of women? It can’t be the internet because that”s been there for decades. It can’t be the number of publishers of this type of book, many of them have been around for at least 5 years. Maybe it’s something in the food.:-D I’ll correct the post right now.
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I do appreciate your comments because they give me some insight about why you like gay men and gay fiction – something I never knew before.:)
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As for me – I appreciate the male body, gay or straight. However, I do have many gay friends and I like the fact that there is no undercurrent and that we’re just friends. We do stuff together like go to the movies, go to the hardware store, or just hang out.
I didn’t mean to sound ranty, but the question is always being asked, I can’t number the times since I started writing it, and it’s come from all angles, from the straight women, the gay men, the straight men, the reviewers, the publishers, the romance community, over and over and over again.
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The surge and growth is because finally, people are publishing it. When I first started out trying to sell my first novel, no-one really was. Ellora’s cave had just started out and they didn’t do m/m at the time – they wanted Standish for their first m/m title but i backed off. The only publishers of gay books were Alyson (didn’t do Romance, and have only just started a section) Starbooks (mainly self help and porn) Serpent’s Tail and a few very obscure ebook pubs. I got in touch with Scott and Scott to ask them for advice and they confirmed it, that they’d started their own line because no-one was publishing it. Gradually authors took matters into their own hands – MLR and Dreamspinner (and many more) are started by authors like me who were frustrated by knocking on doors that either didn’t open or simply didn’t exist.
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Most (I say with some confidence) m/m authors are ex-fandom and there’s a literally unlimited supply of slashers out there, some already have taken the plunge, some have a toe in and out of the water as it were, some are thinking about making the move to original fic land but the vast majority are quite happy to stay where they are.
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And gradually, the slashers are reading the stuff. After all they have an almost infinite amount of slash to read on line, so many say “why pay for it?” but the word of mouth thing spreads, someone recommends a book and more avid slash readers try the books and find they like them.
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Plus of course, the gay men. They are finding it too – my postbag consists mainly of letters from gay men. The slashers rarely write to me because they know about gay romance, and most of the men who write to me are delighted to finally find that it’s available. some of them had been forced to assuage their love of men in pretty historical costumes by reading hetero historical romances and their joy at finding gay romances is delightful to read about.
Hi Erastes
You could be right about linking the number of publishers to the recent increase in readers of this sub genre, although many pubs. such as MLR have been around at least for 2 years Loose Id for 5 years, and Amber Quill Press for 7 and I think DSP started about 3 years ago.
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I thought my question was couched in different terms to the ones I have seen in the past, since most of those questions linking straight women and gay men have been around the issue of why straight (or lesbian or bi) women write M/M romances. I just wanted to have an idea of what caused the surge in reader interest.
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One of the major reasons I decided to concentrate on M/M on this site and the old blog is because gay men have written me many times to thank me for giving them a place where they can feel confident that the books reviewed and recommended here are M/M. Probably the surge is due in no small part to the interest of gay men who are now buying the books. Someone else mentioned that better niche marketing is another reason that the books are so popular. Slashers buying books now is probably another reason. Clearly the market is expanding rapidly.
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As for the personal relationships, many of us have friends from different backgrounds and gay friends seem to be on the increase as well. In my city, Toronto, gay men have been part of its fabric for decades so this is not a new thing. Maybe some women are feeling more comfortable expanding their range and they are now finding there are benefits to doing so.
I started reading m/m romance after yaoi. I was reading manga, I discovered yaoi and it was sort of natural progress from there. Why I like it? Two hot looking guys together? Hot. There is something about guys gushing and lusting over each other. You just don’t see many romantic men in the real life any more. And that IS fantasy, like any romance. But, after a while, the hot sex just isn’t enough and like with any other books, I want the plot in my m/m stories (and discovered many wonderful authors that way) and now I choose my m/m stories accordingly.
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I don’t have any gay friends (that I know of, this is very conservative society; I have one bi friend, but she’s a woman), but I guess what women appreciate about their gay friends (shopping aside XD) is male perspective. I have a few male friends and one or two are like brothers to me really, but there are just some stuff they don’t talk about with women. Like other men. XD And, while I can’t be certain, I do believe I would be more myself with a gay friend. Would I want to have a gay friend? You can’t force friendship. You click with the other person or you don’t whether they are straight or gay. But, if we did, yes, of course.
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I don’t want to sleep with gay men. In real life, I want my men straight, thank you very much. But, I would like them to borrow something from gay men – strength. Because, even in today’s world, you really have to be a strong person to be true to yourself.
Hi Lady M
You mention that this is a very conservative society. I live in a city (Toronto) that’s rated one of the most multicultural (perhaps the most) in the world and we’re very accepting of gays. There’s no problem finding gays in the workplace here, although there are some places in Western Canada that are not as accepting.
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However you mention “strength.” You’ve got a point there. It does take a of of strength to be different in a “white bread” society.
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I go shopping with my gay friends to get their opinions on the clothes I choose because I trust their judgement. Not that a woman would not be as critical or selective, but I like the guys’ opinions.
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Re M/M books, I’m with you re plots or lack thereof. Some books are 50% sex and they are a DNF for me. Most of the time I feel insulted when I buy a book that has no story but is just another PWP. When I want to read PWP I know where to get it but when I buy an M/M romance that’s not what I expect.
Hi, Wave, I was talking about the society I live in. I’m sad to say that my country isn’t the best place for gay people. While we have their rights protected in the constitution and anti-discrimination laws, the real life is something else entirely. So, I can’t really be certain whether I have gay friends or not. Maybe they are just afraid to come out, even to some who constantly talks about human rights like me. But, I’m hopeful because the younger generations seem to be more accepting and things do change, if more slowly than I would like. It will be a long time before we reach Canada’s standards.
Lady M
I now understand more clearly the point you were making.
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We are lucky here but let’s not kid ourselves that everything is perfect. It’s not. There are people here who hate gays, and even though we have anti discrimination laws, sometimes individual police officers are not as accepting of someone whose lifestyle is different to theirs. GBLTQ Canadians have been able to marry here I believe for at least 5 years but some churches (the Roman Catholic church for example) do not marry gay couples. However in those instances they can go to City Hall and get married. So while we are more advanced than other countries there is still a ways to go.
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If you don’t mind me asking, where do you live Lady M? I see your country’s flag but I’m unfamiliar with it.
I don’t mind at all. ^^ I live in Belgrade, Serbia. For some reason, WordPress shifts between the two flags and the name of my country does not appear. Until five minutes ago, I thought I was the only visitor from my country but I just saw someone else in the City NeoCounter. So, maybe there is still hope for us. ^^
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I’m sure things are not perfect in Canada (or anywhere else) and I’m sure there will always be people who would be prejudiced against those who are different in any way. But, we can strive to make things better everywhere. I learned that even the smallest of the changes counts.
It’s amazing the different countries’ flags that appear on the NeoCounter. Maybe this would be a way for you to connect with people who check out the site from your country.:)
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Well said about striving to make things better.
The poll on AfterElton was kind of flawed, but I answered part of it, and commented. The whole vampire thing is just stupid, I don’t know where Esquire got that crap. Not that I read the article, maybe I should. LOL. But, yeah. I don’t think that idea has any merit at all. People have been fascinated with vampires ever since the first imaginitive soul came up with the idea hundreds (thousands?) of years ago.
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I said this on AE and I’ll repeat it here. I love my gay male friends for the same reason I love my other friends: I just click with those particular people. It’s got nothing to do with them liking typical “female things”, especially since I don’t generally like those things myself. My closest gay friend watches NASCAR, for FSM’s sake. I can’t get behind that. But I love him anyway. We have plenty of other things in common 🙂
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As far as the reasons for the sudden explosion in gay romance, I have no idea. I’ve been reading it ever since I learned it existed many years ago. I have to wonder if it’s not simply because publishers are catching on to the fact that women — their largest market — want it, and reacting accordingly.
Hi Ally
I was really looking at the surge in M/M in the past couple of years. When I reviewed for a couple of review blogs about 3 years ago they mostly didn’t want me to review M/M (one of the reasons I left and started my own blog) or the books were in such short supply all the reviewers were fighting over them.
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The pubs. probably had no idea about this pent-up demand because their in house and customer surveys were telling them something different.
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I have quite a few gay friends here in To (probably as many gay friends as female friends) and I have a lot in common with them. They always want to know why the interest in M/M romances because some of them don’t “get” it. A few of them think gays are being exploited in the books because a lot of them are portrayed as fuck machines, and others could care less. We have a great time arguing the pros and cons.:-D
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I don’t get the vampire thing at all. What’s the relevance? How did Esquire go from vamps to young women wanting to sleep with gay men??
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I’m just as stumped as you as to the reason why there is this recent upsurge of interest on the part of women in general in M/M, because I have been reading these books for about 20 years (except they were called something else then). Maybe pubs are now catching on – Amber Allure has doubled the number of books they release every week and occasionally Loose Id has 2 – 3 M/M books. Samhain is the only one that has at most 1 M/M book/week and recently Elloras Cave have retracted their statement that M/M is dead, and they are accepting M/M manuscripts again.
How come you ask so many hard questions so early in the morning. 🙂
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Okay, I have gay friends and I think you are right about being “myself” around them. I know part of it for me is I can be goofy and flirty and we can talk about penis size and blow jobs without having to deal with the “oh shit, now he (or she) wants something more and I don’t feel about them that way.” It’s safe. With straight single guys you have to worry that maybe they’ll think you are coming on to them when you are just having fun. So for those of us not on the hunt for a partner of some kind they are “safe”. But I know some who love to shop, some who hate it, some with great fashion sense, some who are useless, like straight people they come in all shapes and sizes and interests so I can’t ever see me being friends with someone as a substitute “girl”.
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I think gay sex is interesting because it is different than straight sex in some ways. The m/m dynamic is different than m/f. I know how m/f works intimately 🙂 and we all get bored with what we know and find the unknown more mysterious and exotic. I find shifters interesting to read about, perhaps if I was one it would be more boring.
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I can’t imagine ever “dating” a gay person. What would be the point? You date to develop a relationship which in my mind includes sex and if that’s not going to happen I think you’re heading for heartache all around.
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So I think it’s nearly impossible to define why m/m appeals to me. It’s a combination of things I guess and something different. When you’ve read m/f for 20 years (I didn’t really but anything) you get bored of it, you want something to stimulate you in a different way – not THAT way LOL – and m/m fits the bill for me. I also think gay culture is more accepted and women who might never have thought about gay relationships 20 years ago are aware they exist. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, QAF, gay characters on soap operas, gay celebrities coming out, it’s made people go “Huh, there’s a whole other set of people out there having relationships and falling in love and having sex in ways I never thought about before. I should check that out.” Some of us fall in love with it, I’m sure other people go “meh, not my thing” but that’s okay too. Harlequin Romance is not my thing. *shrug* I love my gay friends because they are funny and kind and care about me, same reasons I love my straight and bi friends. 🙂
Tam
You have explained more eloquently than I can the reasons why most women have gay friends. What I do with my gay friends is ask them questions about sex and relationships I would never dream of asking my female friends because I know they would be honest. You know the book “He’s just not that into You.” 🙂
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I do go out a lot with them but it’s not a date however it is a relationship between friends that doesn’t include sex. I think I’ve managed to have many of these “relationships” over the years. Like you we’re friends because we care about each other, have fun together, laugh at each other’s stupid jokes, and generally be there just in case tbhe other person needs a shoulder to cry on.
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What you’re also saying is that movies and television have now made gay men more “acceptable” so a lot of women are jumping on the bandwaggon (since they can’t jump their bones) *g*
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Re the sex, since anal sex has been around for a million years it’s not that new, but maybe having it explained in great detail in M/M books is what’s new.
I think the recent growth of M/M lit can be attributed to better promotion and marketing. Several online book sellers are now shining a spotlight on the category by listing their M/M titles separately in promotional emails and on their websites (finally). Many authors are promoting their new releases on Twitter and Facebook etc. Goodreads, the social networking site for readers, started an M/M Romance book club last summer and is introducing new people to the genre. M/M may be growing simply because more people are being exposed to the titles. I think there is still a large untapped audience out there that would love M/M if only they knew it existed.
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As for why I read M/M books? I think I am typical.. I was not a big fan of traditional romance and erotica because I found the female characters either insulting or boring. The men of M/M just seem better rounded, and yet I can still identify with the sex to a degree… I know what it feels like to give head and be penetrated… or just plain be in love for that matter, so M/M gives me the things I like in romance and erotica without the things I loathe.
Hi Diane
I think you’re right that the surge in interest in M/M books could be in part due to better online marketing by the puiblishers and social networking on the part of the authors.
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Yes, we all abhor the Harlequin Romance example of what women are really like and stay away from these books like the plague. M/M is obviously a great alternative because the books are for the most part about a love affair among equals (except in BDSM) 🙂
I’ve come to two conclusions about my interest in M/M lately.
1) I’m also very interested in F/F, and I think a big part of the draw for either one, for me, is that the relationships start from a much more even base. There is no gender difference, so everything in the relationship is personality based – I really like that, and I think it often makes for a better story. I rarely found relationships in the M/F romances I used to read. And books in other genres that have better M/F relationships don’t really have enough sex and romance for me.
2) I’m bisexual, but married to a person of the opposite sex. Reading same sex stories allows me to vicariously express the gay side of my personality – I get to do something in books that I’m not likely to do in real life. And I think M/M works for me in this context as well as F/F does because I do like men too, so it’s really the dynamics of the same sex relationship that I enjoy experiencing.
As for the explosion? I think word is getting around that the selection and quality are way up, and people are more willing to take the plunge now. Then, as it gets talked about more, more people become curious.
Elle
Elle
What you say makes a great deal of sense. If there is no gender difference then there is no gender bias and the story is more equally balanced.
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Also, again as you stated, the word is getting around and readers are more willing to try M/M through word of mouth recs.
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The pubs. are working on improving the quality of these books. They are not quite there yet but they’re working on it.
Erastes – WORD.
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It all seems very natural to me. I actually have had two gay lovers — one, before he came out (just before, and we became BFs) and the other, well after (I don’t think of him as bi because he never thought of himself as bi). Have also had many other gay and lesbian pals. There’s just a gravitational draw, I guess, based on a number of factors. Sometimes it’s creativity; sometimes, sense of humor. Maybe a unique ability to communicate. I don’t know. What causes us to be friends with anybody?
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As for the “why now?” question, I suspect it’s simply a result of the snowball effect. It takes a while for any trend to catch on. BbM may have been the turning point. So, slash turned into “legit” gay fiction, and the more readers who gobbled it up, the more writers who wanted to try it out. And on and on.
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For me, at least, m/f-romance burnout was also a factor. It just started getting extremely tiresome, reading and writing about . . . well, you all know the sexual drill (so to speak ;-)) in het erotic romance. The euphemisms REALLY started driving me buggy. To this day, if I see the word “netherlips,” I get one of those cramps that comes from simultaneously laughing and groaning and throwing up in my mouth.
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So I slowly transitioned into m/f/m menage, then m/m/f menage, and then, at the urging of two male characters who insisted on being together (yup, Jackson and Adin), I went to strict m/m. Love it, too.
KZ
I always thought that gay men were not attracted to women, at least that’s what my friends tell me. The thought of pussy makes them want to … well certainly not have sex.:) Being friends with a gay man, yes, I have my share of them, but going to bed with one? Where’s the fun in that if the guy is not interested?
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“Neatherlips?” 🙂 that reminds me so much of why I stopped reading M/F. I guess they had to use euphemisms because pussy was offensive.:-D
I can’t remember reading M/F/M but I’m sure I must have, although it was not on the way to M/M because I started reading M/M at least 2 decades ago.
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I haven’t read a M/F romance in a while (not even the series I used to follow) but it might be fun to try a couple of them to see what has changed.
Well, Wave, a lot of gay men were married to women, dated women, and/or fathered children before they came out, so we can only assume there are “degrees” of aversion (or discomfort or whatever). The man with whom I had that fling said he’d had approximately 500 male and 10 female lovers, so I definitely felt like a member of a very eilite club! 🙂 That’s just one guy’s experience, though.
KZ
Did you say 500 male lovers and 10 female? WOW! Who counts that high unless they are movie stars, athletes or someone like that? Maybe he was bi. 😀 My gay friends tell me that if a guy is truly gay he just can’t get it up for a woman. Maybe the “gay” men who lived a double life and came out late in life were more bi than gay. IDK. I can only go by what these guys tell me.:)
why do I read m/m- I like it when both characters can be strong – without superpowers. I have gotten incredibly tired of the f characters either being superhuman- super lovely super strong doing unbelievable feats and still manage to lose the personality when the male character is around – give me snarky and tired anytime. and M/m give me hope- why hope because of the current stereotype that a gay man only be promiscuous that they cant have serious monogamous relationships still prevails and I hope that after a while maybe gay men won’t have the negative stereotype attached.
Clovermax
I agree with with you said about female characters in het romance books who become fluff after they meet a guy. One way to make you feel proud of being a woman. NOT!
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The complaint I hear constantly from gay men is that M/M books make them all appear to be promiscuous, judging from the amount of sex in the books. I have gay friends who have been in committed relationships for at least 2 decades, certainly longer than most traditional marriages, and yet a large percentage of the books seem to concentrate on the sex. Sure sex is important, but not 50% of the book or more. Maybe that will change if more and more readers complain and we’ll get more plot and romance. However, for me M/M is still way better than het.
I have to disagree that it’s not about the Internet. I think it’s definitely the Internet! Isn’t everything about the Internet now? 😉
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The fandom aspect of course, slash writers moving into original. The readers of slash, who might be teen girls when they start, grow up and get their own credit cards, and can order from online bookstores and already have an interest in m/m. And that’s another aspect – online bookstores, for either paper or ebooks. It’d be great if we could find all these books in your local chain bookstore, but I know I can’t. Not to mention, some people are shy about buying erotica in person!
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Online communities can exchange recs of books and authors. The increase in ebooks seems to be important too, the romance genre is so important for ebooks and it allows for more niches than a conventional bookstore can carry. And when you buy a book at an online store, it often will then rec other authors and books based on your purchase, so the books keep getting drawn to the attention of likley readers.
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The Internet has brought Yaoi to the attention of Westerners, made it massively popular. That probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
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So I think it’s absolutely about the Internet. I agree with K Z Snow there, it’s the snowball effect, all these different aspects develop over time until they reach a critical mass.
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I might be talking a load of rubbish of course, but that’s my interpretation.
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Now as for why I like it? Well for romance I quite like a story with a “forbidden love” aspect, and a m/m romance set even in a liberal country in contemporary times has an aspect of that. Similarly I like a story where love kind of messes people’s lives up and doesn’t always make them happy or their life easier, even if the romance ends happily in that they get together. I don’t like the romance to solve all their problems basically, it can even add to them. Which is why I suppose I like something like a historical or a mystery, drama, or comedy story along with the romance, rather than a “pure” romance.
JFM
Blame everything on the Internet which has been here probably before you were born. 😀
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KZ may be right that everything is just reaching critical mass now because the stars have aligned in a way, but it seemed to me that there must be a little more than that to explain this increase in interest in M/M romance.
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Re the stories themselves, I’m with you about wanting more in terms of content than a straight (?)*g* romance. I need a story with bite, one that content wise will challenge me which is why I love mystery, fantasy, ghosts, and other types of stories. Contemporary romance has its place of course but I wish that more of these stories weren’t just boy meets boy, they have a Big Misunderstanding and then they live happily ever after.
I blame everything on the Internet. 😀
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Before I was born? Hah, I’m pre-ARPAnet never mind Internet!! I must come across as younger. 😉
I think part of this recent boom might also have to do with women becoming more comfortable with their sexuality. It’s okay to read m/m fiction and get turned on. It’s okay to mentally ogle. It’s just plain fun and women are finally out of the repressed closet.
That’s why I like m/m fiction 🙂 I like reading about men. I don’t like reading about women and m/f sex does nothing for me. Who said they liked m/m fiction because it doesn’t include what they loathe? That’s exactly it. I don’t have to put up with female characters and I get to ogle two men instead of just one. (Make no mistake, though, I have no sexual interest in a gay man.)
Nadja
Nadja
>>I think part of this recent boom might also have to do with women becoming more comfortable with their sexuality. It’s okay to read m/m fiction and get turned on.<< ** You hit the nail on the head. Now that We Are Woman *g* our sexuality is our business and if we choose to read about gay men in love that's our prerogative. Can you imagine what it would be like in 2 years if there are twice as many M/M books available as there are today? We could never review them here. 😀 ** I agree with you re no sexual interest in gay men. My gay friends are just that - friends, not "friends with benefits".
I’m the same as Erastes here:
Quote: “I do find two men naked sexy, and I am never going to apologise for that. Perhaps it is objectification and I can’t apologise for that either. I’m not lurking around in changing rooms hoping to spot naked men, and I’m not leering at the swimming pool. I don’t hang around gay bars and go “phwoar!””
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This may seem strange, and maybe TMI, but I got into slash and m/m fiction when I was quite old, almost into menopause, and I wonder if there was a lot of testosterone swirling around? LOL Whatever, I really liked the idea of two men together.
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I also agree with Junkfoodmonkey here:
Quote: “And that’s another aspect – online bookstores, for either paper or ebooks. It’d be great if we could find all these books in your local chain bookstore, but I know I can’t.”
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It’s so easy to click the “buy” button on-line, sitting at home in comfort. Too easy!
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It was also the internet that introduced me to slash. I didn’t know anything about it before finding my first Harry Potter slash in 2003. I fell hard, and started becoming interested in published m/m fiction away from the computer.
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I found some of the classics in print, but it’s only recently that I discovered authors such as JCP and Josh Lanyon. That’s definitely via the internet. Perhaps it’s to do with more publicity or promotion? Friends recs, maybe? It’s funny how these things work.
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In real life, I don’t know any out gay people, apart from two of my daughter’s friends. I don’t mix socially with many people, and they’re all females my age, so I can’t comment about being a fag hag. I don’t have many gay men friends on line either, but I do know one or two gay authors, whose blogs I enjoy reading.
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This is getting long! Lastly, I read m/m for romance, as well as for plot. I always remember one of my first on-line (female) friends being horrifed and squicked by slash. “Ewww, they have anal sex!” (Well, that’s not how she put it, but I don’t want to be crude here.) I was shocked, because to me it was always about the protaganists being in love, and sharing their story. The sex was hot, but not crude and icky like she made it seem to be. :/
Hi Gaycrow
It doesn’t matter at what age you were enticed into M/M, the point is that you are now a fan. The reasons (hot men with great bodies) is probably universal.*g* However I still want a good story to go along with the hot men.
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I’m surprised that you don’t know many gay men since Australia has many gay writers and when I was there 4 years ago I found out that there were many clubs that gays and lesbians frequent. However, my friend wasn’t brave enough to enter any of them with me and I didn’t want to go alone. 😀
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Where I live (Toronto) is a mecca for the gay community in Canada and I once worked for a number of years right in the heart of Track 2 which is what we call the predominantly gay area where the gay boys ply their trade. What was surprising was the number of men driving mini vans and other “family” type cars who picked up these kids for a fun time.:( Obviously they were bi-curious or maybe just bi.
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The Internet definitely is one factor in making M/M books so popular but what amazes me is M/M’s exponential growth in such a short time which must be attributed to other factors in addition to the Internet. If we take Amber Allure’s numbers (I talked to another publisher as well who said that their numbers were high but not as high as AA, but then they publish all types of romance books) women are definitely into M/M in a BIG way, despite the detractors. 😀
Quote: “However, my friend wasn’t brave enough to enter any of them with me and I didn’t want to go alone. ”
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Ha! I’m being very brave next weekend. There’s a fantastic gay film being shown at an alternative cinema in the city, as part of the gay Feast programme. I’m going all by myself. I’ll be really nervous, but I’m determined to do it!
I think the reasons have a lot to do with the Internet and all the online communities and information a woman can get now, to explore something that they didn’t even know they really like, stuff that turn them on 🙂
I know countless women (and some gay men),who never even heard of slash or m/m romance, but once they got introduced to those, they discovered a whole new world!
This is exciting time for all niche interests/genres to grow, to expand their audience. For so many years, I was the only straight girl I knew who read gay literature/porn, now I have so many friends to share this with.
Hey, your blog contribute a lot to this too. That’s why I think it’s always been there – the interest for women to read about gay men, it’s just getting out in the sun now 😉
Eve
What I really love is all the online communities that cater to M/M and slash. there is no “judgement”. We are all welcome because our interests are similar.
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I think that the number of M/M only publishers will increase because clearly the interest in M/M and the pent up demand has to be satisfied somewhere. I hope that these new epublishers don’t turn out crud.
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I’m glad you think that this blog plays a small part in promoting the genre. I know that the gay men who write me always say that they appreciate somewhere they can go to check out reviews of M/M romances and gay books.
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The world sure is changing and women are leading the way, both writers and readers.
Why the “sudden” interest? Until LI starting publishing it, I had no clue there was a large body of this work, much less that it was often really well-written. It takes a few years before something is available before enough people clue to get a lot of interest.
Hi treva
I guess what made me ask the question is that I have been reading these books for at least 20 years, but they were called something else because no publisher would touch romances between gay men. Now there are many epublishers who are releasing these titles every week and the readers can’t wait to snap them up. Even a NY publisher (Perseus) has launched a line of gay historical print books and I hope that if it does well more pubs will follow. This is really an exciting time for those readers who love M/M romances.