Jan
6 2006 |
Of all the offensive phrases used to describe me and my fellow erotic romance authors I think “bored housewives” is the worst. It’s the worst because of what it says about women in general as well as women who write in the genre.
First is the general, incredibly hateful and misogynistic idea that housewives are sitting around, bored and need to write “racy” books because they have nothing better to do. That women are just robots that shut down when their husbands leave each day, only to come back on twenty minutes before he gets home to put on lipstick and pearls and make him dinner.
Secondly, the idea that somehow, what we do is so unimportant that it’s simply a time filler is offensive.
For the record, I work damned hard at what I do. I don’t claim to write nobel prizewinning novels, but writing a book isn’t easy, and it isn’t something I do because I’m bored and need a hobby like a good little wife. I don’t even have time to get bored. And most women I know in the genre are as busy as I am, if not more so.
“Bored Housewives” shows utter contempt for women and more specifically, women who create worlds. It shows contempt for housewives, too. And if Tina Engler is a bored housewife, she’s laughing her bored ass all the way to the bank heading her multi million dollar publishing company and writing books. The Quad who own Loose Id – are they bored housewives? I don’t think so. I’ve met three of them and know one pretty well and none of them struck me as bored or in need of a “little hobby”
People don’t have to like what I write. People don’t for a whole host of reasons, not least of which is that some people have big issues with independent, sexually empowered women – both writing books and as characters in them.
January 6th, 2006 at 11:37 pm · Link
I am a student at the University of Kentucky and have been reading racy books for a long time. I have also been trying top write them for just as long, so I can appreciate what hard work you do. Please continue.
January 7th, 2006 at 3:49 am · Link
I’m not a housewife… but, the idea that they have time to get bored would piss off a friend of mine. When she writes for herself it’s at 3:00 a.m. because that’s the only time she has available to be “bored”.
January 7th, 2006 at 9:47 am · Link
Annalee, I write from 9 – 12 each night. During the day, although I’m home, I can’t do any concentrated writing although I can pop in at the loops and that sort of thing. But I don’t have time to get bored, shrug.
Ashley – thanks and good luck with your writing