Homosexuality in Sci-Fi

[Listener]

I know this is kind of OT, but as a sex scene, that was a pretty decent one.  I agree that it didn't necessarily fit perfectly in the book, but then, did the Capn Crunch chapter really fit either?  I've noticed that sometimes Stephenson will just go off on tangents for a chapter and then come back.

I would hazard that Cryptonomicon in particular is more about the tangents than the plot.

Well, he had to fill 1000 pages with SOMETHING, didn't he?

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I know this is kind of OT, but as a sex scene, that was a pretty decent one.  I agree that it didn't necessarily fit perfectly in the book, but then, did the Capn Crunch chapter really fit either?  I've noticed that sometimes Stephenson will just go off on tangents for a chapter and then come back.

I would hazard that Cryptonomicon in particular is more about the tangents than the plot.

Well, he had to fill 1000 pages with SOMETHING, didn't he?

Agreed!  As a fan of that book, I find it hard to explain to people just WHY I liked it.  For me the tangents were fun... but my idea of fun usually causes boredom-related anuerisms in other people.


But anyway, the original thread has me trying to think of books I've read with gay sex, and I can't think of any.  Maybe my idea of fun makes me gravitate towards sex-free/historical tangent-heavy stories?  I saw Rent, though, at the recommendation of several folks, and they accused me of homophobia when I didn't like that. 

However, what turned me off was not the gay-themed stuff (even if one of the characters had actually been a lass, I still would have found the running-through-the park-holding-hands-and-singing to be silly and treacly), but the fact that these people had the nerve to claim some God-given right to live rent-free in New York City.  (You sign a lease, you need to pay.  Otherwise, move to Kansas, where they are giving land away.)

I guess for me, it's not the sex scene that is interesting... it's the fact the one of the partners in the scene is named "Shaftoe".  Tee hee.

[wakela]

I saw Rent, though, at the recommendation of several folks, and they accused me of homophobia when I didn't like that. 

Me too!

However, what turned me off was not the gay-themed stuff (even if one of the characters had actually been a lass, I still would have found the running-through-the park-holding-hands-and-singing to be silly and treacly), but the fact that these people had the nerve to claim some God-given right to live rent-free in New York City.  (You sign a lease, you need to pay.  Otherwise, move to Kansas, where they are giving land away.)

Me too!

How about when the kid whose parents have been paying for him to go to film school turns down a film making job because he doesn't want to compromise his art.  If he took the job he could help keep his squatter friends in the lifestyle to which they are accustom.

But I digress.  It's been a week and no one has mentioned Dumbledore.  This article in Time (WARNING: Book Six spolier) The article has drove me up the wall for many reasons (not the least of which is that I should be driven up the wall by something so trivial). 

Is anyone else tired of hearing that Frodo and Sam are gay just because they are good friends who have something more important to do than meet chicks?

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Is anyone else tired of hearing that Frodo and Sam are gay just because they are good friends who have something more important to do than meet chicks?

Not nearly as tired as I was of watching them gazing longingly into each other's eyes...

[Russell Nash]

It's been a week and no one has mentioned Dumbledore.  This article in Time (WARNING: Book Six spolier) The article has drove me up the wall for many reasons (not the least of which is that I should be driven up the wall by something so trivial). 

It's being discussed in the HP7 thread.

[DarkKnightJRK]

I don't know that the scenes are more graphic.  I think we are more apt to notice a sex scene that we're not titilated by, either immediately at that moment or in theory.  I've heard plenty of straight men bemoaning how graphic gay scenes are (and not just here), but I've also heard gay men talk about how icky they find all the hetero sex in film and literature.  And as a bisexual I find neither to be too over-the-top most of the time.  I think this is one of those things where it's really, really hard to be objective.

That is a good point--when it's something we don't like or are not familiar with it'll appear much more graphic then to the person who is expierenced in it.

I also don't find either too over-the-top, mostly for the same reason.