50 Shades of Gay

Dear Dr. Darcy:

I don’t know about the world you walk in, but in my world virtually everyone is talking about 50 Shades of Grey.  My problem is that the sex is so heterosexual that I can’t get into it… Maybe it’s because I’m a lesbian, but the idea of being dominated does nothing for me.  What is it that I’m missing?  The reviews on the book are universally terrible.  It’s not that it’s well written.  Why are people obsessed with it? And why don’t we have LGBT erotica to compete with it.

ANSWER

Everyone in my world is talking about it too, so much so that I bought the book a couple of weeks ago and am almost done reading it.  That I didn’t finish in 1 weekend should tell you that I didn’t find it compelling either, though throw sex into anything and I can usually be amused for a little while – even hetero.

The book tells the story of a dominant-submissive affair between a manipulative millionaire (in his late 20’s because they are so common) and a naïve younger woman (in her early 20’s…again, because that’s so common) ~ hardly a creative plot.  But the pages are riddled with sex and for most people, the kind of sex they’re having is a novelty.  Clearly you’re not into BDSM but please believe me, many people in the LGBT community are, so your apathy over the book has nothing to do with being a lesbian.

Your point about LGBT erotica (or the lack thereof) is well taken.  I’m disillusioned with most of what I’ve read.  Clearly we need someone writing 50 Shades of Gay.  And even then…are great writers writing erotica, or are they writing great literature / trying to write hits?  I don’t know.  With all the questions I get from bi-curious housewives, you’d think that someone would jump on the wave and write some steamy fiction with that plot in mind. It would appeal to both men and women, surely the stuff that makes a best seller.  Makes me wonder if I should abandon my memoir and jump on the trend.  Though come to think of it, my memoir isn’t far off from that storyline, so maybe I should just finish.

Writer’s Stats: Female, Gay.