Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel
Today we are welcoming Storm Moon Press to the blog for a guest post and giveaway. Make sure you leave a comment at the bottom of the post if you are interested in entering the giveaway!
Bisexuality in Erotic Romance
One of the biggest obstacles to increasing bisexual visibility in erotic romance is that the traditional limitations of the romance genre restrict the story to following a single, monogamous dyadic relationship. When the story is focused on only two people, it can be difficult to introduce bisexuality as a concept. Additionally, many readers have expressed distaste at reading even tangentially about relationships of a different orientation to the primary one in the story, which makes authors even more hesitant to discuss bisexuality.
Unfortunately for bisexuals, this leads to an erasure of sorts. Not only do bisexual characters rarely feature, but also situations that could otherwise be classed as bisexuality are reframed to avoid using the word. One very common example of this occurs frequently in gay fiction and is sometimes called “Gay For You”. The idea is that one of the men in the romance has traditionally only had straight relationships, but there’s just something about the other man that draws him in and makes him question.
What’s implied in this type of story is that the character had previously been heterosexual, but is now homosexual as a result of this relationship, or that the character isn’t “really” gay, except for this one person. In either case, the character’s sexuality is being defined solely based on their current relationship, and in both cases, the character would be more accurately described as bisexual but for the stigma attached to that word. This isn’t a problem inherent to fiction, but rather a reflection of a broader tendency among people to assume that if someone is dating a person of the same sex, then they must be homosexual, but if they are dating someone of the opposite sex, then they must be heterosexual.
The fact is that a bisexual person doesn’t suddenly become straight if they date someone of the opposite sex any more than a person who is in no relationships at all suddenly becomes asexual. A person’s sexuality is more than just a measure of the sex of the person they’re with at any given moment. But people judge based on what they can see, rather than considering any alternatives. So while I don’t believe that it’s an intentional erasure based on some kind of rampant biphobia, the end result is that bisexuals have few examples of characters that accurately reflect their life or that speak to their experiences. And until readers begin to demand those kinds of stories and authors start to challenge expectations by providing them, the bisexual romance market is likely to remain untapped for quite some time.
However, it is a market Storm Moon Press is trying to broaden, to delve into, and we encourage authors to write fully realized bisexual characters. We ask readers to pick up a book starring bisexual characters and read about something that they might otherwise know very little—or even nothing—about. It’s such a broad world, and we’re eager to explore every inch of it!
We’re also happy to showcase one of our bisexual romances today in the form of a giveaway! Comment on this post to be entered to win a PDF copy of Erik Moore’s The Direction of Greatest Courage! This contemporary bisexual romance follows Jason as he is brought out of his shell and into a relationship he’d never dared dream possible. Comment for your chance to win!
Where you can find Storm Moon Press and Wild Moon Books:
Website: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/
Twitter: @stormmoonpress
Website: http://www.wildmoonbooks.com/
Twitter: @wildmoonbooks
Great post. As a writer of erotic romance I totally agree we need to be mindful of how issues like this come across in our books. I’ve written a couple that have bisexual characters and never once when I was writing them were the characters sexuality in question for me. They were always attracted to both even if they were barely realizing it themselves. Definitely something we need to think about. You’re book sounds very interesting. 🙂
Shay
An interesting book. The subject matter one that is controversial and yet should not be.
This genre is not my foretaste as others are not. Do not add me to the giveaway.
I think this book sounds good and would love to win and read. I have read a couple of good books with bi-sexuality in them. I read an antholoy by 4 different authors called Three to Tango and loved it. My sex life has been pretty vanilla, but reading this makes you wonder what other things are possible. This was my first menage book and can’t say it will be my last. Sometimes it is fun to broaden your horizons and try other genres. As they say You don’t know if you like it, until you try. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
You should not always dismiss stuff because you never know what you might like or dislike. Everyone does have their opionion and should be able to share it. I know I have always been curious to be with 2 men. I think it might be fun.
As a matter of fact, I’m currently reading a book which features a bisexual man… and I’m loving it.
I look forward in reading Storm Moon Press’ works featuring bisexual characters.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
I want to thank Storm Moon Press for the opportunity to promote my short story. As a bisexual man myself, the lack of bisexual characters in erotic fiction has always been a concern for me. It’s gratifying to see others who feel similarly and that also enjoy seeing bisexuals represented in fiction.
Good luck to those entered, and I hope you enjoy my offering.
I’m bi and passing for straight in real life.
When I write bisexual (or omnivorously sexual) characters, i have more trouble getting the books reviewed. M/m romance readers are very very blunt about no sexual encounters with women. They tend to complain about my bisexuals and omnivores.
OTOH, those who like it, really like it.