Month: April 2022

Florida Teachers Comment on Don't Say Gay Bill, Ryan Field Books

Florida Teachers Comment on Don’t Say Gay Bill

No matter who you ask, everyone has an opinion about the don’t say gay bill in Florida. I’ve heard many on a personal level, including some from gay men who don’t think it’s that bad. Of course, I think it’s a ridiculous, cruel, unnecessary bill that was designed to target LGBTQIA people. The bill is so ambiguous it lends itself to different interpretations. 

Here’s what Florida teachers have to say. This excerpt sums it up for me well because I can’t totally relate to this. 

“I wasn’t able to walk to any classroom and see rainbow stickers on the door that says this is a safe place where you can be who you are,” said McCracken. “We have that now. That’s what we’re trying to create for our students. This law, I see as an effort to take away the years that we’ve put in trying to make this a better place for kids so they don’t have to grow up like I grew up, where I thought I was all alone and then I barely made it through high school.”

Here’s more. I encourage you to read this one. It’s excellent. The MAGAs who don’t understand because they’re so deeply rooted in their own straight privilege will give you a different opinion. 


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

Another Op-Ed About Women Writing M/M Romance and Cultural Appropriation, Ryan Field Books

 Another Op-Ed  About Women Writing M/M Romance and Cultural Appropriation

Other than the fact that I don’t support cultural appropriation of any kind, I have nothing to offer to this. I think it’s a well-written piece and that’s why I’m linking to it. 

Any form of cultural appropriation is wrong.  I would never write novels that focus on black culture or any other culture that’s not mine to write about. Keep in mind that straight white women are, indeed, in a position of privilege. Gay men are not. We are marginalized. 

If you don’t understand the kind of privilege I’m talking about, here’s a link to a great article.  And, Urban Dictionary gives a great example of White Female Privilege.  I don’t agree with everything there, but I do believe as a gay man I’m far more marginalized than a straight white woman. Pay attention. I’m talking about a gay man, not a straight man. 

Here’s something you have to do if you’re in a position of privilege and you’re writing about people who aren’t: ask yourself if it’s your story to tell. Ask yourself every single time. You may not arrive at an easy answer. You may not arrive at an answer at all. 

Here’s more. And once again, just for the record, this has nothing to do with straight women READING m/m romance…or any fiction genre. Readers are curious and they like to read about other cultures and other people. This is about writers only. In fact, I applaud readers who want to read about many topics. 

 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

Liberal Ally Misha Collins Comes Out As Straight and Twitter Goes Berserk, After Great Progress on Gay Rights, the US is Still More Anti-LGBTQIA than Ever, Ryan Field Books

 Misha Collins Comes Out As Straight and Twitter Goes Berserk

I found this bit of news as amusing as it was irritating. A guy like Misha Collins, who claims to be an ally, should know better. But he didn’t. And I’ve seen it before from other celebrities. They are so deeply rooted in their own straight privilege that their true feelings often come out in the most interesting ways. 

In this case, good old Misha came out as bisexual last weekend at one of those fandom conferences in New Jersey, and then he quickly backtracked, said he was just joking, and came out as straight again. The more he said, the worse it became. Apparently, in a lame quest to avoid discussing his sexuality, he claims, he came out as bisexual. 

“This was not my intention so I need to correct the record: I am not bisexual. I happen to be straight, but I am also a fierce ally and the last thing I want to do is falsely co-opt the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community. I believe and fully support that we need to sanctify the human right to express our identities honestly and to be free to love whomever we choose openly.”

Here’s a link. So that’s an ally? With allies like this who needs enemies? At least we know where we stand with conservatives. 


After Great Progress on Gay Rights, the US is Still More Anti-LGBTQIA than Ever

Compared to other countries around the world LGBTQIA people don’t have it as bad. But trust me, it’s still not perfect and we still have not achieved full equality. Even our allies are ready to control us with things like cultural appropriation where straight white women believe they have a right to steal our culture by writing gay romance novels. There are states that have don’t say gay laws, and now they are calling us “groomers.” It sometimes feels as if we’ve gone backward since 2012 and I think that has a lot to do with the MAGA crowd.

In any event, here’s an article that focuses on how anti-LGBTQIA the US still is. 

As same-sex marriage is now part of the fabric of America, conservatives have chosen to exploit Americans’ unfamiliarity with trans people and piggyback on parental anger over the perceived overreach of Covid-era school closures, conflating it with an insidious sense of “wokeness”, in the hopes of finding an electorally viable sluiceway for anti-LGBTQ+ hysteria.

Here’s more.  We’ll just have to keep right on fighting as we always have, and knock them down one by one. 


Amazon Link


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

LGBTQIA Kids Are Bullied Far More Than Straight Cisgender Kids, Ryan Field Books

 LGBTQIA Kids Are Bullied Far More Than Straight Cisgender Kids

I’ve been seeing a lot about bullying recently and most of the information I’m seeing is about straight cisgender kids. None of these initiatives focus mostly on LGBTQIA kids. And they should be more focused on LGBTQIA kids because they are the kids who experience most of the bullying. And it’s always been that way. There’s always been either one or more nasty little straight bullies going after a kid who’s LGBTQIA.

And I like to remain focused. This is, indeed, another LGBTQIA issue. And I resent the fact that it’s often ignored in the mainstream. I also like to talk about these things openly because the straight initiatives tend to either gloss over LGBTQIA kids, or they give bad examples of how to deal with these straight cisgender bullies. 

I’m linking to an article now that claims LGBTQIA kids are more likely to be bullied. And from my own personal experience, I think they are spot on. These are statistics but just think about all the LGBTQIA kids who will not tell anyone they are being bullied for fear of shame, or they haven’t come out yet. That’s the thing the straights don’t understand. And how could they? 

  • 16% of gay and lesbian youth and 11% of bisexual youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, compared to 7% of straight youth

Here’s more. They are looking for professionals…real professionals…who know how to deal with LGBTQIA kids and bullying. I think this goes beyond the scope of the regular straight cisgender school counselor. They need more LGBTQIA counselors who understand the full impact. 

Here is an interesting government website about LGBTQIA kids and bullying. They actually give some good examples of how to deal with LGBTQIA bullying. 

This is extremely important.

  • Train school staff on how to create safe and supportive school environments for all students, including LGBTQI+ youth.


Just Because You Have a Gay Son Doesn't Mean You Are Gay, Moms, and 'Fire Island' trailer: 'Pride and Prejudice' goes gay big time, Ryan Field Books

Just Because You Have a Gay Son Doesn’t Mean You Are Gay, Moms, and ‘Fire Island’ trailer: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ goes gay big time

The other day some snarky, pushy straight woman who’s writing m/m romance told me this, “My gay son says this is America people should write what the muse compels.” 

Well!

Her gay son. She thinks because she has a gay son she knows more than me. I’ve only been published by all the gay presses in the US since the mid-90s. I’ve only been published by the gay European presses since the early 2000s. I’ve only written over 150 gay novels and so many short stories I’ve lost count. And when you throw in the gay magazine articles I’ve done, it’s still not complete. I’ve worked hard. 

And yet this woman’s gay son who’s done nothing with his life tells this woman that cultural appropriation is okay. This woman’s gay son believes it’s okay to steal another culture. His own culture. My mom never would have said anything that stupid, and my mom had two gay sons, a gay grandson, and a gay granddaughter. 

You really can’t argue with that. There’s no hope for those people. You just cancel them and move on. I have no patience for them anymore. There’s no point in even discussing it. 

With that said, here’s a huge piece of gay culture I’ll bet this woman doesn’t know about. Hulu is releasing the first trailer for a new queer rom-com titled, “Fire Island.” 

A modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” focuses on two gay best friends, Noah (Booster) and Howie (Yang), who take a trip to the Pines, a hamlet on New York’s Fire Island that’s a hotspot for queer culture. 

Here’s more. It’s directed by openly gay Andrew Ahn and it appears to be an entirely gay project. I find it amusing because I did something similar for a romance publisher. But mine isn’t set in Fire Island. I received several 5-star stellar reviews from readers and a few one-star reviews. I’ve come to learn that the one-star reviews are usually by people who hold grudges against me…or from straight women who read m/m romance but only want the narrative to be written through the eyes of another straight woman. I’m not alone. I know other gay male authors who’ve experienced similar situations. 


Amazon Link


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

Televangelist Jim Bakker Alleges Preachers Are Being Killed Over Don't Say Gay Support, Ryan Field Books

Televangelist Jim Bakker Alleges Preachers Are Being Killed Over Don’t Say Gay Support

I’m Catholic so I always find these American religious things interesting. Even the word Preacher is so foreign to me that I can’t resist reading more about it. 

This article is about the once disgraced televangelist, Jim Bakker, who was married to Tammy Faye Bakker. They built an empire together called the PTL club and it all crashed and burned when Bakker was caught in a sex scandal. He served some time in prison as well. 

Now Bakker is claiming that because of don’t say gay support it’s becoming life-threatening to these Preacher people. 

“I’m asking the wisdom here of what to do,” Bakker continued. “Because I get fought on every hand if I mention anything, and it’s going to be preachers that we’re not going to be able to preach much longer, because they’ll shoot us in the pulpit. They will kill us in our pulpits. You don’t believe me? They’re already doing it.”

Here’s the rest. There’s more in the article, with screenshots of Tweets. 

 

 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

Cooma Jail: A Prison Once Dedicated to ONLY Gay Men, Ryan Field Books

 Cooma Jail: A Prison Once Dedicated to ONLY Gay Men

This is scary. In Australia, there’s an old prison that was dedicated to gay men for having gay sex. It was also used as a place to try to “eradicate homosexuality.” Supposedly, it’s the only homosexual prison in the entire world. One man claims the gay men were sent there to protect them from hetero prisons, but others disagree with that. They were trying to convert them. 

It doesn’t sound as if they were very lucky. 

“We know they failed in their mission to eradicate homosexuality because our podcast reveals gay men having ongoing relationships in the prison. Some even reoffended to rejoin their boyfriends inside.”

Here’s more. I find it interesting that this news comes from Australia, a place where they allowed straights to judge gay marriage with a mail-in voting ballot. I still find that offensive. I also knew a woman author once from Australia and she tried to become my best friend. At the time, about 15 years ago, I didn’t know much about straight white women writing gay romance, so I didn’t give it much thought. That is until she started to interrogate me about gay culture and what it’s like to be gay, for one of her dreadful books. I dropped her fast and haven’t had any contact with her in years. I was just beginning to learn about cultural appropriation. 

In any event, this article is fascinating because it’s so unusual. And why haven’t we heard about this prison before? I think it would be a wonderful TV series. 


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

After Years of Tortuous Conversion Therapy, India's Openly Gay Prince is Fighting Back, Ryan Field Books

 After Years of Tortuous Conversion Therapy, India’s Openly Gay Prince is Fighting Back

When I speak about the cultural appropriation of gay writers, actors, and other gay people in the arts deal with on a daily basis, it’s not because I’m a mean person. It’s because we…LGBTQIA…people have endured some of the worst treatment in the history of the world, and in some places, it’s still happening. I find it highly offensive when someone straight and white, male or female, tells me they have it worse. And I’m going to fight back. At least I know who I am. 

With that said, here’s a story about a prince in India who’s been through some of the worst treatment of any gay man alive today. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil came out as gay at the age of 41. But he knew he was gay at 12 years old. I knew at 3. Many of us ignore the feelings, but we know. 

“The day I came out, my effigies were burnt. There were a lot of protests, people took to the streets and shouted slogans saying that I brought shame and humiliation to the royal family and to the culture of India. There were death-threats and demands that I be stripped off of my title,” Gohil told Insider over a phone call from the coastal state of Kerala.

Here’s more. And that’s only part of it. After years of enduring the horrors of conversion therapy, he’s now trying to make conversion therapy illegal. 


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

Why Are So Many Straight White Women Writing Gay Romance? For Some Don't Say Gay Laws Aren't so New, Ryan Field Books

 Why Are So Many Straight White Women Writing Gay Romance?

This has always fascinated me. I totally understand straight white women reading gay romance novels. I love to read many things outside my own personal scope. I love novels written by black authors, with black content. However, I would NEVER take on writing a novel with black content myself. Never. That would be too many kinds of wrongs to list here. 

With that said, I’m linking to another article that discusses the concept of straight white women writing gay romance novels for monetary gain. I find it interesting. 

How could straight women feel that they have the authority to write gay romance? Because they’ve been told so by a culture that has long treated gay men as a neutered, fetishized object of curiosity. The trope of the tame gay man is a favorite in straight culture. 

Here’s more. There are some excellent quotes in the piece, and it’s very well-written. I didn’t find anything to be inaccurate. Here’s just one more great quote. 

I was surprised to find that some LGBTQ-focused stories were reflecting not me, but a straight person’s imagination of me.


For Some Don’t Say Gay Laws Aren’t so New

We’ve been reading and hearing a lot about Florida, DeSantis, and the don’t say gay bill. But other places haven’t been getting the same kind of attention. For example, Alabama just passed a bill that’s not all that different from Florida’s don’t say gay bill. And it’s been going on in other places for quite some time.

A year ago, “Don’t Say Gay” laws that had passed in the 1980s were considered archaic, LGBTQ+ advocates said, with many of them repealed over the years.

Here’s the link. The article goes on to mention how so many states have had these don’t day gay bills for many years. Apparently, many of these laws date back to the AIDS years when there was so much panic. 

But there’s clearly no reason for them now. 

 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]

South Korea Landmark Ruling on Gay Sex, Cultural Appropriation: Don't Dip Your Pen In Someone Else's Blood, Ryan Field Books

South Korea Landmark Ruling on Gay Sex

This is big news for gay men in South Korea who are in the military. The Supreme Court of SK recently ruled against the military’s age-old ban on gay consensual sex away from a military setting. Then they struck down guilty verdicts for two gay men who had been charged with having sex off their base. 

The two accused men, a first lieutenant and a master sergeant, were indicted on charges of breaking the military code after they were found to have had sex in a private house during off-duty hours in 2016. Lower military courts sentenced the lieutenant to four months in jail and the sergeant to three months; the sentences were suspended.

Here’s more. Pay attention, you women who appropriate gay culture in the m/m romance genre. This is what gay men are still dealing with, while you still have your straight privilege and your dominance. I think this makes us a little bit more marginalized than you claim to be. You can scream misogyny from the rooftops, but what happens to gay men will always be far worse. And it’s still happening to us. The article goes on to talk about what it’s like for gay men in SK, and that same-sex marriage is still illegal.

However, this is a landmark ruling in SK and as usual, we gay men are thrilled for anything we can get. 

Cultural Appropriation: Don’t Dip Your Pen In Someone Else’s Blood

I see so much cultural appropriation and discrimination all the time with gay men I’d be a blithering idiot not to mention it. And in some cases, this issue is one where I’m willing to go up on that hill. Because it’s so, so wrong. 

The article to which I’m linking now explains how problems will arise when writing about different cultures. One topic they touch upon is the cultural appropriation in the book and film “The Help.” It created anger and insult, and the Association of Black Women Historians even issued a statement…

The American Association of Black Women Historians released an open statement which concludes that it is “unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment”.

And they were absolutely correct. If you can’t see this, you are part of the problem, not the solution. It happens with every other culture, too.  

Here’s the rest.  If you have no clue about cultural appropriation, read this article. It might help you go down on the right side of history.

A few years back there was a wonderful TV series on PBS called “Vicious.” Its focus was on two gay men who had been together as a couple for many years. I loved it. Every gay man I know loved it. And that’s because it was authentic. But the most interesting thing happened. When the straights started to review it they slammed it as being inauthentic and stereotypical. Go figure! 


 Don’t Be Afraid of Virginia’s Woolf

Image

Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]