Does an author's opinions or personal life influence your enjoyment? (children, fantasy)
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For the most part, I couldn't care less about writers' opinions on most things. Having said that, there are a few things I won't tolerate in my own real life, and if the writer appears to have an agenda promoting those things, I simply don't read them. As for some of the writers others have mentioned, I've read all of Anne McCaffrey's books and never noticed anything weird about homosexuality in any of them. Heinlein was a hawk during the Vietnam war and I wasn't, he was also extremely chauvinistic and I avoided the books that blatantly displayed that - but he was also the first sci/fi writer to have a female as a heroine: remember Podkayne?
What I do dislike is seeing a writer alter all of their earlier books to fit a new agenda. There's one writer of American historical romantic fiction who bought up all of her older books and rewrote them as religious fiction. I don't think that's kosher at all, if she's changed her mind she should go on from there, not try to rewrite the past, even if it is fiction.
As for the underage sex thing, there's a lot of that still going on in the US. Some of the states' legal ages for marriage are way too low, IMO. And there are still a lot of religious cults with multiple wives (excluding the Mormon sects) who marry off girls as young as 12 or 13. It may not be in your comfort zone, but that doesn't keep it from existing.
For the most part, I couldn't care less about writers' opinions on most things. Having said that, there are a few things I won't tolerate in my own real life, and if the writer appears to have an agenda promoting those things, I simply don't read them. As for some of the writers others have mentioned, I've read all of Anne McCaffrey's books and never noticed anything weird about homosexuality in any of them. Heinlein was a hawk during the Vietnam war and I wasn't, he was also extremely chauvinistic and I avoided the books that blatantly displayed that - but he was also the first sci/fi writer to have a female as a heroine: remember Podkayne?
There's some strange stuff in Pern involving the dragons mating. Each color can only be ridden by a specific gender and furthermore, a specific orientation. Green dragons bond to 'effeminate' homosexual men. Blues go to gay men with masculine qualities or 'butch' lesbians in rare cases. Browns go to heterosexual men. Bronx and Gold go to only heterosexuals.
Part of the reason for this is because when the dragons mate, their riders mate also, even if the two people involved are not normally attracted to each other in any way. It isn't considered cheating for someone who has a monogamous lover to have sex with another rider in that circumstances...it is completely beyond their control.
McCaffery believes that anal penetration actually alters hormones and turns a man automatically gay (including penetration by something inanimate.) There's no escaping it...if you are ever penetrated by anything, you turn gay. That's her real world belief, and it's why the sexual orientation of the riders is forced in this way. Since blue and green dragons mate with each other, their riders have to 'match' (which also means she thinks effeminate and masculine gay men only have sex with each other...in other words, she thinks gay pairs always have a 'man' and a 'woman'.) Because if a heterosexual man rode a green dragon, he would end up turning gay when his dragon mated with another man's dragon...even if the resulting sex with the other rider was out of his control and not something he desired, it would turn him gay. Because hormones.
Like I said, weird.
Quote:
Originally Posted by karibear
What I do dislike is seeing a writer alter all of their earlier books to fit a new agenda. There's one writer of American historical romantic fiction who bought up all of her older books and rewrote them as religious fiction. I don't think that's kosher at all, if she's changed her mind she should go on from there, not try to rewrite the past, even if it is fiction.
That's very strange that she would do so, and I agree that she should leave her older works be. (And I also think that applies to a certain director who can't leave Star Wars alone.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by karibear
As for the underage sex thing, there's a lot of that still going on in the US. Some of the states' legal ages for marriage are way too low, IMO. And there are still a lot of religious cults with multiple wives (excluding the Mormon sects) who marry off girls as young as 12 or 13. It may not be in your comfort zone, but that doesn't keep it from existing.
And don't forget the Marquis de Sade.
Of course underage sex happens and in some places is supported (though not typically with 5 year olds.) That doesn't mean I can't find it horrifying that Anthony thinks it can be perfectly loving and wonderful and not want to give him any of my money.
i read mostly fiction, and tend to think of authors in the same vain as singers or actors. I'm not narrow minded to only be entertained by someone who has my exact views and feelings. If the "story" they are telling looks/sounds good then i'll give it a chance. I may like that story, doesnt mean i'll like the storyteller.
An example for me is the old Guns & Roses from their hey-day. Loved the music, but thought the singer was a complete *&%^#@* for how he acted and how he treated women. But that's about it for the limits of what i'd "accept" and still try their offerings.
Now if that religious group from KS that is hard-core in pushing their extreme beliefs decided to write a fantasy series that's what i normally read..... well i could not support that leader or his group and would not purchase nor read what they published.
Guess that's the nice thing about choices-- i have the choice to support or not support without calling for one to be censored.
I would definitely never call for censorship. I think boycotts (either personal or group) are a very different thing. I support boycotting, I loathe censorship.
That Pern stuff is bizarre. I wouldn't read an author who espouses specific flawed constructs in speculative fiction. I did read Orson Scott Card knowing he was a (probably very strict) Mormon and that informed his cosmology. But I didn't find anything so overt as the McCaffery example and I was fascinated by the overall metaphysics even if they're not my own.
I still appreciate it's a razor's edge and a reader can tip quickly. I was shocked that Gunter Grass was involved with the Nazi party. However, I learned this was in his youth and he was conscripted. And his fiction always had investigated that particular social psychology with deep horror. Many will never forgive him the association. I think his books have important things to say about the 20th century, things I still don't fully understand and am willing to journey with him to discover.
I honestly try not to learn anything of celebrities or authors personal life or belief so that it does not interfere with my enjoyment of their "art."
I read the Pern series when I was in high school and never knew any of what was posted above.... and I'm trying to remove that from my mind right now because I have a fond memory of reading those books.
Occasionally, something will bleed over into my awareness ala Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, or Charlie Sheen.
Wait..... I thought the Bronze or Brown bred with the Gold Queen and she hatched all the other color dragons.... I don't remember any homosexuality....
I honestly try not to learn anything of celebrities or authors personal life or belief so that it does not interfere with my enjoyment of their "art."
I read the Pern series when I was in high school and never knew any of what was posted above.... and I'm trying to remove that from my mind right now because I have a fond memory of reading those books.
Occasionally, something will bleed over into my awareness ala Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, or Charlie Sheen.
Wait..... I thought the Bronze or Brown bred with the Gold Queen and she hatched all the other color dragons.... I don't remember any homosexuality....
There's no homosexuality in the 'upper' tiers of the dragons. Gold always goes to a heterosexual female rider. Bronze and Brown (which 'fly' the Gold in mating flights) go to heterosexual males. The lower tier fighters (green and blue) go to homosexual males.
This stuff is easy to miss and the author changes the rules off and on through the series. I never noticed it when I was young either. McCaffery is also weird in that she's one of the few writers who is very involved in her fandom (the collection of fans who celebrate her work.) She has set rules down for what is allowed when it comes to writing fan fiction (fan-written stories involving her characters) and playing in RPGs (role-playing games involving her characters.) And one of her rules is that the fans have to follow the above 'prescribed' gender and sexual orientation...a male can't play a fan character who impresses a Gold dragon, for example. I believe she did eventually allow female characters to fly green and blue. Most other authors ignore fanwork.
On the topic of Scott Card...I will say his political views and homophobia aren't as obvious in his works as McCaffery's strange beliefs are in hers. I have other issues with the Ender stories (mainly that Card seems to think that 'love' MUST equal rabid jealousy to be legitimate), but not that.
There's no homosexuality in the 'upper' tiers of the dragons. Gold always goes to a heterosexual female rider. Bronze and Brown (which 'fly' the Gold in mating flights) go to heterosexual males. The lower tier fighters (green and blue) go to homosexual males.
This stuff is easy to miss and the author changes the rules off and on through the series. I never noticed it when I was young either. McCaffery is also weird in that she's one of the few writers who is very involved in her fandom (the collection of fans who celebrate her work.) She has set rules down for what is allowed when it comes to writing fan fiction (fan-written stories involving her characters) and playing in RPGs (role-playing games involving her characters.) And one of her rules is that the fans have to follow the above 'prescribed' gender and sexual orientation...a male can't play a fan character who impresses a Gold dragon, for example. I believe she did eventually allow female characters to fly green and blue. Most other authors ignore fanwork.
On the topic of Scott Card...I will say his political views and homophobia aren't as obvious in his works as McCaffery's strange beliefs are in hers. I have other issues with the Ender stories (mainly that Card seems to think that 'love' MUST equal rabid jealousy to be legitimate), but not that.
Not true, as for the dragons. Keep in mind that the gold and the bronze who flies her are also the weyrleaders. He is responsible for the fighting wings, she is responsible for keeping the weyr running smoothly. But there are browns who also mate with greens and blues, and some of the green and blue riders are women. As for the general sexual practices on Pern, the primary goal has been reproduction, but I've never noticed any criticism of those who prefer homosexuality. The bigger conflicts have been with those who marry between crafthalls. Otherwise, pretty much anything goes, and there are a lot of non-dragon riders in all the weyrs. They need cooks and the equivalent of house maids, and there are also men who don't ride dragons as well - like those who care for the beasts. It's not a matter of being 'weird' - it's a matter of internal consistency within the framework of the stories. Nor do the dragon riders limit their mating to only those times the dragons fly - and a lot more often than not, the female dragon has already picked out the dragon that will fly her, whether it's a green or a gold.
Not true, as for the dragons. Keep in mind that the gold and the bronze who flies her are also the weyrleaders. He is responsible for the fighting wings, she is responsible for keeping the weyr running smoothly. But there are browns who also mate with greens and blues, and some of the green and blue riders are women. As for the general sexual practices on Pern, the primary goal has been reproduction, but I've never noticed any criticism of those who prefer homosexuality. The bigger conflicts have been with those who marry between crafthalls. Otherwise, pretty much anything goes, and there are a lot of non-dragon riders in all the weyrs. They need cooks and the equivalent of house maids, and there are also men who don't ride dragons as well - like those who care for the beasts. It's not a matter of being 'weird' - it's a matter of internal consistency within the framework of the stories. Nor do the dragon riders limit their mating to only those times the dragons fly - and a lot more often than not, the female dragon has already picked out the dragon that will fly her, whether it's a green or a gold.
In Pern's past, green dragons impressed females. This changed over time due to pregnancy...because greens are fighters, when their riders became pregnant they were grounded (going Between while pregnant will induce a miscarriage.) So the dragons started impressing homosexual boys more and more, and eventually exclusively. There were female green riders occurring later in the series in small numbers basically as a result of fans protesting female riders not being allowed to play fighters.
(As I said, she's changed her canon over time...Pern is not big on staying consistent)
Blue can possibly impress females, but this has only happened once in canon. Blue riders are usually gay or bisexual males. Golds have 'fully female' riders (meaning feminine heterosexual women).
Notice how she says there are NO blue, brown, or bronze female riders. She added one blue female rider late in the series. And for most of the series set in the 'standard' timeline (as opposed to Pern's past), females didn't impress green.
And dragon riders don't limit sex to procreation...dragons, however, do.
I actually don't have an issue with the switch to males for the greens because of the female pregnancy issue. It has a decent enough explanation. But the only reason those men have to be gay is because the author honestly believes penetrative sex will turn a straight men gay. It would be internally consistent for blue and greens to impress straight men just as much as gay...the world's set-up allows for straight men to have sex together when forced to by their dragons without being regarded by others as gay (or regarding themselves as gay.) The dragon chooses, the rider complies per Anne. But because she thinks penetrative sex makes a man gay, those riders either have to be impressed as gay boys, or they'll end up gay in the end anyway.
In Pern's past, green dragons impressed females. This changed over time due to pregnancy...because greens are fighters, when their riders became pregnant they were grounded (going Between while pregnant will induce a miscarriage.) So the dragons started impressing homosexual boys more and more, and eventually exclusively. There were female green riders occurring later in the series in small numbers basically as a result of fans protesting female riders not being allowed to play fighters.
(As I said, she's changed her canon over time...Pern is not big on staying consistent)
Blue can possibly impress females, but this has only happened once in canon. Blue riders are usually gay or bisexual males. Golds have 'fully female' riders (meaning feminine heterosexual women).
Notice how she says there are NO blue, brown, or bronze female riders. She added one blue female rider late in the series. And for most of the series set in the 'standard' timeline (as opposed to Pern's past), females didn't impress green.
And dragon riders don't limit sex to procreation...dragons, however, do.
I actually don't have an issue with the switch to males for the greens because of the female pregnancy issue. It has a decent enough explanation. But the only reason those men have to be gay is because the author honestly believes penetrative sex will turn a straight men gay. It would be internally consistent for blue and greens to impress straight men just as much as gay...the world's set-up allows for straight men to have sex together when forced to by their dragons without being regarded by others as gay (or regarding themselves as gay.) The dragon chooses, the rider complies per Anne. But because she thinks penetrative sex makes a man gay, those riders either have to be impressed as gay boys, or they'll end up gay in the end anyway.
I've never gotten that impression. Lessa's son, a brown rider, ends up permanently with a green rider in All the Weyrs of Pern. What I do find a lot more interesting is her total refusal to give Pern any religion whatsoever. Then there's the Petabee series, where the planet itself is the closest thing to a religious deity.
As for some of her other series, there's one instance in the beginning of the Rowan series where some of the Rowan's friends are from a planet where it takes five separate sexes to create a new egg/offspring.
Another sci/fi writer I find fascinating for pretty much the same reasons is Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her Darkover novels are works of art. Same goes for Mercedes Lackey and her world of Valdemar. She has a plethora of religious deities, nearlly all of whom speak to their own people, and only their own poeple. Or Laurell K Hamilton's Merry Gentry series - a lot of the primary characters are or have been gods in their own right.
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