tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post1459332959224775562..comments2022-11-07T06:03:08.604-07:00Comments on Pen is Envy: Making a Molehill out of a MountainLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14019590986674098815noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-56636872070509437962011-11-13T17:08:32.863-07:002011-11-13T17:08:32.863-07:00Well said, as usual, Laura. I have known several t...Well said, as usual, Laura. I have known several transgendered authors who have had the courage to be honest about their struggles and their identification.<br /><br />While I do believe a writer has the right to privacy if they choose, I also applaud those who have the balls to tell their stories. Their true stories.<br /><br />The cynic in me has to wonder, after all the misdirection, why this twist in the story in the confession.Angel Martinezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083874247515480776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-11166124408883138662011-11-13T10:51:25.299-07:002011-11-13T10:51:25.299-07:00This was a well written and presented article, Ms ...This was a well written and presented article, Ms Harner, and I am very proud of you for posting it. Hopefully, there may be some apology to her fans at the very least for duping them in this manner. <br /><br />I'm sorry...I'm not a gay man...I am not a transgendered female either...nor am I a lesbian. But my understanding of being an ftm is that she wishes to become a man, physically. I have never heard mention that every ftm once their operations and transformations are complete, begin to sleep with men. So... what the hell has being transgendered got to do with anything...it is neither here nor there. AJ is not a gay man, whether she aspires to be one eventually or not...therefore she is no more qualified to give out non-fiction expert advice on being a gay man than I am.<br /><br />It was a fab post and I applaud you my lovelyLisa Worrallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285297311686194285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-56184278148551893542011-11-13T10:46:22.187-07:002011-11-13T10:46:22.187-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lisa Worrallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285297311686194285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-10602841699274328332011-11-13T10:24:36.080-07:002011-11-13T10:24:36.080-07:00I am confused.
If you are a transgender female, t...I am confused.<br /><br />If you are a transgender female, then that is what you are. You are NOT a gay male. They are not one in the same.<br /><br />So, if AJ indeed IS a transgendered female, why not have been honest all along and say THAT, rather than pose as a gay male. <br /><br />The scurrying to claim the tired 'gay male in a straight woman's body' as soon as the 'truth' (and gods, do I ever use THAT term loosely) seemed to reek heavily of cop-out. Why did she simply not claim this all along? If it indeed was true?<br /><br />I hope the other comment was true, that indeed if trusting people were bamboozled, that karma will for sure reach out and knock such a claimant off their butt. <br /><br />Because, if she is lying about any of this, she has thrown crap in the face of transgendered females all over the world by using them to hide behind. To take their plight so lightly that she would resort to pretending to be one to save her own hide. <br /><br />Yes, I am very confused. And I am very weary of hearing about her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-12076389041788020402011-11-13T10:15:17.621-07:002011-11-13T10:15:17.621-07:00CR,
I think the first step in this type of situati...CR,<br />I think the first step in this type of situation is an acknowledgment of the elephant. Many of the folks surrounding this genre have in fact stepped up and said, "well shit...looky there, we have us an elephant." It's unlikely that every one will join us at the table...but you know what they say about how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It is my hope that we can start healing, one bite at a time.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14019590986674098815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-59998385640432968872011-11-13T10:02:48.039-07:002011-11-13T10:02:48.039-07:00I can only agree with K. Lee. Well said! And great...I can only agree with K. Lee. Well said! And great article Laura!Arzuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03527270055996836911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-74524776096011498692011-11-13T09:56:28.890-07:002011-11-13T09:56:28.890-07:00As a reader, what I find appalling is the way AJ m...As a reader, what I find appalling is the way AJ made this whole elaborate charade or stack of cards around the author persona. I don't care about an author's personal life as long as I enjoy the books because for me that is all that matters. What I am hearing now is how this author used that persona to talk about something they may not know anything about. To me that smacks on lies, deception and feeling as if your readers are mindless sheep, which we are not. AJ was wrong-plain and simple-and I am not condoning her actions at all. What I didn't like was the hate fueled postings once this shit hit the fan and it morphed into something much bigger. Do I believe AJ is a Transgender? No idea. Do I care? No idea yet on this as I reserve judgment until all facts-if they ever come out-are in place. I do know if you are off spouting information, saying your a Gay man and talking about subjects that Gays experience and it comes out that you are talking out of your ass, well I sure hope you have one good reason why or karma is going to bite you in the ass big time.<br /><br />Do I want my favorite MM authors to apologize for not being a gay man? Nope because I don't care if you are straight, gay, purple or a martian from Mars, what calls to me are your books and as far as I am concerned, as a reader, that is all that matters to me. So keep writing my favorite stories and I will be one happy reader.<br /><br />Laura, your article was great. Loved it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-69393950115187001682011-11-13T09:54:28.504-07:002011-11-13T09:54:28.504-07:00I didn't believe, when I started writing M/M e...I didn't believe, when I started writing M/M erotica and romance, that I was changing the world. It was not my intent, I only wished to entertain. I am not a gay man, nor do I want to be. I could never walk in their shoes. No one can. I applaude them all in their struggles to equality. It is nothing less than what we all deserve. <br />The definitions of gender identification can be very ambiguous. I know this for very personal reasons. Not for myself, but for someone I loved. I could be an expert on ftm transgender, that said, I AM NOT an expert on gay men. As Laura said, I enjoy the genre, do research and talk to gay men. I try to make my stories as real as possible, and appreciate feedback as well from any gay or bisexual man. Also in private. <br />I think, from what I'm hearing, it's not the issue of the author's orientation that is so inappropriate, but the lying. No one likes to be duped. But, as I hope we all are, we are adults and therefore, have the choice to let this go. Rise above it. I have and I hope, in our close knit community, that there is forgiveness as well.C R Guilianohttp://crguiliano-author.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-71603598841240723642011-11-13T09:39:32.843-07:002011-11-13T09:39:32.843-07:00Thanks K-lee, that was well-said.Thanks K-lee, that was well-said.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14019590986674098815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-36273650981513358652011-11-13T09:38:07.764-07:002011-11-13T09:38:07.764-07:00Anonymous 1, Thanks for your response.
It's ...Anonymous 1, Thanks for your response. <br /><br />It's a delicate balance we all walk between writing characters from a gay male perspective. I'm not one (LOL, have I mentioned that?) and a lot of the conversations this week have left me feeling the need to apologize for that fact. Or apologize for making money writing MM erotica.<br /><br />I don't want to apologize, nor do I want to feel guilty for being a straight woman. Let's just consider my gender as much of accident of birth as anyone's. <br /><br />I enjoy telling and reading stories in the gay genre, but I don't consider gays toys or tools to use to make money. The parts of my life that are painful, happy,easy or hard help me to capture some of those same emotions in my characters. My healthy fantasy life, conversations with my gay friends, and research helps to round out the frame of reference. I would always welcome input from a gay male when I screw it up, but I would probably rather receive the feedback privately. Thanks again for your perspective.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14019590986674098815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-90070162340458776312011-11-13T09:35:12.786-07:002011-11-13T09:35:12.786-07:00Good article, Laura, and I couldn't agree more...Good article, Laura, and I couldn't agree more that this issue is not about pen names or gender or even transgender for me. It's about the elaborateness of the lies that were wound around AJ being a gay man AND in a gay relationship with another gay man. <br /><br />The relationship between the two of them was what brought me to their books in the first place because it seemed so sweet and loving and highly unusual in the m/m genre. I admit to being sucked in by the sweet posts they shared and the way they talked about their "boyfriends" and I know it's my own fault for believing something that was shoved in my face.<br /><br />Regardless of whether it was my own naivete or need to make myself part of such a sweet relationship, it was still deceitful to build such a lie-based persona for the two of them in order to sell books. The fact that AJ made non-fiction posts as a gay man just makes the whole scheme more elaborate to me.<br /><br />I don't care if you're man, woman, trans, black, white or purple, readers do not deserve to be lied to to that extent. Keep your personal life personal, that's just fine, but don't re-invent yourself as someone or something that you totally aren't and then blame someone else when your deceit is revealed.<br /><br />This is only my opinion so I have no use for flamers trying to change my mind.K-lee Kleinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17282336893609747285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-88992112013344225132011-11-13T09:26:13.858-07:002011-11-13T09:26:13.858-07:00Julie, Thanks for your response.
I think the poi...Julie, Thanks for your response. <br /><br />I think the point I would hope you can understand, is not AJ's own orientation. It was AJ's claim to speak as a gay male and for the gay male experience that has so many upset. If someone is transgendered, I don't believe anyone would dispute that person's right to say..."As a transgendered male..." <br /><br />As you so correctly point out, if AJ is transgendered, it is different than being a straight woman pretending to be a gay man. Instead, that makes him a transgendered man pretending to be a gay man. <br /><br />Either way, it is the speaking as a subject matter expert for a class of people to which he doesn't belong that is the issue. I believe the gay male community would hold a lesbian writing as a man and speaking as an expert on behalf of gay males to the same scrutiny.<br /><br />Thank you for engaging in the discussion.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14019590986674098815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-45489859256029595912011-11-13T09:25:56.381-07:002011-11-13T09:25:56.381-07:00I have to agree with the last comment. AJ has lied...I have to agree with the last comment. AJ has lied about being a gay man and for me when a person lies they lose my trust and I will NOT blindly believe anything they say again. The only person that is saying AJ is a FTM Transgender is AJ. But how can we trust a liar?<br /><br />Great article Laura!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-65970029807805422452011-11-13T09:20:52.074-07:002011-11-13T09:20:52.074-07:00Julie, do you know for a fact that AJ is FTM or ar...Julie, do you know for a fact that AJ is FTM or are you blindly accepting it as fact simply because AJ said so?<br /><br />AJ lied about being a gay man for four years and was exposed as a fraud. And now you're willing to blindly believe that she's transgender now?<br /><br />Her claims of being FTM are merely a diversion from the other bothersome aspects of this case and one that others who have been exposed for conning both readers and friends trot out too.<br /><br />Plus people who really know her and have, you know, actually met her in the real world insist she's a woman. All woman.<br /><br />And don't you dare attempt to silence me or anyone else, Julie. To do so is straight priveledge at its finest.<br /><br />You use us as posable sex toys for profit and then you reveal yourself as not giving a damn about us in reality.<br /><br />We're not your toys. We're human beings.<br /><br />Back to Laura's article...<br /><br />Bravo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-85953029515981907932011-11-13T09:08:49.128-07:002011-11-13T09:08:49.128-07:00I read Black Like Me years ago, and have never for...I read Black Like Me years ago, and have never forgotten the experience.<br /><br />And you're right in the connection. Even walking in the shoes does not make the person an adequate spokesperson of the life itself but only of the reactions.<br /><br />And I agree 100% about our efforts to make the community more accessible, not trying to be experts. Good point!<br /><br />Thank you for sharing.C. Zampahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08907314323318638669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5360239889366971105.post-44568169213837769632011-11-13T09:04:06.859-07:002011-11-13T09:04:06.859-07:00Well said, Laura. I remember reading Black Like Me...Well said, Laura. I remember reading Black Like Me. I was given a copy in high school, and I was moved by it. It has a very powerful message.<br /><br />As for the current brouhaha, I'd like to add something that people are ignoring, for the most part. AJ Llewellyn is not a woman - he's a transgendered ftm. That makes him a man. Which is not the same as a straight woman pretending to be a gay man, by any means. Remember the T in GLBT? Yep, it stands for transgendered.<br /><br />So all you naysayers and bitches and shit disturbers - shut the hell up. AJ's personal life is his business. Either read his books or don't. But quit bitching about it.<br /><br />To the rest of you - have a great day!Julie Lynn Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03574029767523627749noreply@blogger.com