WTF RWA?
I'm going to let Kari Gregg explain since she does it better than I could.

RWA defines romance as:

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. (Emphasis mine. Full text)

Two individuals. In no respect are those individuals differentiated by gender or sexual orientation. LGBT romances are no less romances than stories with heterosexual couples, according to RWA’s own definition.

And yet some still insist on excluding LGBT romance from general romance categories.

Romance Writers Ink(RWI) is a Tulsa, OK based RWA chapter that sponsors an annual contest, More Than Magic (MTM), for published writers. In recent years, LGBT romances have been accepted as contest entries. Many have scored well in the contest, finaled and even won.

This year, MTM’s rules & regulations were changed to state:

– Note: MTM will no longer accept same-sex entries in any category.

No reason for this change is given.

So…I emailed the contest organizer to ask why this change was enacted. The contest organizer replied that RWI chapter members were “uncomfortable” with accepting same-sex contest entries. “Same-sex was just too much.”

Yeah, you read that right.

I don't about you guys, but discrimination makes me pretty 'uncomfortable' too.

Other links:

Online petition.

MTM's rules.

Heidi Cullinan's response.

Stephani Hecht.

Edit: Smart Bitches Trashy Books weighs in.

EDIT 2: RWI responds. They're taking their toys and going HOME because y'all are meanies for complaining about their homophobia. Also, banning YA novels from the contest is totally the same thing as banning same-sex novels. Totally.

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	the__ivorytower 2012-02-06 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	We in Canada have been crushingly disappointed that legalized same-sex marriage has not led to gay orgies in our streets. Though perhaps it's because it's cold* here. *Even though right now we're in the positives (in Celsius) and it's February. What the fuck, the weather? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

keri
2012-02-06 10:17 pm UTC (link)

What the fuck, the weather?

El Niña.

But seriously, it's driving me crazy, too. There are very few opportunities to wear actual winter clothes in Florida, and so far we've had like 3 non-consecutive weeks of Cold Weather, which means I haven't been able to wear any of my awesome cold weather clothes, because as soon as I realize "yay, it's cold!" it's already too warm, again. Not that I have many of those kinds of clothes, at least not compared to actual temperate or cold climates, but every year I look forward to getting to wear the clothes that I had to buy specifically for one-time trips made in the winter to colder climates. :P

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ekaterinv
2012-02-06 10:37 pm UTC (link)

No no, see, it's not that same-sex marriage will lead to gay orgies. It's that same-sex marriage will lead to women being raped constantly by roving gangs of bad men and forced into concubinage. Because marriage is a shield against sexual abuse and married women are never, ever raped. Anyone who claims a woman is far more likely to be sexually abused by a husband than a stranger is talking utter nonsense. Husbands can't sexually abuse their wives, because husbands are allowed to do whatever they like to their wives (well, maybe not kill them) and the idea that the wives might have an opinion about the matter is laughable.

Therefore, romance novels in which the "hero" rapes the heroine: peachy keen, so long as they get married so he can control -- er, protect her! Romance novels in which two heroines have loving, consensual sex with each other: anti-woman and encouraging rape.

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	cmdr_zoom 2012-02-07 12:29 am UTC (link)
	It's true. Just the other day, I was going to have my way with a woman (the unattached ones being community property, of course) when I suddenly noticed a man had put his mark on her! Well, that was the end of that. I'm not going to offend another man by being free with what's legally and rightfully his. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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