Love in the Stacks: Why isn't m/m romance hitting the lists?
Men becoming vulnerable through the power of love … is there anything more touching or beautiful? I've heard this from so many readers and writers now that I know it must be true, and yet we tend to see a struggle to open up from some of our favorite Alpha men. Maybe it's the machismo stereotype of strong men becoming invulnerable to emotions, or perhaps they are too focused on being strong protective warriors that they just don't have room in them to let their true feelings out?
Whatever the case may be, I've found that many women have turned to m/m romance in search of that emotional vulnerability. I mean, could there be anything sexier than two strong, masculine men letting their guard down and opening their hearts up? Is that not one of the main reasons we enjoy reading romance? I know that when I've read certain m/m titles and rough and tough characters give a little smile or a gentle touch, I lose it. It's surprising and touching all at once. Honestly, it's similar to when young fathers play with their children. Does that just not make a man 10 times more attractive? Check mate!
Looking for other answers, I asked fellow m/m romance author, Christi Snow: Why do you think women specifically enjoy reading m/m romance so much?
Christi said, "I can only speak for myself on this one, but as a romance reader, my favorite part of romance is when a man opens himself up to love. That takes a willingness to be vulnerable and I don't think most men are very comfortable with that. As a general rule, they just aren't as emotional as women. In a romance novel, at the core … it's about the emotions of the romance … the love … and seeing one man willing to become vulnerable like that is amazing … two is simply twice as nice."
I asked the same question of two of my Twitter followers, @ElleTwrites and @LizbethSTucker.
@ElleTwrites said, "I couldn't really put my finger on what I liked about it [m/m romance] until I heard Tiffany Reisz talk about how women liked reading/watching men in vulnerable positions. I think she hit the nail on the head. As a woman I like reading about strong, powerful men coming undone because of love and their feelings, and having inner emotional turmoil that we're sadly used to seeing only in female characters."
@LizabethSTucker said, "Although I'm a straight female, I find an emotional connection with m/m romance that I don't always find with m/f or f/f romance. There are some very good m/f books out there, but there are also a lot where only the female's emotions are explored."
While I agree with both ladies I have to ask, do you agree? Are vulnerable men a rare creature in male/female romance and does the emotional turmoil tend to be exclusively experienced by the heroine? Could this be the reason many straight women enjoy reading a romance between two men?
Also, if m/m romance is so widely popular and loved by men and women alike, why is it not more popular? What's stopping a m/m title from winning a RITA or becoming a Paste BN bestseller? The fan base is there, and we're all reading it, yet I must admit at times it can be our "dirty little secret." One m/m reader I reached out to declined to give a quote because she didn't want others to know she was a reader. Now, don't get me wrong — that's perfectly fine, but it's not the first time I've seen discretion when it's come to m/m romance.
It's still a bit … shocking … to me that in 2014 we haven't seen a bigger explosion of m/m titles making national, widely recognized lists (let alone an f/f title, or story with a bisexual or transgender character). If you follow books within the LGBTQ community, you should be familiar with the Lambda Literary organization, and if you're not, I urge you to at least check out its website for amazing titles. I had the pleasure of meeting 2012 Lambda Award Finalist L.A. Witt at RWA this past summer. It was truly inspiring for me, as a budding m/m romance author and longtime reader, to meet someone who was a finalist for this prestigious award. If we read m/m, whether we talk about it or not, why are amazing titles like her 2009 novel Static not hitting Paste BN and New York Times lists? Shouldn't our tastes be reflected in these lists?
One thing I am proud to see is many libraries featuring these titles in their collections. My library, as I've mentioned before, has an LGBTQ section for adults and one for teens. I've seen great titles from publishers like Riptide and Samhain showcased on the shelves, and it makes me happy to see that libraries are giving patrons free access to them. My hope is that the more we read and discuss m/m romance, the wider those titles become.
Finally, here are some authors I've really enjoyed. If you have not read their stuff, I urge you to give them a try:
Sean Gilmartin (@author_sean) has always been in a world of fantasy and superheroes. It was his fascination with good vs. evil that kindled his love of reading. When he is not working as an award-winning librarian, Sean blogs more often than he likes to admit. Follow Sean's blog and his work as paranormal romance author Sean Thomas at www.seanthomasauthor.com.