Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
<shrug> Sex sells. That's a fact, and you're not going to change it. That applies equally to books targeted at male and female readers - look at the cover of the typical Harlequin romance. I don't personally see anything offensive about it; there's nothing inherently "bad" about sexual desire. Isn't all fiction a form of fantasy fulfilment at the end of the day?
I understand where you're coming from, but you're not going to change anything by complaining about it.
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There's nothing wrong with sexual desire, or wish fulfillment. But there is something wrong with exploiting instincts for commercial gain (yes, I also complain about Skinner box video games and tasteless marketing campaigns
) and with not having a dialogue about why some people might want that to change.
If it floats your boat, that's fine. But we can at least all acknowledge that it's problematic for some people. The dismissive tone that Resnick et al took is really what got my goat.
Most of American history has been dominated by people complaining loudly enough and long enough about things that offend them. And those things have changed. Slowly, but definitely and undeniably. Shrugging and giving up is part of the problem. All that is required for bad taste to succeed is for the irritated to stay silent.