I have complained for a long time about the way Amazon and other booksellers categorize content, but this particular thing has been bothering me even more lately. It’s not just booksellers—it’s also an issue with some review web sites and social media.
Before anyone starts thinking I’m just a bitter author who got lousy reviews, let me clear that up: The majority of my reviews are positive. In fact, judging by some of the more recent ones, people are looking for good bisexual content. I have nothing but love for the people who give their time to read my work, even if they hate it and even if they have plenty of criticism. So let me reinforce: Reviewers are often part of the solution, not the problem.
Okay, now that’s out of the way, I have a few things I want to spew onto the page.
The first—and biggest—issue is the limited options for publishers and authors to categorize books. Right now, there are three: A book can feature a male/female (m/f) relationship and be sent to Romance. It can feature a male/male relationship and be sent to Gay and Lesbian>>>Gay. Or it can feature a f/f relationship and be sent to Gay and Lesbian>>>Lesbian.
You see the issue there?
There is no bisexual category. At all. None.
Now, it could be argued that a bisexual love story should be sent to one of the other groupings based on the primary pairing. I would agree, roll my eyes at calling a relationship between two bisexual people “gay,” “lesbian,” or “straight,” snark about it to my bisexual friends, and move on. And it can still be tagged as bisexual regardless. Except that we get one teensy, tiny problem still lingering, and that has to do with reader expectations.
Once again, I need to make a clarifying statement. I see nothing wrong with reader preference. If someone really does not want to read any m/f action in their m/m or f/f, not even so much as a kiss, that’s personal taste. I’m not asking anyone to change their minds. But it sure would help us out if there were a way for authors to get across that we’re writing and selling specifically bisexual fiction in order for readers to make a more informed choice of books based on their preference. It would also be grand if it didn’t feel like those categories locked us into exclusivity of m/m and f/f. (Or m/m/m+ and f/f/f+, as the case may be.)
There have been a lot of discussions recently surrounding the inclusion of bisexual characters in m/m and whether or not avid m/m readers want it. I’ve found that for the most part, people do not care if your character identifies as bisexual. The range of feelings on it are anywhere from “Woo hoo, a bi guy!” to “Meh, but at least it’s an m/m romance.” It seems bisexual characters are accepted as long as any of the following are also true:
- The primary relationship is between two or more cisgender men
- The primary relationship is between a cisgender man and a genderqueer person with a penis
- The primary relationship is between a cisgender man and a trans man who is presented to readers as very masculine
- The primary relationship is between two men who also “share” a woman
- There is no on-page sex involving a woman unless it’s a threesome
- Any polyamorous relationship where a woman is included must be a threesome, whether or not there is on-page sex
- The character identifies as Anything But Bi (because some people see this as magically transgressive and proof that the character is more “open-minded” than the “average” bisexual)
I’m not against any of those things, and I’ve written some of them.* But I find those expectations limiting, and I’ve also found that a number of people are still uninterested in bisexual characters even when there is no woman in sight or all relationships with women happen off-page or in the past. I recently saw one reader say she won’t read any book tagged with bisexual despite the fact that the vast majority of books with a bi character contain absolutely zero m/f interaction. I’ve seen others turn down bisexual books because they think they all contain threesomes.
It’s been said that the only thing needed to make a character bisexual is for the character to identify as such. This is absolutely true, but I’m finding more and more that I want books where the character’s bisexuality is an integral part of their personhood. I read a blog post recently while doing some research on a particular disability. The writer said that what distinguishes the book as not being tokenism is that you can’t replace the character with someone able-bodied and have the exact same story. This is what I want from my bisexual books—that the bi character cannot be replaced with a gay or lesbian character and have the story remain intact, in the same way I don’t want to read m/m where one of them could be replaced with a woman and have the same story.
That’s not to say I won’t read anything else. I like lgbtqia+ books of all sorts, so as long as it’s a story I find interesting and doesn’t contain horrible stereotypes of any sort, I’m a-ok with it. I fully recognize that I’m in a minority. Most readers want exclusively m/m or f/f. So what I’d like to see is a whole category just for us, for those of us who don’t wish to be confined to the limitations of “Gay and Lesbian” bookseller categories or m/m and f/f tag designations. I’d like to see more review sites open to taking books which feature a wider range of relationships. That would help me both as a reader, in choosing what I read, and as a writer, in marketing what I write.
What do you think? Should we have a specific designation for bisexual books? Or a way to communicate to readers that the story may not contain exclusive or “traditional” m/m or f/f relationships? I’d love to hear your ideas.
*I’m very fortunate to work with a publisher who gives me a HUGE amount of freedom and flexibility with my writing. I’m not limited to one kind of relationship, and thus far, I’ve also been allowed to include things certain publishers are reluctant to touch, such as religious themes, gender fluidity, non-menage polyamory, and bisexuality beyond merely mentioning the characters’ stated identity.
Lol, you ask the question as if there’s another option than ‘DUH OF COURSE THERE SHOULD BE A BI-CATEGORY, WHY ISN’T IT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE???’.
Of course publishers probably are looking at the market and the general opinion about bisexuality and go ‘hm, no, let’s not go there, you want to actually sell this book, don’t you?’ but if nothing changes, nothing changes. Something is gonna have to give. If more bisexuals can read about themselves, they will more likely come out and they will more likely be more visible and that will change opinions.
Yeah, I definitely think we need to assert ourselves. I’ve been surprised by the backlash in reader communities, which makes it much less likely that people will feel free to be open. I’ve seen too many readers and authors slink back into the shadows after a pile-on by other readers, typically straight women (who comprise the bulk of m/m readers). And I participated in a book launch for an f/f novel where all I did was ask what came to mind with the word “bisexual,” and it got so nasty the author had to intervene during my guest spot. If those of us who are willing don’t stand up, nothing will change.
I’m working on a fantasy novel with a bisexual woman (only in my head so far lol), I hope that will get published then…..
I’m with you 100% on this. We need a category of ‘bisexual fiction’ with subcategories associated with the various genres (including erotica, for those shary threesomes).
I recently had a request from an author I work with who asked me to change the category of their book on Amazon from ‘bisexual romance’ to ‘gay romance’ because they were missing out on the M/M romance readers. I explained to the author that it was Amazon who chose to categorise the book in that way – we can’t select it from the dropdown – although I disagreed with the change. Nonetheless, I went along with it, because I knew readers wouldn’t be satisfied with the bang for their buck. While the character didn’t have any opposite-sex encounters in the story, they did identify as bisexual, and I think the mere mention of the term in the story must have blipped Amazon’s bisexual radar.
I’m not entirely sure how categories work on Amazon other than the few things I’ve self-pubbed. When I tagged my work, it only let me give it 2 tags. I went to Amazon while writing this to see what I could find, and you actively have to search for bi and trans books (trans is only very slightly more accessible). Compare that to being able to go right to “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender”>>>”Gay” or “Lesbian.” This is the US site, so I’m also not sure if it’s different outside the US. It’s even more difficult for print books than it is for eBooks. I know my novels are tagged in particular ways, and I’m happy with what my publisher does.
I really didn’t want to snark too much about m/m readership and the way “If I wanted to read m/f, I would read regular romance” gets thrown around constantly in communities. I mean, way to continue to “other” LGBT folks (“regular” romance? really???). I’ve started to see more authors get assertive, though, which is good.
Oddly, my readership seems to be a lot of people who usually don’t read romance and includes men of all orientations. I was shocked out of my boots by how many messages I got from straight men who loved my first two novels.
I do wish there was a Bisexual category because I have a YA with a bisexual character and I put it in the LGBT category on Smashwords. When it was put on another site via SW, it went under gay and I did get a review complaining that the character was bisexual but the genre the book was listed under was Gay. There was nothing I could do about it.
That’s how it usually works, yes. I’ve had a number of similar complaints (like suggesting I “warn” for “het” sex, LOL). I imagine the complaint you got was from an adult reader, not a youth of the age for whom the book was intended? I find kids are a lot more open-minded about that stuff than adults.
I so agree.
I get the sense a lot of people feel this way.
I think we should have that.
My book would benefit, even if it is not a romance but the story of the relationship between two brothers, the eldest of whom happen to be bisexual. My bi protagonist has happy, committed monogamous (no, I am not against polyamory; its just not how the novel goes) relationships with both men and women. A novel like this will not bode well with fans of M/M romance, but that’s not the aim of my book.
Also, unlike other people, I like to see bisexual characters in the full spectrum; relationships between cis and non binary (I will explore this further in future novels); relationships with cis people of their same gender and, yes, relationships with people of different genders (for some people this is less representation, but personally I feel that if I ignore those types of relationships, I ignore the full spectrum too. The key is emphasizing that they are still bisexual and their relationships with people of other gender were not a phase).
That’s exactly the sort of thing I like, something where the romance isn’t the exclusive focus (or the focus at all). I mean, I enjoy romance too, but I’m definitely a fan of stories where friendship and family and other themes are explored.
It often surprises people when they learn I like a wide variety of LGBTQ+ lit because the majority of readers are fans of m/m romance. It’s been very interesting talking with other authors because while we don’t want to alienate readers, there are so many writers who feel exhausted from the pressure to write what will sell. I’ve never, ever felt that pressure, thanks in part to my publisher, who hasn’t pushed me to be more mainstream. But too many people are locking away the stories they want to tell in favor of the ones they feel they have to tell.
I’m always glad to see more writers breaking the “rules”!