Vox Pop--shelving gay books

I an non-fiction editor for Frobidden Fruit zine which is an ezine for homoeritc and romance fiction. One thing I like to do is throw a question out to an open forum and see what people say. So if you answer this question and do not want to appear in the Vox pop please say so. (For an example of the Vox Pop see: http://forbiddenfruitzine.com/voxpop.htm )

The question is: Should gay books be shelved separately in stores and libraries, and why?

please tell me what you think!

 

Yes, gay books should be shelved separately in stores and libraries. That makes it so much easier for people to find them.

 

LOL...I have to agree with SageDreamer. At first, I was going to say no, that they should go with the other fiction, or the biographies, or whatever genre they fall in with, they should be shevled with those books. It shouldn't matter that they are about gay people. But...Sage's reply adjusted my train of though and got it on the right track! They should be shelved seperately, only because they are different and should be grouped together. For example, you would not have a book about flowers and a book about computers shelved together? So why would you have, say, gay fiction and westerns all crammed together? Shelve them seperately, and it's much easier to find. So it wouldn't be some homophobic thing, which is the first thing that came to my mind, and almost made me imediately say no, until I read the reply and thought about it!

 

i'm pretty sure you dont mean books written by gay writers...

if thats the case though, then no, they should be shelved seperately, obviously.

but if its a gay romance book, for example, then yeah.

 

They should be shelved with other books of that genre (ie hetrosexual erotica/romance). To isolate the gay books implies they are more taboo, when really they shouldn't be. Straight, gay; it's all the same really, in the grand scheme of things.

 

well im probably more conservative than alot of you...ecspecially sage lol. on one hand theres the convenience to homosexuals of having material that appeals to them at their fingertips, while it does make them tabboo...instantly sets out the "gay section" and at that price i think it comes down to...do homosexuals enjoy straight romance novels? probably. so yeah stock it with the straighties.

 

If you're talking about erotic books; they should be seperate, for the same reason that bdsm and other books are seperated: shopper convience.

Otherwise, if you just mean history and (non-erotic) literature then of course they should be with the other ones.

 

well technically you should be asking normal people instead of a bunch of writers, as we tend to be a liberal bunch.

 

So do the readers of a quuer ezine -- I post the VPs at different forums each time just to see how different groups respond.

 

Though it makes them so much easier to find if they are shelved seperately, I think that they should be intergrated amongst the other books. It would make them seem less 'taboo', and be a step in the right direction for us homosexuals to gain true equality and respect in this world.

 

exactly. although im straight. lol.