Transgressive Queer Fiction and the Right to Be Messy

Straight writers frequently portray cisgender heterosexual characters with twisted sexual pathologies or dysfunctional, miserable relationships. But when an emerging sci-fi writer published a sharp, witty, in-your-face short story about a transgender helicopter pilot in a dystopian future, prominent members of the writing community rushed to viciously condemn her until she withdrew her work and went into hiding.

In this episode, horror writer Gretchen Felker-Martin joins us to talk about the importance of making space for transgressive fiction by queer writers. We also discuss didactive versus expressive art, the trap of respectability that queer creatives fall into, and Isabel Fall’s “I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter.” (And Raquel mispronounces the word didactic several dozen times.)

Links:

About Rite Gud: R.S. Benedict is an author, appearing in Fantasy and Science Fiction and Gardner Dozois’ The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction. Matt Keeley, founder of Kittysneezes, is producing Rite Gud for KS Media, LLC. Rite Gud is a Kittysneezes production. If you have questions, comments and concerns, email ritegud – at – kittysneezes – dot – com. Rite Gud is also on Patreon, at patreon.com/ritegud. Patrons receive access to the official Kittysneezes Discord, exclusive episodes, critiques and more.

Rite Gud is supported by readers like you. If you enjoy what you’ve read here, please consider supporting Rite Gud on Patreon, or via the Kittysneezes Boutique