One of Those Questions For The Ages…
Monday, July 7, 2008Posted in: Azteclady Speaks, hypocrisy, Racism in romance, Racism in the US
Are racism, cultural bias, personal prejudice, and/or life experience coloring our reading preferences?
Following on the racism discussions, I want to share something that I’ve been pondering for the longest time.
See, I have realized that I tend to avoid books wherein any of the main characters are Latino, particularly Mexican. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, I can’t buy the cultural makeup the writer is laying down for those characters. More than once I’ve been overheard saying, “Cojones, dammit, not cajones!!!” or “hispanos are human beings, not a different species!”
Which is funny, because what I sometimes take to be stereotypical representation may in reality come from the author’s life expereince. Case in point: Karen Templeton’s character Félix in Baby I’m Yours. I had trouble with him because I thought he was a stereotypical Latino man based on things like George López or what have you. Turns out Ms Templeton based Félix on a number of actual people she knows in New Mexico where she lives.
Whodathunkit?
So am I being racist in reverse? Am I actually assuming—with all the attendant asshattery—that no one can properly write Mexican or Latino characters that I can relate to?
And what about the fact that I won’t touch inspirational or self help books no matter what? Am I being a close-minded, biased, prejudiced so-and-so?
Or perhaps I simply know myself well, and know that if I do crack one of those open I’ll spend the time grumbling—if not flat out cursing—in annoyance?
The Profane Angel
July 7
11:12 am
Not sure I can relate/comment on that, because I haven’t read much fiction involving Latino culture, but there’s the issue of writing gay characters, which I can relate to, straight through I am. My two closest friends are gay, and I don’t know if I laugh or cry more when I hear of their life struggles in a world that seems to hate gays more than a single racial group. I put gay characters in my work, in and out of the context of their “subculture” because I’m tired of people thinking gays are somehow untermenschen (I can speak German, I just can’t always spell it, LOL, if it’s an insult you want in a foreign language, I’m your girl). How many people put books down when they realize a main character is gay? (I guess lesbian is the more accurate term for my friends and thus my characters)
Part of the joy of being human, at least from my crumbling tower, is the vast diversity of life, of the combinations that can be formed. When I lived in Germany, I went native, which a lot of the other Americans couldn’t understand, because I was fascinated with the culture (a nation that gave us Hitler and Himmler as well as Bach and Beethoven). With my gay friends, I feel it’s a culture I can’t fully enter, for reasons both obvious and subtle, but I can recognize that it is a legitimate culture, but very few, if any, straight writers attempt to explore it – yet those same authors will hang out at a Filipino gathering and then write about “Filipino culture.” Why?
As for self-help/inspirational books, get in line, I wouldn’t go near them even if I was back with a chemo needle in my arm. My summary of self help at its best – judge not. And “fake it not” applies to those who attempt to ‘explore” Latino or other cultures with only some pre-conceived ideas and no idea whatsover of the diversity within that or any other culture/subculture.
So, no, I personally don’t think you’re racist for avoiding those books, my guess is they strike you as false and therefore irritating. I think we all have authors we’d like to slap naked and hide their clothes because of the bullshit they put out there.
Did I mention I was kicked out of Lurkers Anonymous last night? Oh, the disgrace, oh the pain in store for you as I butt in left and right! Anyway, maybe the question comes down to this – which label would one rather accept, racist or homophobic? And why should labels be applied at all, except they’re handy ways of categorizing people without giving it much thought. And why oh why am I trying to write at this ungodly hour? Hope I made some sense. TPA
Shanna
July 7
2:26 pm
I think it’s more about knowing what you like and what annoys the crap out of you. For example I won’t read anything by Catherine Anderson anymore because I don’t want to hear about Catholicism and how devout her characters are. I don’t think that makes me a Catholic-hater.
Larissa
July 7
2:33 pm
Trying to do a quick catch-up at some blogs before I take off for a month vacation (yay!) What you said is really interesting, because I believe that we are all, no matter how much we’ve traveled or read or been educated, a little fenced in by our upbringing. This, in particular, struck me as interesting:
“Which is funny, because what I sometimes take to be stereotypical representation may in reality come from the author’s life expereince. Case in point: Karen Templeton’s character Félix in Baby I’m Yours. I had trouble with him because I thought he was a stereotypical Latino man based on things like George López or what have you. Turns out Ms Templeton based Félix on a number of actual people she knows in New Mexico where she lives.”
I think that even if you spent your entire life in one area/culture/whatever, you still can’t absorb everything.
Once, I wrote a story where a Texan character says, “All y’all.” Man, I got BLASTED by someone who grew up in Texas and said that Texans DO NOT SAY THAT. Er…well, my ex-husband’s family lived in Stephenville, had never been outside the county in their entire lives (I kid you not, and the stories I have about these people would make your jaw drop,) and they said that all the time.
When I was in England, I got rear-ended in London (five minutes after getting my rental car, ugh!) and the very nice gentleman who hit me, got out of his BMW and said, “Oh, jolly sorry!”
But when I told some people in Southampton about the accident, they were shocked. One said, “I didn’t think anyone in England actually said, ‘Jolly sorry.’ Thought it was a stereotype.”
So if I’d ever used “Jolly sorry,” in a story, I’d probably have been blasted by a few Brits for that, because for some of them, it might be a stereotype, and they might think I’m an idiot.
So, yes, I think our life experience colors things for us, but that’s why we’re all so different. Nothing wrong with that!
sallahdog
July 7
3:05 pm
We all have prejudices. You can call it racism, sexism, religious intolerance etc, if you want, bt it boils down to basic human nature.
You could make someone who doesn’t think they could relate to black (or christian,women, latina) characters read a book, but I don’t think you can make them LIKE it…
I personally don’t enjoy most books with the main character being male (especially those written by males)… I like my books to connect on an emotional level, and that doesnt happen often in malecentric books. Thats a prejudice, and I have read malecentric books that I liked very much that blasted that stereotype, but its still there for me…
GrowlyCub
July 7
3:26 pm
I think those kind of thoughts come from our overly PC focused environment in the U.S.
Why should anybody feel guilty for not wanting to read certain books or books with certain elements. There are millions of books out there, we know what we like and what most likely will not make us feel happy.
Leisure reading shouldn’t make one feel unhappy. Sure, I might miss out on a few books that I would have liked a lot, but there are enough books out there in genres/setups I like to keep me reading until I’m 200.
You can always make an exception if a book comes highly recommended by a reader with similar tastes, but I wouldn’t go out searching for books just because I felt I was not being ‘fair’ or ‘inclusive’.
I read for fun, not to please some other person’s perception of what I should be reading!
Can you tell I’ve had a few too many people tell me I’m racist for not seeking out X, narrow and limiting myself for not wanting to read paranormal, suspense, chick lit, missing out and being stupid for not trying Y author, etc. etc. lately? 🙂
Darragha
July 7
3:52 pm
My day job is in a 52% Latino population school. I speak Spanish at work every day. I have a WIP with a Mexican-American hero. He’s a border patrol agent on the US/Canadian border. He does refer to his true love as “corazon,” but his cojones are balls, yanno?
He’s modeled after the lead stable hand where my daughter works. I sit in the car with my laptop, writing away, watching this guy bring in horses (sometimes right along side my daughter who is also a stable hand) and he flashes a friendly, handsome smile and those eyes…man…he just melts my heart.
I haven’t read a Latino hero book for awhile. Post your recommendations!
Thanks,
Darragha
Cherrie Lynn
July 7
3:53 pm
Larissa, I wonder what part of Texas that person grew up in. Where I live (deep East!), we do say “all y’all”, and we say it often. I had a professor from Wisconsin tell our lit class it was his favorite thing we said down here, because you just can’t get any more inclusive than that!
JulieLeto
July 7
4:01 pm
Aztec, I think it is natural to judge books by our own pesonal experience. I write Latino/Latina characters, based on my experience as a Latina in a community that is very hispanic and that of my friends. And yet I’ve been criticized for writing stereotypes, mostly by other Latinas. On top of that, I’ve been called “not Latina enough” because the Cuban side of my family has been here since the late 1800s and after several generations, we don’t speak Spanish.
The same went for very background, secondary Hawaiian characters I wrote, who were based on a good friend and her family. They were in maybe two scenes in the whole book. The confusing part of that one was that the reviewer found my Polynesian family “too nice” to be realistic–if they’d been white, I DOUBT the comment would have been made. There ARE nice people in all ethnicities and because I portrayed this Polynesian family as welcoming and fun, she was offended. But in my experience, Polynesian families are all about hospitality and warmth…much like the Southern stereotype.
The fact of the matter is this–some stereotypes are true. Sometimes they are not. But it’s been my experience that ANY author who chooses to write about ethnic characters runs the risk of being criticized, often in unwarranted ways.
So do readers want homogenized characters so their sensibilities are not offended? Yes, some do. You can’t please everyone. Me, I choose to write what I want to and from my experience and I hope that most readers will enjoy it.
TracyS
July 7
5:08 pm
Whoever mentioned that different parts of a state can have different sayings is so true. (I believe it was Larissa~too lazy to look LOL)
I’m in WI. If someone was writing a character from WI they could have them call the Pepsi they were drinking “soda” OR “pop” because both words are used in WI. If the writer said exactly which part of the state the character was from, then they need to research which one is said where (fyi, “soda” is mainly SE WI). If they just said the character was from WI and had the character say “soda” someone from way “up north” (another WI saying) who had never been to SE WI could write them saying it’s wrong and Wisconsinites say “pop”.
I think we need to give writers the benefit of the doubt (unless they are making blatantly racist remarks) and assume their situation is like Karen Templeton’s and she knows a Latino man that was like that; or Larissa’s example of the “all y’all” (I love that too~maybe it’s a Wisconsin thing!).
We all have things that annoy us though. I am so sick of anyone from the Midwest appearing like an ignorant hick on TV. *sigh* but it’s done all the time.
veinglory
July 7
5:30 pm
Personally I think not reading types of characters due to negative (bigoted) stereotyping is something a readers should reflect on and perhaps be ashamed, and perhaps go out of their way to change.
Not reading for other non-bigoted reasons is different. I avoid reading about psychologist or veterinarian characters because the giant, huge, downright insulting inaccuracies in how these professions are usually depicted bug me. No guilt there.
DS
July 7
6:11 pm
I recently read a book set in and around New Orleans that just didn’t feel right. It was only after I ran into a friend from that area that it clicked. All of the characters (including a voodoo priestess) were white. Totally insensitive to the rich cultural mix that can be found there– a least pre-Katrina.
And I really don’t care for inspirational novels but its the evangelical part I’m not interested in, I’ve found Phil Rickman’s female Anglican vicar who is also a Deliverance Minister (exorcist) in his Merrily Watkins mysteries to be fascinating as she copes with her own crises of faith and various natural and supernatural mysteries.
dee
July 7
6:52 pm
There’s a difference between prejudging–having a preset idea about things that one is willing to change once evidence to the contrary is provided and be prejudiced–having a rigid, unchangable attitude to persons, races, situations that no evidence can contradict. We all prejudge based on what we know so far, but being prejudiced is another story. I’m not interested in convincing the unconvincable that they are wrong.
But the truth is that our society is becoming more of a mash up. It is becoming more ordinary for folks to meet up with others unlike them. It behooves us all to let flesh and blood folks inform us as opposed to media images that are almost always a distortion.
Isn’t it just the nature of the beast that for every portrayal, regardless of its source, there will be folks to claim it is absolute hogwash while others will claim it is spot on. Go figure.
All the best,
Dee
T.J. Killian
July 7
9:53 pm
I’m very much the same way with my own culture. Being born and raised in Northern Ireland, I am often astounded by the way my culture is portrayed in romance. I don’t think in any way it is the author trying to be hurtful or misrepresent – they just aren’t from the Republic or Northern Ireland so they generalize to what they think the reader wants to read rather than what is the truth.
I wouldn’t call it being prejudicial, but knowing what will make you scream in absolute dismay.
Anne
July 7
10:04 pm
*waves at TracyS* I’m from WI too! And you are EXACTLY right about “soda” and “pop”. I’m directly between Milwaukee and Green Bay. When you get to GB, it’s “pop” I’d say about 30 miles south of there and down along the lakeshore it’s “soda”. Funny how that works.
There are some books I don’t read because I don’t understand the culture and, frankly, don’t want to because when I’m reading, I’m reading for enjoyment and not so much for educational purposes. If I wanted that, I’d read a nonfiction… and that just doesn’t happen unless it’s an autobiography of some sort. So, mostly for me, it’s culture that is slathered through many books and if I find it’s just a particular author, because the logical side of me does at times rear it’s ugly head, I simply avoid their works. *shrug*
Dee Tenorio
July 7
10:14 pm
I have to admit, I avoid a lot of different themes or types of books because they don’t appeal to me.
I find many Inspirational romances weird because I grew up in a very Christian home and I find the fiction a little too heavy handed. But I also have aversions to specifically racial romances too–(yup, I said it. I’m a horrible person. I don’t read romances that center on race relating because I want a romance that centers on romance. Call me awful.)—because I don’t want to wonder if the writer knows actual ethnic people or if she just did research.
If the book has ethnic characters or christian characters, cool, I’ll read it. I just feel manipulated when it’s the main selling point, so I avoid them when that happens.
Then again, I have a Mexican character in my own books that is a conglomeration of all my tias and believe me, the Spanglish rolls out like mad. And one of my next projects does indeed have a Mexican hero with a very Mexican family. I imagine he’s going to annoy the crap out of tons of people, for the reasons you mention. If it’s not your experience, it feels really fake and without a writer’s explanation for each book, nothing can really change that. I mean, if I compared my Ghetto with someone from Chicago, we’d have totally different ideas on how to get away from the cops.
But that doesn’t make you a bigot for avoiding the frustration. The world is PC enough. You shouldn’t have to feel bad for choosing books according to what you like. If that were the case, I’d have to give up complaining about books that were horribly crafted because I prefer to experience books the writer put her time and at least a small part of her heart into.
And who knows, the horribly crafted books might have the heart of their author in them too, but the truth is, it’s not going to be visible to everyone. That’s what writers have to expect getting into this business. You can’t please everyone. Working hard has never entitled anyone to a guaranteed success and the pressure put on readers to enjoy everything no matter what the sub-genre is, in my mind, unfair.
Read what you like. Because you like it. Readers don’t owe anyone anything more than that.
TracyS
July 7
10:40 pm
*waves back at Anne!*
So, do you say “drinking fountain” or “bubbler”? LOL We say “bubbler” here!
Anne
July 7
10:44 pm
Tracy~
It is, was, and always will be a bubbler. *snicker* Imagine my surprise when I was little and we went out west and found out that no one else called it a bubbler. In fact, they all thought I was off my rocker I think. LOL They were like, “What IS a bubbler?” Drinking fountain, people! LOL
And we, too, say “up north” like it’s another country or something when it’s just northern WI… and some people say the North Woods. Snort.
I wonder how may other weird things we WI people say that no one else does.
shirley
July 7
11:00 pm
“I think those kind of thoughts come from our overly PC focused environment in the U.S.” – GrowlyCub
Couldn’t have said it better. In the current(and getting worse if you ask me) walking on eggshells or you’re racist/bigoted/etc culture, everyone worries on and on about what other people think. It is okay, no it’s human and right, to have thoughts and feelings independent of what society deems ‘acceptable’. You don’t have to share you feelings, or your buying preferences, if you don’t want to but there is nothing wrong with saying “I don’t get into that.”
There is a huge difference between tolerance and acceptance and in my opinion we should be tolerant of everyone as a basic tenet of being a good human being. We don’t have to accept everything everyone does or is. If you aren’t keen on Latin flavored romance, AztecLady, that’s just fine by me.
K. Z. Snow
July 7
11:28 pm
One thing my long and largely liberal life has taught me is that no race, color, creed, or sexual preference has a monopoly on buttheadedness. On the other hand, there is no race, color, creed, or sexual preference that’s free of buttheadedness.
Quite frankly, I’m sick of politically correct horseshit. So shoot me. I’m sick of having to tiptoe around explaining why I do read or write this or don’t read or write that and worrying about whom I might be offending and why . . . because, God knows, in this day and age it’s possible to offend someone somewhere just by having a certain freakin’ look on your mug!
Screw it. I’m too old to bother. I have a gay Mexican-American hero in my new urban fantasy, because I just plain wanted to. So there. He appeared in my mind and he was hot and — blammy — there he was on the page. And just for the record, I do firmly believe gays are the only definable group in the Western world who still suffer widespread socially and religiously sanctioned prejudice.
And that word is definitely BUBBLER!
(Sorry for my hissy fit, but the “in-laws” — who aren’t technically in-laws, since I’m not married — just showed up for an extended stay, and my whole attitude instantly went down the shitter. If you knew my boyfriend’s mother, you’d be sending me flowers and notes of condolence. Trust me.)
kirsten saell
July 7
11:46 pm
Don’t suppose you could tell me your pen name so I could pick up some of your books, TPA? I’ve been rather actively seeking lesbian romance/erotica, especially in ebooks. If you didn’t want to out yourself so soon after delurking, you could just email me…
veinglory
July 8
12:11 am
I see a lot of backlash against being PC. It makes me think of the old ‘I’m not feminist but…’ camp. Seems to me that the fact something can be taken too far shouldn’t be used to suggest it not be done at all.
DS
July 8
12:12 am
One other thing–there’s a book that is currently making the rounds of NPR– The Big Sort by Bill Bishop. The thesis is that for the last few decades– he pinpoints 1965, people in North American tend to live with others who are like minded. He feels this is related to the housing development boom where the land is zoned for houses of a certain size along with certain rules about what you can and cannot do on your property. As a consequence we do not learn how to get along with those who are different from us.
I’m starting to think it might be a good idea to read a little outside my zone. Not necessarily in the PC direction– maybe even read a book or two written from a more conservative viewpoint.
The Profane Angel
July 8
12:12 am
Well, I don’t write erotica, I write about people who are or are not gay – just people, in other words, in relationships that range from friendship to lovers. Being straight, I don’t think I could write convincing lesbian erotica, anyway — I’m far more interested in the human heart and mind than I am in what goes where, but I’ll be glad to email my name to you, if I can figure out how to do this (delurking comes with its own problems, like, how the hell does this work?) Blogs – posting on them, anyway – is a new experience and my skill set is sadly lacking. So, given the caveat that reading my work won’t be reading erotica, if you’re still interested, send me an email and I’ll get back to you ASAP. TPA
kirsten saell
July 8
12:45 am
I would still be interested if they are at all romantic–I’m a sucker for love stories–and available in ebook format. There’s no link to your email in your posts, tho, otherwise I wouldn’t have hijacked the thread (sorry Karen!).
Ping me at kirstensaell AT yahoo DOT com if you like.
Lesbian fiction (erotic or not) tends to be rather underrepresented in ebooks, and I live three hours away from the nearest bookstore, so…
K. Z. Snow
July 8
1:56 am
And there should be a backlash against being all pussy-footy PC. Good lord, it’s gotten to the point where people are afraid of expressing themselves in any meaningful way, considering all the qualifiers with which we now must lard every utterance. I’ve seen potentially enlightening exchanges watered down to a lot of mugwumpy, apologistic crap.
But you’re right, Emily. The issues that brought political correctness to the fore in the first place can not and should not be ignored. It’s just that our society has taken it to extremes: i.e., shorn us of our sense of humor and our individual (and sometimes justified) perspectives.
I think what made this all glaringly clear to me was George Carlin’s death. I watched a whole bunch of his vid’s afterward, because I revere the man, and I thought, Yeah, it’s entirely possible to think reasonably and fairly and NOT walk in lock-step with the masses!
AztecLady
July 8
2:12 am
Firstly, thank you, guys, for commenting.
For me, though, it’s not about the PC or lack thereof. It’s more about examining what goes on in my head when I summarily (yes, that’s the word that applies, shame on me) dismiss entire subgenres.
Inspirationals? I automatically go, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!–regardless of what stripe or church is being showcased. On that one, at least, I know I have tried a couple (waaaaaay back) so at least I’m basing my reaction on personal experience, limited as it may be. I can even say the same about self help books.
But what about Latino characters? After all, people who were born and raised in Mexico City, but in a different area or different means, would have an entirely different frame of reference from mine–let alone people from Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala.
My dismissing these books out of hand, cannot it be compared to the many asshats who won’t touch a romance because “everybody knows it’s trash”?
And something else–I read and enjoy m/m fiction but feel absolutely no curiosity about f/f fiction. And I have no idea why!
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more confused I get.
K. Z. Snow
July 8
2:45 am
I can only answer for myself, and the answer requires no thought whatsoever. I’m a straight woman! Men turn me on; women do not. I love reading and writing about men with men and women with men. Women with women? Not. See? It’s real simple.
Lori
July 8
3:28 am
Why apologize for how you’re hardwired? I would never read m/m but have no problems with f/f although I prefer hetero romance. But m/m as secondary characters (just don’t take me into their bedroom please) is fine.
I will not knowingly read a book where rape is part of the storyline. Won’t choose to read anything where children are hurt or killed. Multi-ethnic I love because it reflects my life.
I also don’t read werewolves or were-anythings but love witches and demons. Am I prejudiced against weres?
Thank God we’re all so different. Keeps all those diverse authors with an audience.
MB (Leah)
July 8
3:38 am
You know what it is for me when I completely dismiss a whole sub-genre or a certain type of story line? It’s all about that I’m reading to be entertained and I spend hard
earned money on it. I don’t have the time to waste on stuff that really doesn’t appeal to me. So, I’m going to buy and read what I know I will like.
Sometimes it happens that I end up with a book that has something in it that I wouldn’t have chosen and it’s written so well that I become more open to reading more of it and might pick up some more. But if I have only so many dollars, and so much time, I’m going straight for what I love and there’s nothing wrong or prejudiced about that.
Many times we are not open to things because of personal experience and that’s OK too. I choose not to read inspirational because I grew up in a very strict fundamentalist home and I hated every minute of it. So, why would I want to read about it? Been there done that. But I don’t dismiss it as a genre for others who like that sort of thing. And I don’t feel bad or that I’m evil that I refuse to read it.
Also, maybe there is a time and place as well. I read a lot of erotic romance and erotica and I wouldn’t touch BDSM with a ten foot pole when I first started reading. Now, I see that there are some authors who write it in an acceptable way for me to read and be OK with, but I wouldn’t have been open to it when I first started reading romance, erotica, etc. This didn’t make me prejudiced because I refused to read BDSM in the beginning; it was just my preference not to read it.
See, I like to read f/f, but wasn’t attracted to read m/m. Then I read some yaoi and now I love m/m. But I still prefer f/f if I go outside of m/f, which is my main preference. Once again, it’s a preference and nothing wrong in it either way.
infogenium
July 8
3:45 am
As an Australian (living in Aust), I cannot read any book set in Australia, or with Australian H/H. I have no idea why and I only realised this a few years ago. I dare not say this out loud or my fellow Australians would probably belt me over the head with the bubbler (yep that’s what it’s called here too).
kirsten saell
July 8
4:43 am
Paranormals? Eeeeeekkk!!! Does the fact I hate vampire and were and shifter stories mean I’m a bad person?
I love three-person erotic romances that include f/f/m and m/m/f, but not f/m/f or m/f/m. Does that make me prejudiced against het sandwich stories?
It means I like what I like.
I suppose there might be an author who could make a shifter/ghost m/f/m menage work form me, but they’d have their work cut out for them, and chances are I’d feel like I wasted my money.
I’m a firm believer in Kinsey’s theory that very few people are 100% gay or 100% straight. A lot of women who consider themselves to be straight can and do enjoy reading some f/f content. But there’s no shame in being uninterested in it, either.
I think MB(Leah)’s experience is quite common. I know I had zero interest in m/m until just last year–despite cutting my teeth on Swordspoint more than a decade ago. I read a couple of titles to see what the fuss was about, and now I’m a convert. (Still love me some good f/f, though.)
Rosario
July 8
9:18 am
Am I actually assuming—with all the attendant asshattery—that no one can properly write Mexican or Latino characters that I can relate to?
If your reading experience has been anything like mine, I don’t blame you for fearing that. When I first started reading romance (looooong ago *g*) I read way too many HP-like category books where Latino was quite simply shorthand for sexist and domineering. That was all there was to these guys’ Latino-ness. In recent years I’ve read much better books, but those first traumatic experiences still shape my initial reactions somewhat.
Now, even in these better books, I wouldn’t say I relate to Latino characters any better than I would to any other characters. As you say above (“After all, people who were born and raised in Mexico City, but in a different area or different means, would have an entirely different frame of reference from mine–let alone people from Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala.“), Latin American culture is not monolithic (and what are the chances of me reading a Uruguayan character in a romance novel?). Not to mention that most of the Latino characters I’ve seen in romance novels are just of Latin origin, but raised in the US, so their culture will feel much more American than Latin American to me.
Karen Scott
July 8
9:49 am
Personally for me, it’s because I have no interest at all in reading about women getting it on.
Ebony
July 8
2:59 pm
I think as a reader we all have our preferences. I can tell from reading the back of the book or reviews whether or not a book will appeal to me–I prefer m/f interactions…race is not important…I prefer romance over sci-fi…occupation of characters is not important. I could go on & on.
Amie Stuart
July 8
3:51 pm
LOL Aztec I’m the exact oposite. FWIW I LOVE Latina-lit (of whatever origin–cuban, mexican etc). Maybe it comes from living in Texas were there is a large Mexican population. But I won’t date a Mexican (bad experience) LOL
And whoever asked about Stephenville it’s like Central Texas about 2 hours or so outside of Ft. Worth. I HATE all ya’ll!!! LOL
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