Homophobic Writer Wins Award
Sadly, that is not a witty headline meant to provoke or amuse. It's just the plain truth, sad as it is to say.
Orson Scott Card, currently writing Ultimate Iron Man and Red Prophet for Marvel, was just announced as the winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award given out by the Young Adult Library Services Association. This award in particular is given on the basis of "an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world."
Now, while Card's biggest hit (Ender's Game) hasn't interested me enough to try it, I can say with certainty that he does NOT deserve the award. The man has been more than just outspoken on his views of homosexuality. He claims to dislike the term "homophobic," but he considers same sex relationships to be a sin and that we require salvation. My two favorite excerpts of his views on the subject:
Gay activism as a movement is no longer looking for civil rights, which by and large homosexuals already have.
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society. The goal of the polity is not to put homosexuals in jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging in homosexual practices in the first place, and, when they nevertheless proceed in their homosexual behavior, to encourage them to do so discreetly, so as not to shake the confidence of the community in the polity's ability to provide rules for safe, stable, dependable marriage and family relationships
Sounds like the kind of guy you want to give an award to, huh?
Hit the jump for more on the subject.
YALSA's position is that a writer's personal beliefs should not be a factor when discussing their work. In all fairness, that is a very valid point. But how can one discuss a book or comic without also discussing the author? There is a reason the book is written the way it is and a large part of that are the beliefs of the author. It may not be a conscious effort, but it's inevitable part of the writing process.
And the author and his biography are just as integral to the review process as well. Yes, you can pick up War and Peace and read it today just as well as in 1865, but knowing that Tolstoy was very much about the people as harbingers of change and not the individual certainly affects the way you discuss the book. The first aspect of any sort of meta-reading is to consider the author and where they come from.
Now, I am hardly comparing these two books, but reviewing them should use the same method. By the same token, judging these works for an award should also follow a similar standard. As After Elton mentions, it is more than possible that someone reading Ender's Game for the first time would go online to check out Orson Scott Card's website, only to find article after article condemning those "alternative lifestyles" that some people seem to hate so much. And don't forget, the award in question is for "helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world." If said adolescent happens to be gay, then anything written by this man should be out of the running.
It's unfortunate that the YALSA chose Card for this as they have been doing some excellent work recently. They have worked hard to get graphic novels accepted as true literature and have stood against censorship. And while I will fight to the death to protect Card's freedom to write anything he wants, that is a far cry from giving him an award for it.
Goblin
Posted to editorial on 3 April 2008
· Comments (9)
Other stuff like this: Homophobia, Orson Scott Card, YALSA
Boy Meets Hero by Chayne Avery and Russell Garcia
used to like his books, then I found out how much of an ass he was. Now I voice my dislike of him by never buying/reading anything he has his name on. And I tell my friends about him...
...the eff?
I find it depressing that someone who's so obviously intelligent and talented- and able to understand and evaluate alien worlds, for God's sake- is scared of the normal folks who'd like to be able to live their lives like, you know, normal folks. (That sentence may not have made any sense.) Won't be buying any of his stuff any more. It's kind of a pity, because I'd like to read Ultimate Iron Man, but I can't in good conscience buy it knowing that the money has a good chance of heading towards some assfaced scheme to block civil unions or hate crime legislation.
I found out about Orson Scott Card's homophobia right in the middle of reading Ender's Game. I was tempted to put it down, but the book was good enough for me to continue, despite my distaste for the author's views. News like this is a good reminder to support LGBT and LGBT-friendly writers of young adult novels, like Perry Moore ("Hero").
Yeah, I've read quite a few of his books, and only recently learned that the guy was a hate-monger. Pity.
(...and anyone look at that photo and think the guy's a closet case? Just me?)
He was a theater major...
Like others, I'm very dissapointed and a bit pissed off...I used to really like his work, but I'll never read anything he writes again. What an ass...
News like this is a good reminder to support LGBT and LGBT-friendly writers of young adult novels, like Perry Moore ("Hero").
It's just a shame that Hero was total crap.
WTF?!? I had no idea. Glad I've never bought any of his books.
He also says that if gays want marriage rights, they should convince someone of the opposite sex to marry them. I've heard lots of Christians say this. The first time I heard it I thought it was a joke, because it is so goddamn stupid.
So that's what he means by "safe, stable, dependable" marriage, huh? Enter into a sham marriage so you can dupe the government into giving you legal benefits? Can't you just smell the "sanctity"?
Not to mention that would almost certainly be considered fraud in the first place.
God what a gigantic douche and a half. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this creep.
He's always sort of confused me... When I read Ender's Game and all the other stuff that eventually came with it, at some point I branched out into some of his other books --and I could have sworn I remembered a book about a planet of people who were or could be transgendered (plus maybe their experimentation with the whole sexuality thing? It's been awhile since I actually read it) and it was fairly blase/neutral/positive about it.
It's really weird to discover afterward that he's so homophobic but often tries to write it off as healthy wariness or whatever.