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Where the fuck are the gay people in dystopian fiction?




Big Brother’s Checklist:





·         Sense of threat: There isn’t one.





·         Deeper meaning: There doesn’t seem to be one.


·         Originality/execution: Read “The Giver” instead.

Bingo count: 11 ½ /12.



( 9 comments — Leave a comment )
Jun. 13th, 2012 09:37 pm (UTC)
I have to admit I do like the progression of the covers, how it goes from her being trapped to breaking out to finally standing triumphantly/defiantly, but it'd be more impressive if Cassie ever actually did anything as a heroine.

This is a great review, given that you had a big old boring pile of next to nothing to work with. It honestly sounds like no thought was put into this at all beyond a few "restrictive/dystopian" ideas, which weren't followed through. I wonder how exactly this got a seven sum figure deal and a bunch of publicity?
Jun. 13th, 2012 09:48 pm (UTC)
I almost universally hate dystopian works just because I can very, very rarely believe that they'd exist without the population just rebelling against them. I don't know if you like anime at all but there's a series called No. 06 that you can watch streaming on (and yes, it's all legit and legal, woo!) and while it's certainly not flawless, it not only has a dystopia I can actually buy, but it certainly does not erase LBGT issues either (though it's a little bit depressing to read the viewers' comments on the episodes as they try to convince themselves otherwise, sigh).
Jun. 13th, 2012 10:14 pm (UTC)
I suspected Condie was Mormon (well, based on the fact that she lived in Utah, I know, so bad), but I think because she is Mormon the world building makes more sense.

The cancer bit: I felt that the Society and the powers that be did some major genetic tweaking and or other types of manipulating. But something else: the citizens sound like they live healthy lives because the society makes them live healthy, so cancer is caught right away and treated.

The 100 selection: Condie was an English teacher, and the 100 is pretty much, in my opinion, every person with a fine arts degree worst case nightmare, and I think in the second book there's more discussion over how messed up the system is.
Jun. 14th, 2012 12:50 am (UTC)
I'm with the commenter above me, I don't think you can separate the author's Mormonness from the issues you had with the book. Not least the fact that she's *living* in a restrictive, opaque, somewhat coercive culture. I have to wonder if she actually does see the Society as a dystopia, or if she half disapproves and half approves of it. I'm certainly not surprised that LGBTQ people don't exist in her universe, since that's pretty much the LDS church's dream situation.

I'm also struck by the similarities between the way you describe the main character and her romance options and those of Twilight. Yet again the intelligent-but-passive heroine obsessed (in a conservative way) with a brooding, forbidden stranger she barely knows. I'm again left wondering how the author's religion plays into this. Is a certain amount of passivity expected of teenaged Mormon girls? Is the "brooding dark stranger who ends up being a good guy" trope the best way to have a "safe" crush without leaving the bounds of that culture's restrictions?

I don't read enough YA to know if these are simply tropes of the genre, or if they're accidentally revelatory of the experiences of the authors.
Jun. 14th, 2012 06:20 pm (UTC)
'... the citizens are taught to read but not to write.'

'... Ky teaches Cassia to write'

Erm. And Ky knows how to write because...?

'They barely interact and they know next to nothing about each other, and yet we’re supposed to believe they completely adore each other and will do anything do stay together...'

Bwahaha, it sounds like Arthur and Gwen in Merlin.

The LGBTQ (what's the Q for?) thing, you know I'm as pro- as anything, but I don't think generally I would have a lessened view on a book because of a lack of representation (there are plenty of real life situations without LGBTQ representation, it would bother me to have it thrown into a serious plot for the sake of it). However, in this book it seems to have left significant plot holes, and that should definitely have been dealt with :/

Jun. 14th, 2012 10:19 pm (UTC)

The "Q" stands for "Queer." :)

I agree with you. While it's not necessary to include LGBTQ themes/characters in every story, it seems Matched is focused on the Society pairing people up, so it feels strange that LGBTQ people aren't referenced. Would matches include same-sex relationships or forbid them?

Edited at 2012-06-14 10:20 pm (UTC)
Jun. 14th, 2012 10:40 pm (UTC)
I think it means "Questioning".


You could possibly reduce the likelihood of cancer. Certain types of cancers are related to genes, for example, a woman with genes BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 is more likely to get breast cancer ceteris paribus than a woman without them. Of course, genes aren't the only thing that causes cancer.
Jun. 22nd, 2012 02:16 am (UTC)
It's not a good sign when the title of one's book sounds more like a dating website than a dystopic novel. :/

Like with Divergent, I'm seriously wondering about the point of this all. In the Giver, the society controlled who married whom because it was another part of making things "perfect", deciding compatibility in personality and whatnot. Is that what they're supposed to be doing in this book? Is the idea that convincing citizens that they're matching them up with the "perfect spouse" will keep them compliant and happy, delusional under the belief that they were spared the anxiety of choosing their own partner?

I realize that there are a lot of things that could have been done to make the book better, but it would have explained a lot if it were revealed that, say, the Society was giving people some sort of drug that suppressed sexual urges until they were matched up. It would explain why Cassia got such extreme reactions to little things like hand-holding.

"The characters in the book have the option to reject their match and live life as a Single"

*head desk* Jesus H. Christ, first we get the folks in Divergent who don't have to take the personality quiz, and now this. Do these authors just not get the point that in dystopic societies, things are not all nice and pleasant and convenient for people? Giving people the illusion of a choice I can understand, but are there any restrictions that people suffer for being a Single? Is it like being an Untouchable? What?
Jun. 29th, 2012 03:04 pm (UTC)
RE: The hormonal thing... that's what I figured when I read it some months ago, that they had suppressants or something in the food. The Society put poison in the old people's food to make sure they died on 80, so... *shrugs* The drug could be removed when the Matches were formalized.
The best I can say for it was that Cassia seemed to have an okay relationship with her parents. *shrugs* Unlike in say Twilight, where Bella was a patronizing bitch towards her parents.
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