What does male sexuality have to do with Martin Brant Novels?
Within the general brotherhood of man, concerning male sexuality, a significant percentage of men live with a closely guarded secret. More common than most people think, these men are dealing a same sex attraction. Most people, other than those they may have shared their secret with, don’t realize how many men have some degree of sexual attraction to other men. Contrary to most moral codes and various religious beliefs, these feelings are quite common and natural. They are feelings that number among the human emotions I deal with through the characters in my novels.
A writer’s first priority, mine included, is to tell a good story. Any writer worth his or her salt wants to create a thoughtfully written story and entertain those who read his or her work. It could be a murder mystery like my latest novel, Copperas Cove, where Jonathon Scott, recently divorced, leaves Pittsburgh to start a new life and finds himself entangled in the bigoted dramas of 1950s Mississippi; or a WWII action/adventure like The Partisans, where two men on an important mission in France stumble upon a bright new future; or a tale of romance like A Song in the Park, where two men at odds with their past cross paths and start facing life’s challenges together. Good stories have characters and characters have personalities, personalities that are very much a part of the whole and make for a more intriguing book. Often the character’s personality can be a story within a story, or it can be the story itself, as in books such as Catcher in the Rye, or my first novel Five Married Men.
Why the element of same sex attraction?
For me it’s a fascination with the vast diversity of human nature. It’s a part of the human race that, for various reasons, many don’t understand. Many of us have been indoctrinated to belief there is something wrong with being attracted to a member of our own sex, which includes the majority of those who are. These are the men who keep secrets, who often feel guilty, who somehow believe there is something wrong with them. Though you may not feel attracted to members of your own sex, you know someone who does. It may be your brother or sister, your neighbor or a colleague at work, your cousin or best friend; it may even be your husband or wife. And chances are you don’t know their secret exists.
Considered a blessing or a curse, or both, the degree of same sex attraction varies from one man to the next; from a mild curiosity that leaves him feeling either guilty or warm inside, to a full blown and exclusive attraction to one’s own sex. Though the same holds true for both men and women, my focus and my novels are about men (and the women in their lives). And for some reason, same sex attractions seem more prevalent in men, though it is also considered by many as more unnatural and less acceptable.
So why would an author that wants to write a compelling mainstream tale include characters with a same sex attraction? Maybe I believe human sexuality in itself is compelling. Maybe, through my novels, I would like to help broaden human understanding. Maybe a part of me wants to say it’s okay.
My previous comments were in response to those made by SMK and not the original post.
Thanks SMK,
Though our opinions differ, I consider yours as valid and appropriate as mine. As varied as humanity is concerning skin color, environments, religious beliefs and upbringing, so is their point-of-views. I’m sure the man you’re involved with, or will be involved with, sees this issue the same way. But the more I come to understand it, the more I see where the human heart has the ability to encompass to broader levels of acceptance. And these situations don’t apply to just men. Many women are bisexual. As much as I love and cherish my wife, if she were bisexual and wanted/needed to have a special female friend, I wouldn’t doubt her lover for me . Nor would I feel threatened. On the other hand, if she wanted to be with another man, that would be an entirely different issue, one I would be at odds with. Understanding this is understanding the diversity of human nature and bisexuality.
Mr. Brant, I’ve been checking out your blog for about eight months and I’ve commented from time to time. For the record, I often find myself at odds with your point of view; usually as it pertains to women.
In your summary above, you claim that being married to a bisexual is “a challenge that can be overcome.” On one occasion, you even claimed it could strengthen a marriage. Quite frankly, I don’t believe it. When a heterosexual marries a bisexual, they are taking on the prospect of infidelity as a way of life, or certainly, the potential for it. This is not a “challenge,” it’s a hard, cold fact that you can neither soften nor compromise. The straight partner stands by as infidelity destroys them, bit by bit until it has irreversibly scarred their soul, and then they must figure out a way to move on. PLEASE, stop talking about this as if it were something negotiable.
As for the woman in the story above, I would rather live the rest of my life alone, without sex and without a partner, then to be in her shoes. At least I would know that I didn’t sell my soul to accommodate someone else’s desires.
What an ill-informed bigoted rant! The truth is how anyone else chooses to live their life is none of your business! We are all capable of infidelity whatever our orientation and being Bisexual or gay makes people no more or less likely to stray than heterosexuals, or rather ‘people who self identify as heterosexuals’!
In most things in life we have to make choices, whether or not to be faithful to our spouse or ‘significant other’ is one of of them. Who, or indeed what gender, an infidelity is committed with makes no difference and so called ‘straight’ people are no less likely to stray than anyone else.