my debacle* at books-a-million (and yes it's the manchester one)
*DISCLAIMER: I changed "debockle" to "debacle". thank you, wife, for catching that.*
Alright, so I wasn't confronted by anyone. I didn't have a problem with any of the staff. But this is what happened.
So, Adam and I went into the BAM to kill some time before the movie we went to see (which, by the way, was Joyful Noise at the cheap theatre. AB. FAB.). When we got there we browsed the different aisles, and immersed ourselves in the genres. At some point (I believe it was when I disappointingly looking through their X-Men selections) that I wondered why I hadn't seen anything Gay & Lesbian related other than the old copies of Instinct and OUT in the "Men's Interest" section of the magazine racks. To further my inquisitiveness I searched each aisle's heading to see what was sold.
Women's Studies...Local Authors...True Crime...Teen Fiction
Nothing for us queers.
As my hypothesis developed I needed one final test. So, I went up to the woman at the counter and asked her,
"I'm looking for book from the author, Judy Shepard. I believe it's non-fiction."
"Alright, let me check our computer."
BEEP BOOP BEEP (the sound bookstore computers make)
"We don't sell that book, but I can special order it for you."
"No thank you, but thank you for checking."
So riddle me this, BAM. You can have a section for sexuality, a section for romance WITH a section specifically for erotica. AND you can have a section in "Men's Interest" devoted to porn (there were rows of strictly heterosexual porn) across from your "Christian Interest" and "Bibles" aisles. And you can't have a section of your store devoted to a studies that covers hate crimes, homosexuals in the holocaust, advice and counseling parents of gays, and history of pioneering gay moments in American history?
Think again.
Am I overreacting, maybe. Did this strike a chord, yes.