Cringing at the comments calling this a "queer" story and the characters "queer", it's so disempowering. Firstly, many still consider that word an insult, and secondly, the characters don't identity as this. They call themselves "gay" and "lesbian", the author also throws in some Japanese gay slang where her lesbian characters call themselves "bian". Ted talk over, but this really needs to be confronted, it's not respectful to those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual identified. As for the story, whilst it is progressive for it's time and place, it's sad that gay men or women went through with such marriages and sex instead of being offered the dignity to have equal marriage and have children without such "arrangements", very little drama too which seemed to be the sake of having an easy quick oneshot tbh.
Cringing at the comments calling this a "queer" story and the characters "queer", it's so disempowering. Firstly, many still consider that word an insult, and secondly, the characters don't identity as this. They call themselves "gay" and "lesbian", the author also throws in some Japanese gay slang where her lesbian characters call themselves "bian". Ted talk over, but this really needs to be confronted, it's not respectful to those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual identified. As for the story, whilst it is progressive for it's time and place, it's sad that gay men or women went through with such marriages and sex instead of being offered the dignity to have equal marriage and have children without such "arrangements", very little drama too which seemed to be the sake of having an easy quick oneshot tbh.