Why Do People Always Assume “Roommates” over “Lesbians”?

“…and they were roommates!”

Photo by Mahrael Boutros on Unsplash

I’m absolutely flabbergasted.

Today, I opened an email rejection for a story I wrote. That part wasn’t a surprise, of course; I’m quite used to rejections by now. It comes with the trade.

No, I’m shocked that in the rejection letter, one of my gayest, queerest, most explicitly sapphic love stories was somehow reduced to banter between “roommates.”

I’m sorry, what?

Screenshot of the rejection email sent to the author, unedited

I submitted an updated version of a story I first published in Prism & Pen, “And Kitty Makes Three”, to an anthology looking for stories on the theme “feisty felines”. The story is about a queer couple who moves in together (aka, the “UHAUL Lesbians” trope), accidentally adopt a cat, and then plan their wedding.

And Kitty Makes Three (F/F Romance)