When HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman was given the boot a few weeks ago, sex writers across America rejoiced. Once upon a time, a handful of mainstream book publishers were friendlier than others to publishing books on the still-salacious-to-book-editors subject of sex, and HarperCollins was among them. But it was women like Friedman who made it hard for women writing books about sex to get published by mainstream publishers.
While Friedman's archenemy Judith Regan was no princess, at least she had the balls to publish daring books about sex, even if they weren't all very good. Friedman, on the other hand, remained the Erica Jong of publishing. Unable to get over whatever fantasy of power she believed she had at the dawn of the feminist revolution all those decades ago, in today's climate of sex-sex-sex, Friedman was nothing but a bore, a literary erection killer, everything Regan wasn't.
Friedman's booting was followed by her being replaced by a younger male. A somewhat similar switch was seen at Random House a month previous, where 58-year-old Peter Olsen was replaced by 39-year-old Markus Dohle. Of course, as Aaliyah once sang, age ain't nothin' but a number, but in these heady days of the rampant pornification of our culture, when "sex sells" has become our national mantra, book publishing has remained the ugly girl in the corner of the library who just won't put out. Hopefully, new blood will bring the dying world of publishing back to life, and smart, savvy books about sex by women who know what of they speak will be given the editorial nod by those less threatened by postfeminist chicks.
