This paper is a textual analysis of the first mystery series featuring a lesbian journalist who is also a sleuth. The Nyla Wade novels, by Vicki P. McConnell, focus on the professional development of an investigative reporter and her personal journey to self-awareness as a lesbian. The reader matches wits with the fictional sleuth while learning about gender issues during the 1980s.
Journalists are among the earliest fictional detectives, dating back to 1908. The journalist as sleuth is the bridge between the professional investigator and the amateur who stumbles onto a crime scene. The job of a journalist is to be curious and persistent while investigating tips, digging up background details, and interviewing sources. If a criminal is unmasked in the process, not only is justice served, but the press is perceived by the public as fighting for truth and upholding the fabric of society. The journalist is framed as a hero.
What distinguishes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender detective stories from mainstream ones is that being queer is embedded in the storyline. One overarching theme in GLBTQ mysteries is that homophobia is the ultimate villain, whether it’s an irrational fear of homosexuality or an attempt to stamp out homosexuality through murder. The GLBTQ protagonist is framed as an outsider struggling to negotiate professional and personal space.
Mrs. Porter’s Letter (1982), The Burnton Widows (1984), and Double Daughter (1988) are valuable historical sources about the attitudes and tensions in society regarding gays and lesbians and about the status of practicing journalists. They also are mysteries with crimes motivated by fear, hatred, greed, lust for power, and corruption. These novels remain surprisingly fresh and relevant to today’s readers.
About the presenterSammye Johnson
Sammye Johnson is a professor in the Department of Communication at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to joining the faculty at Trinity, Johnson was an award-winning editor and writer for more than a decade. Her research centers around the representation of women in magazines, particularly their depiction on covers and cover lines, and the representation of women journalists in film and fiction. She teaches courses in magazine journalism, film studies, and gender studies.