In the week since hockey romance Off Campus was released, the steamy show has taken the top spot on Prime Video's streaming charts and skyrocketed the young stars to overnight fame. However, that newfound popularity has brought raised criticism that the show's source material is considered lesbophobic.
As the show's popularity has been climbing, Off Campus has come under scrutiny due to the way author Elle Kennedy wrote lesbian characters in the books the television show is based on.
People who have read the Off Campus book series are calling out the misogyny and fetishization of lesbians that is baked into the author's writing and they're becoming upset over Kennedy's increased fame.
And they have receipts.
Why do people think Elle Kennedy is lesbophobic?
@_alyssaslibrary_ a lot of people have been recommending/reading the off campus series by elle kennedy recently so i wanted to make a video about it. this is specifically about the lesbophobia present in her books but she has many other issues as well. if you want a full breakdown go visit expertbooksmuggler.com “what’s the deal with elle kennedy”. its very informative and goes over everything about her #booktok #ellekennedy #offcampus
TikTok creator Alyssa (@_alyssalibrary_) is currently going viral after making a video laying out how Kennedy has written multiple scenes in her Off Campus series of "women making out with women specifically for the gain of male attention, male attraction, and just sexualizing them."
In The Mistake, the second book in the series that focuses on Logan’s love story, Alyssa points to a quote where Logan is fetishizing a sapphic make-out scene.
"My gaze lands in the corner, where to girls in jeans and bras are making out while on of the Omega Phi guys films the passionate display with his iPhone. The sight makes me stifle a groan, ten bucks says that video will wind up on one of those free porn sites," the book reads.
Logan also says that "Dean thought he'd died and gone to heaven" when their lesbian friend fools around with her girlfriend at a party.
The third book in the series, The Score, which follows Dean and Allie as they fall for each other, has another scene where the main character is watching "two very hot, very naked blondes," and he can't help but "groan" over "Kelly’s hands as they glide toward Michelle’s perky tits."
It is writing like this that makes Alyssa "so disgusted that people are still reading and recommending the books."
@diariesofafemme yall don’t take wlw relationships seriously #offcampusseries #ellekennedy #bookadaptation #greenscreen
Claims of lesbian fetishization and lesbophobia aren't just being leveled at Kennedy from one person. Countless people on social media are talking about this issue, including TikTok creator Amivi (@diariesofafemme), who made a series of videos on the topic prior to the show coming out.
"When the only time you write WLW relationships, sapphic relationships, into your books is for the men in your books to get off to, that is fetishization. That is disgusting," they said.
So far, Kennedy has not addressed the controversy publicly.
Why do people think that Elle Kennedy is misogynistic?
Not only have people accused Kennedy of fetishization and lesbophobia, but she’s also being ripped apart for the misogyny present in her books.
Some readers have said that her books tend to treat the women who are not the main male character’s object of desire as disposable or reduces them to sluts, including disparaging comments made about "puck bunnies" — slang for a female hockey fan who is only driven to watch the sport in the hopes of sleeping with a hockey player.
"I’ve noticed she doesn’t wear designer clothing or preppy getups like most of the females at this school, or the trashy party clothes you see on Greek Row and at the campus bars on weekends," main character Garrett says of his love interest Hannah, in The Deal, the first book in the series.
What has Elle Kennedy said about writing a lesbian romance?
Back in 2019, a fan asked Kennedy if she ever planned to write an F/F romance (AKA a lesbian or sapphic love story) since she’s already written many straight and gay romance novels. Her response is often pointed to as further proof of the author’s lesbophobia and unwillingness to write about sapphic characters outside of the way heterosexual male characters use them as their personal sexual fantasy.
"Unfortunately F/F really isn't something I’m interested in writing, sorry," Kennedy responded on X (then Twitter).
Both TikTokers Alyssa and Amivi have called out Kennedy for the response, but they are far from the only ones.
Emilie Rose wrote on expertbooksmuggler.com: "It's clear that Kennedy IS interested in writing F/F relationships, but only if they can be used as a means to sexually satisfy men. This is unsurprising considering the heavy amounts of misogyny contained within her books."
