Yeah, like I said, I'm missing a lot of social and cultural context here, so I don't really feel qualified to discuss that side of things. I would say that discussions of other people's (complicated) identities and making assertions about how they choose to identify makes me a little uncomfortable, so I'd prefer not to continue along those lines in the comments here with regard to Aliette.

I do understand cringing when you read works set in 'your' cities and the authors appear to get it wrong. An author whose work I otherwise adore had a story with several Australian characters, and they mentioned swimming and hanging out in a part of Sydney where no resident would go - a really touristy area, and certainly not anywhere that you'd swim. It was like a flashing neon sign that the author wasn't very familiar with Sydney, in a book that was otherwise absolutely fantastic. There was also a recent (Australian-made) political thriller on TV here in the UK. It was set in Canberra (where I grew up), and they were trying so hard to make it seem like this bustling, fast-paced metropolis - very different from the empty, silent city I remember!

Anyway, like I said, I have no problem with this line of discussion, but I would prefer - if we're having it here - to keep it general, rather than about individual people who I consider friends.