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Oct. 17th, 2002 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhAs my name is neither Engels nor Marinetti nor yet Kaczynski, I am not inclined to write manifestos. I also am not inclined to post about what my fic means (if you ain't getting that from the story itself, then I'm not doing my job) or why I write what I write (I think I've done that as much as I care to). But in the fandom of late there has been a nasty little undercurrent of disdain for females who write slash. It strikes me as identity politics of the worst order, and it has made me rather defensive.
The extent to which I am a slasher has been greatly exaggerated. Three of the four pairings in my story are het. Are we going by some one-drop rule? Are all fics that have a gay character in them necessarily slash? Isn't there something in between? Must I choose sides?
Yes, I am a mostly straight girl. I shouldn't have to give anyone my qualifications for writing about gay men. I will only say:
Gay men:Clio::Twins:Anne Shirley
The reason I have gay characters in my fic is that I have gay people in my life. (There isn't enough femslash in the fic, actually, but we all know the reasons for that, and I hope to correct it in sequels.) I could never write any story that didn't have prominent gay characters, just as I could never write any story that didn't have prominent het characters. I don't slash them because I want to make a political point (though I could) or because I think two men kissing is hot (it is, but actually two straight men kissing is a lot hotter) but because the Seamus in my head is gay, just like the Harry in my head is straight.
A point was made recently that gay male slashers tend to spend a bit more time on the coming out process and women slashers tend to not focus on it. I concede that. I decided to have it both ways in my story--Seamus comes out to his family and there is a good bit of difficulty, but then I skip ahead a year to when things have calmed down. I didn't want to write a "coming out" fic, because it's been done, and better, by others, and because it wasn't what I wanted to concentrate on. However, it was very important to me to establish that both Seamus and Dean had come out some time before they got together, that their sexuality was separate from their feelings for each other, that they were not just two friends who come together, but two gay men who relate to each other as such.
Identity politics is a very tricky thing. It may unite on one level, but it surely divides on another. If you reduce us all to our constituent parts, you overlook the whole person. Of course writers should have some sense of what the hell they are writing about, and I can't imagine writing slash if I weren't really quite familiar with the gay community. But that isn't to say that the slash written by women is by definition somehow less real than that written by men.
Poor![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alexmalfoy had to bear the brunt of it this morning when it really wasn't him, so I thought I'd share the grouchiness with the rest of you. I do want to state very specifically that this is NOT a reaction to his earlier post, but to something I've seen floating around for a while.
The extent to which I am a slasher has been greatly exaggerated. Three of the four pairings in my story are het. Are we going by some one-drop rule? Are all fics that have a gay character in them necessarily slash? Isn't there something in between? Must I choose sides?
Yes, I am a mostly straight girl. I shouldn't have to give anyone my qualifications for writing about gay men. I will only say:
Gay men:Clio::Twins:Anne Shirley
The reason I have gay characters in my fic is that I have gay people in my life. (There isn't enough femslash in the fic, actually, but we all know the reasons for that, and I hope to correct it in sequels.) I could never write any story that didn't have prominent gay characters, just as I could never write any story that didn't have prominent het characters. I don't slash them because I want to make a political point (though I could) or because I think two men kissing is hot (it is, but actually two straight men kissing is a lot hotter) but because the Seamus in my head is gay, just like the Harry in my head is straight.
A point was made recently that gay male slashers tend to spend a bit more time on the coming out process and women slashers tend to not focus on it. I concede that. I decided to have it both ways in my story--Seamus comes out to his family and there is a good bit of difficulty, but then I skip ahead a year to when things have calmed down. I didn't want to write a "coming out" fic, because it's been done, and better, by others, and because it wasn't what I wanted to concentrate on. However, it was very important to me to establish that both Seamus and Dean had come out some time before they got together, that their sexuality was separate from their feelings for each other, that they were not just two friends who come together, but two gay men who relate to each other as such.
Identity politics is a very tricky thing. It may unite on one level, but it surely divides on another. If you reduce us all to our constituent parts, you overlook the whole person. Of course writers should have some sense of what the hell they are writing about, and I can't imagine writing slash if I weren't really quite familiar with the gay community. But that isn't to say that the slash written by women is by definition somehow less real than that written by men.
Poor
alexmalfoy had to bear the brunt of it this morning when it really wasn't him, so I thought I'd share the grouchiness with the rest of you. I do want to state very specifically that this is NOT a reaction to his earlier post, but to something I've seen floating around for a while.
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no subject
Date: 2002-10-17 10:53 am (UTC)I suppose I am, basically and in most cases, ...something negative. A wimp, or naive, or thoughtless, or...something. I dislike politically-minded literature of any sort. I dislike fictional things that are written to promote a cause. I have been laboring through "Invisible Man" for years because while it is fantastic and illuminates an era/atmosphere/etc., it is overwhelmingly political in effect. I want to read it, it's very good, but I can't stay into it, because after a little reading my stomach starts to bunch up and my teeth clench....
Not a very explanatory introductory statement, I suppose, but. A lot of times I read slash because the two-guys-fucking aspect is hot. I don't read rape or non-con stories; I don't read kid-sex stories - all not hot imho. But two guys fucking...depending on the guys, hot.
I also read slash because I want to read a good story and am specifically interested in the interaction, on either a subtley or overtly intimate level, between two particular male characters. I write slash for this reason, as well.
I'm not interested in f/f because I don't find it sexy, and I can't think of any two female characters who intrigue me enough to focus on. How terrible of me; one might think I don't care about women's rights or equal representation of women in fiction or etc. Eh.
I think RP fanfic is scary, regardless of who writes it. This is because it seems that little bit closer to actor stalking than FP fanfiction. And also because I would be wigged out to discover people writing that sort of stuff about *me*. Not me-as-a-fictional-character, but me-myself-I. I agree with alexmalfoy that the kid-RPS is not good for the perception of already-villified homosexuality - which in turn makes me sad that such fear exists in people due to their sexuality that they would be made more fearful due to a certain brand of fanfiction. That's a twisty sentence, but I'm typing in a hurry; hope it makes some sense.
It's probably undignified or deplorable in some way, but once I left college, I decided that there was nothing wrong with reading for pleasure. Actually, I decided that was the *only* reason I would read, or watch a tv show or movie, or write. Ftah on the meaningful, political, whatever; if I didn't enjoy it, feck it. And as far as slash goes, I do understand objections raised in terms of identity politics, realism, etc., and I feel...I dunno, something like sympathy. Sympathy in terms of the expressions of propriety; empathy in terms of expressions of fear. On the other hand, I figure to just continue liking and writing slash for the same ol' reasons. *shrug*
(Sorry for the ramble. As you might have noticed if you made it through [would be surprised!], I had no particular point. Just had a need to express...something. Feel free to delete this if it offends or is inappropriate, or any such.)
no subject
Date: 2002-10-17 07:55 pm (UTC)I loved how one reviewer put it - 'a joyful mixture of slash and het'. Yes it is. Just like real life. ::grins::
Tell the hecklers to shut up until they can write something as original, fresh, hip and popular as EWFS. They can put their money where their mouth is or SHUT UP!
no subject
Date: 2002-10-18 08:18 am (UTC)Nothing was said about my story or me specifically. Nothing was really said out in the open, actually. It was more a tone, a comment here or there--as I said, a nasty little undercurrent. It didn't have to do with Clio or EWFS, but an assumption about female slash writers in general.
But thank you for the spirited defense, m'dear!