Is Fandom Queer?
Inspired by mskatej's post here.
There's no doubt in my mind that fandom is a queer-friendly place.
I'm queer. There are days that really, queer is both my gender and my sexual orientation, the only word I've got for "well, I prefer women, but men are okay too, and plus I can't really be a lesbian since I really prefer male pronouns, and I identify as male about half of the time , but it changes from day to day, minute to minute, so I don't really know." Fandom is a place where I feel comfortable with that. I don't worry that my friends are going to be transphobic or homophobic, because I live in a fandom where gay incest is pretty much the norm. Who are they to judge?
The question isn't whether fandom is queer-friendly, because I think for the most part it is. Not always, certainly -- doubtless there are homophobes and transphobes in our midst, but for the most part, yeah, queer-friendly. The question is -- is fandom, in some way, inherently queer?
In my experience, most of the fannish people I've met have been women. Certainly not all, but the large percentage are women. A fairly large chunk of these women have been genfic writers. I think we can say, fairly safely, that their experience of fandom is not queer. So fandom itself, as a whole, probably not inherently queer, because I really don't think there's anything very queer about writing gen.
So on to slash fandom. And that's the main thing, isn't it? Is there something inherently queer about slash fandom, particularly about the writing of slash pornography by women for other women?
Certainly there are a lot of queer people in fandom. But let's say we're talking about straight women here -- women with boyfriends or husbands who live heteronormative lives, who are not in any way, outside of fandom, queer. Does their participation in slash fandom make them queer?
I really don't think so. We don't say that men who watch and enjoy and create lesbian porn are queer. It's a pretty stereotypical straight-male pleasure. Yes, these women do often explore queer themes in their writing and reading, and they certainly examine queer sex in great detail -- but being aroused by the idea of two men (or two women) together does not make someone queer.
I don't think you can foist queerness onto other people, really. "You write gay boysex porn, therefore you are in some way queer." It just -- that doesn't work for me. I think straight women can be queer -- I think there are women out there who have sex with men who are queer, who feel queer, who embrace their queerness. But I don't know that you can be queer without feeling queer.
I am queer. I know I'm queer. I feel it, I embrace it, it's a huge part of who I am. But can you really label someone else as queer? Can I look at someone else, someone who says, "no, I really don't feel queer," and tell them, "no, you really are"? I don't have a definite answer to this question, but I lean towards saying that you really can't.
So, discuss.
I'm going to go run off and read some other meta on the subject, and will be back with more links, perhaps.
There's no doubt in my mind that fandom is a queer-friendly place.
I'm queer. There are days that really, queer is both my gender and my sexual orientation, the only word I've got for "well, I prefer women, but men are okay too, and plus I can't really be a lesbian since I really prefer male pronouns, and I identify as male about half of the time , but it changes from day to day, minute to minute, so I don't really know." Fandom is a place where I feel comfortable with that. I don't worry that my friends are going to be transphobic or homophobic, because I live in a fandom where gay incest is pretty much the norm. Who are they to judge?
The question isn't whether fandom is queer-friendly, because I think for the most part it is. Not always, certainly -- doubtless there are homophobes and transphobes in our midst, but for the most part, yeah, queer-friendly. The question is -- is fandom, in some way, inherently queer?
In my experience, most of the fannish people I've met have been women. Certainly not all, but the large percentage are women. A fairly large chunk of these women have been genfic writers. I think we can say, fairly safely, that their experience of fandom is not queer. So fandom itself, as a whole, probably not inherently queer, because I really don't think there's anything very queer about writing gen.
So on to slash fandom. And that's the main thing, isn't it? Is there something inherently queer about slash fandom, particularly about the writing of slash pornography by women for other women?
Certainly there are a lot of queer people in fandom. But let's say we're talking about straight women here -- women with boyfriends or husbands who live heteronormative lives, who are not in any way, outside of fandom, queer. Does their participation in slash fandom make them queer?
I really don't think so. We don't say that men who watch and enjoy and create lesbian porn are queer. It's a pretty stereotypical straight-male pleasure. Yes, these women do often explore queer themes in their writing and reading, and they certainly examine queer sex in great detail -- but being aroused by the idea of two men (or two women) together does not make someone queer.
I don't think you can foist queerness onto other people, really. "You write gay boysex porn, therefore you are in some way queer." It just -- that doesn't work for me. I think straight women can be queer -- I think there are women out there who have sex with men who are queer, who feel queer, who embrace their queerness. But I don't know that you can be queer without feeling queer.
I am queer. I know I'm queer. I feel it, I embrace it, it's a huge part of who I am. But can you really label someone else as queer? Can I look at someone else, someone who says, "no, I really don't feel queer," and tell them, "no, you really are"? I don't have a definite answer to this question, but I lean towards saying that you really can't.
So, discuss.
I'm going to go run off and read some other meta on the subject, and will be back with more links, perhaps.