I meta, therefore I am.

[bandgeek]

So I've been reading about feminist criticism of Hamlet for my Lit Studies class. But what I'm interested in isn't so much the Hamlet stuff itself (although I'm sure we can all ruminate on Ophelia until the cows come home). What I'd really like to know more about is this

Comments

[beamer242]

what about women's writing of male slash? Do we as writers put a feminine slant on a masculine subject?

Oh, most definitely. Women have a tendency to over romanticize the relationship between two men. In slash written by women, the two characters have a tendency to spend an over abundance of time kissing and fondling each other. We write two male characters having sex the way we want to have sex. I'm not saying that men don't like to hug and kiss and fondle each other, it's just that they have a tendency to just jump in there. They don't pay much attention the the foreplay.

Another example of how women 'feminize' m/m slash is the whole idea of men being very vocal during sex. Now I can't speak for all the men in the world, but I can speak for the handful I've slept with and the ones I have questioned - most of whom are gay - and none of them ever say much during sex. They grunt. They groan. Occassionally they moan. Once in a blue moon they might say something like 'oh god' or 'you're so tight'. But I have never known any man who has said something along the lines of 'oh SpikeHarryAragorn, I'm cumming, I'm cumming!' or 'Spank my ass you naughty little hobbit'. This is all a highly feminized version of sex. This is what we are conditioned to believe we are supposed to act like during sex - think Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.

[bandgeek]

I've kind of noticed this too, that we characterize these relationships as being far more touchy-feely than they really are ... I don't have extensive contact with gay male couples, but from what I've picked up, you're right, there seems to be much more of a just-get-down-to-it attitude. And while I feel a little bit guilty for fictionalizing something like this, I wouldn't be as interested in reading about a relationship so, well, unartistic.

As for the talky sex, I think I'm in a bit of a minority in saying that most of the time, I don't like it. Unless it's really well-written and believable, it tends to feel to me more like an effort to flesh out an otherwise sparsely worded scene. And I really, honestly can't see myself ever yelling, "oh god, SpikeTaraLogan, my loins are dripping with the sweet juices of arousal!" *g*

I wonder, then, if Annie Proulx had any special research or experience or insight in her characterizations of Ennis and Jack in Brokeback Mountain ... they kiss a little bit, but they embrace maybe twice, and they never even say "I love you." Which to a seasoned porn reader like myself feels rather disappointing, but considering the characters and the setting, there's really no way they'd be flouncing around the ranch, calling each other "daahling."

[beamer242]

I would much rather read porn that patterned itself after it's moving picture counterpart than a real true life relationship. That would be a yawner. Even in film, men aren't talkers.

I'm with you. I dislike talky sex 95% of the time. It has to be extremely well written for me to find it believeable. I suspect that most of the time it's not written because it's thought to be sexy, but because many people find it difficult to read paragraphs that have very little conversation. I mean, after all, who in their right mind would find 'oh god, yes, AngelClarkWesley, pummel me with that big jack hammer of love of yours' sexy?

[bandgeek]

I suspect that most of the time it's not written because it's thought to be sexy, but because many people find it difficult to read paragraphs that have very little conversation.

Totally. So I suppose really, this calls for a little innovation. Finding a way to write sex without descriptive dialogue. Sounds like a good challenge ... :)