because this is the fandom hill i die on, apparently
OK I swear I wrote an entry about this topic in like 2003 or something but I cbf to find it, and I can’t believe I have to write one again in 2014, but here you go
Obligatory I’m going to piss off a lot of people with this, aren’t I? Disclaimer
I really thought we left all this slash-vs-het (b/c gen and f/f are the poor forgotten genres) tomfoolery behind in '03 or w/e but here we go again
When it comes to fandom, I’m a ship and let ship kind of gal. I don't care what you ship as long as you’re not trolling other shippers or something. I don’t care about slash or het or f/f or gen or w/e beyond my personal preferences. You do you, that’s what I say.
However, I am going to wank and wank furiously (and not in the fun, happy kind of way) the next time someone legit tries to come at me with the whole "slash is the better-written, less-clichéd, genteel choice of the sophisticated porn palate, morally and intellectually superior choice in fap fodder" nonsense because
I'ma hit this bulleted-list style b/c I like bulleted lists.
- The vast majority of m/m slash is written by straight women, for straight women. Most of the male characters in it are conventionally attractive, cis, usually white, and nearly always canonically straight. Stories about these kind of characters is just… not anything new or radical. It’s just not.
- A lot of m/m slash seems based on heterosexist tropes, with a relationship dynamic that resembles traditional m/f gender roles in het romances. Usually it’s the same guy bottoming every time, and he’s usually the one who seems more sensitive or soft oroverall the more “feminine” of the two in canon (according to traditional markers of femininity or w/e). Now, I’m not a gay man, so I’m no expert on this subject, but the impression I get from reading posts by gay men on this topic is that most irl gay relationships do not work this way. Topping/bottoming roles aren’t graven in stone (some couples switch; some don’t), anal isn’t as common as slash fics make it seem (so much prep), and, you know, real people generally don’t always fit themselves neatly into roles defined in fiction. I’m not providing receipts to said posts b/c I lost the links by now (this horse has long since been beaded by fandom) but I’m sure some tumblr-fu (or fanficrants) will uncover one for you. So no, slash is not automatically the less heterosexist, more progressive choice. Just no.
- Slash fanfic is no less immune to tropes in general (meaning, storytelling tropes not related to romance or sexuality) than any other fic. I’m kind of astounded that anyone thinks it is, or that its writers do the tropes better or something.
In my observation, most BNF fics-het or slash-tend to be really tropey and clichéd, which is probably part of their appeal. Because they’re so popular, they often set the tone for other fics of that pairing, and these tropes get used over and over again regardless of how accurate to canon they are (or aren’t). I have seen this phenomenon over and over in all genres, het and slash (both m/m and f/f) alike. It seems especially rampant with non-canon pairings. - Did anyone order some confirmation bias? Now, I hate when people c/p dictionary definitions, but it seems pertinent in this case, so I’m going to do it anyway:
Confirmation bias, also called myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, or prioritize information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses. It is a type of cognitive bias and a systematic error of inductive reasoning.(From wikipedia)
So basically, if you’re looking for evidence that a foregone conclusion is true, you’re going to find it no matter what. If you prefer m/m stories already, then chances are you’re a) going to be more aware of the good ones b) more willing to hunt down the good ones/sift through the rest c) more forgiving when it comes to the quality of said fics. I’m not saying I am immune to confirmation bias, for the record. But I am aware of it and hence I’m reluctant to make sweeping claims that my preferred pairings have better writers than my non-preferred ones. I’m sure they don’t. But if I really like a particular pairing, especially if it’s rare, I tend to take what I can get as long as it’s passably well written (see also, my long and largely fruitless hunt for various f/f pairings in various fandoms). - Depending on what fandom you’re in, there’s probably more slash fic than there is het, gen, or f/f, particularly if it’s a male character-driven canon or has a juggernaut slash pairing, such as SPN, BBC Sherlock, Teen Wolf, etc. Personally, I tend to avoid those fandoms, b/c sausagefests just aren’t my thing, yet here I am in K-pop fandom. Anyway, my point being, if there are more fics of a certain pairing, the probability of stumbling upon a well-written one is significantly increased. As a fan who ships mostly canon pairings, I’m never at a loss for fic, and I’m not going to front like it’s not way easier to find Castle/Beckett fic than… well, pretty much anyone else. And as a result, the possibility of finding good C/B fic is much increased (and for the record… there’s a lot of it out there). Conversely, I’ve tried hunting for f/f and het fanfic in K-pop fandom starring my favorite female idols, and the amount I’ve found is in the one digits and most of them are bad. Now, I know that if I were to hunt for fic featuring two male idols in a reasonably popular group I’d get 1324124123432 hits (shit, I’d probably get hits for nugu groups considering how popular some minor male characters in live-action TV/movie fandoms are). Obviously, I’m going to find more good m/m fics, so the clear and obvious conclusion is that m/m writers are just better, right?
- Finally, Sturgeon's Law
Look, as I said before, I have absolutely zero issue whatsoever if (general) you prefer reading m/m fics b/c it’s your personal preference. Really. But don't be fronting like your choice in fap fodder is the cristal to my natty ice or some shit b/c you know how it's gotta end.
So thus concludeth my long-winded rant on fanfic that I’m pissed I had to write when I could’ve been watching How to Get Away With Murder or writing more of my shitty het fic. I hope that this exercise has been illuminating and educational for you or at least provided mildly amusing gifs. Then I know my hard work will have been worth it. If nothing else, I have something to link to the next time someone wants to resurrect this beaded horse again, other than this gif:
