I think a lot of the perceived subversion factor is extratextual rather than textual - IOW it's the fact of women reading t3h ghei pr0n that's subversive (because women are not supposed to have sexual demands/indulge kinks/objectify men), not the actual content/dynamic of said ghei pr0n. People have actually written pretty good papers connecting slash and romance novels, and also decoding said romance novels as female-empowerment rather than masochistic fantasies on the part of the reader, so. XD
OTOH you can argue that the simple fact of sticking a male character in a "stereotypically feminine" role is subversive vis a vis the patriarchy. That goes a certain distance but only a certain distance.
Viewfinder is kind of interesting in that I don't think you're intended to perceive Takaba's goals/actions as being in the wrong (to the frustration of a segment of the audience who'd like him to exhibit better sense... ironically by "staying in his place"). There's no textual judgment that's he's being punished for refusing to "be the girl" IOW, despite how uhhm Asami would frame the issue. XD In a way he's more like a shounen manga character who can never quite beat his nemesis but keeps training and trying anyway.
OTOH you can argue that the simple fact of sticking a male character in a "stereotypically feminine" role is subversive vis a vis the patriarchy. That goes a certain distance but only a certain distance.
Viewfinder is kind of interesting in that I don't think you're intended to perceive Takaba's goals/actions as being in the wrong (to the frustration of a segment of the audience who'd like him to exhibit better sense... ironically by "staying in his place"). There's no textual judgment that's he's being punished for refusing to "be the girl" IOW, despite how uhhm Asami would frame the issue. XD In a way he's more like a shounen manga character who can never quite beat his nemesis but keeps training and trying anyway.
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