(no subject)
OK, so I wrote my master's thesis on constructions of sexual orientation in Due South slash fanfiction. You would think this means I'm pretty familiar with the topic, right? But I have been re-reading Due South stories over the last week or so. Specifically, I've been working my way chronologically through Speranza's DS stories. And I've found something interesting. There is a whole lot more angsting, kvetching, and general nervousness about sexual orientation and queerness in these stories than I remembered. Or maybe there's just a lot more anxiety about sexual orientation than I'm *used to* from stories written in the last three-four years as opposed to stories written about ten years ago.
It's funny, I noticed the huge cultural shifts around sexuality when I re-watched season 1 of the US Queer as Folk a few months ago . . . So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that those cultural shifts are also evident in slash writing. I would say that we've moved from a norm where 80% of stories/writers feel a need to explain character's sexual orientation ("yes, I know I have an ex-wife, BUT") or develop a coming-out arc, to a normal where 80% of stories don't even worry about it. Everybody *could* be queer, regardless of this history -- and so, in fanfiction, everybody is. No further explanation necessary. Those stories that do deal explicitly with sexual orientation as a plot point are more likely to deal with outside problems -- the military/DATD being a big one -- than anything involving inner turmoil.
(This may be an overstatement of the change, or of the percentages of stories with unexplained and unangsty queerness. But I do think I'm right about the general shift.)
I'd like to see someone do a study on this -- I think it would yield interesting results.
It's funny, I noticed the huge cultural shifts around sexuality when I re-watched season 1 of the US Queer as Folk a few months ago . . . So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that those cultural shifts are also evident in slash writing. I would say that we've moved from a norm where 80% of stories/writers feel a need to explain character's sexual orientation ("yes, I know I have an ex-wife, BUT") or develop a coming-out arc, to a normal where 80% of stories don't even worry about it. Everybody *could* be queer, regardless of this history -- and so, in fanfiction, everybody is. No further explanation necessary. Those stories that do deal explicitly with sexual orientation as a plot point are more likely to deal with outside problems -- the military/DATD being a big one -- than anything involving inner turmoil.
(This may be an overstatement of the change, or of the percentages of stories with unexplained and unangsty queerness. But I do think I'm right about the general shift.)
I'd like to see someone do a study on this -- I think it would yield interesting results.