Fan fic (but not slash) in the Wall Street Journal
Someone in the real world notices fan fiction. Specifically, they measure it using search engine rankings.
Good points, but they make too much of “female substitute for sexuality.” True, I do like that bit about revelation of character, but take slash: a lot of them also show the protagonist (the "heroine," if you will) realizing that they're gay (clichéd nowadays) or discovering why they hated some other character on site: because they loved them and assumed this feeling would never be returned. (Depressingly common IRL.) In other words, it's not all about the hero's character: it's about the heroine, too.
And I mean, come on! Have you read the steamy sex scenes in slash? (And some het?) Substitute for sex??
Good points, but they make too much of “female substitute for sexuality.” True, I do like that bit about revelation of character, but take slash: a lot of them also show the protagonist (the "heroine," if you will) realizing that they're gay (clichéd nowadays) or discovering why they hated some other character on site: because they loved them and assumed this feeling would never be returned. (Depressingly common IRL.) In other words, it's not all about the hero's character: it's about the heroine, too.
And I mean, come on! Have you read the steamy sex scenes in slash? (And some het?) Substitute for sex??