here we go again
Well, it's been a while since I posted publicly on something fan-related, and it figures it would be something shit-stirring to draw me out.
First of all, I fully expect that someone smarter than me (and less hyped up on anger) will be able to pull together all the various topics and issues and threads into a coherent essay, but this post is not that essay.
I left this comment on a story last night:I find this story quite offensive.
You have used a paragraph about the Killing Fields to lead into a paragraph of Jared and Jensen having sex.
You admit in an earlier post that you just want to put Jared and Jensen "somewhere hot and humid where people don't usually speak English. It rains a lot. Cambodia, maybe? Not that I actually know anything about Cambodia"
So let me get this straight. You don't know anything about Cambodia. You've never been to Cambodia. You maybe don't even know any Cambodian people. (In which case, hi, now you know at least one person.) And you want to use Cambodia as a setting for your Jared/Jensen porn?
No. Highly fucking offensive. And I can't believe this is even something I have to explain.
The story in question.
People keep leaving her feedback to reassure her that she struck an appropriately respectful and somber tone. I couldn't disagree more. And I am not even getting into all the exoticization of the setting in the rest of the story.
I don't know if I have the energy for a retread of the cultural appropriation/cultural sensitivity/aesthetics vs. morals/fanfiction vs. published fiction/RPS is wrong debates. But here's what I do know:
To me this is not theory. This is my family, my family's history, our living history, something they and I have had to deal with in one way or another every single day of our lives. I find it disgusting that I even have to bring them into this by reference, but apparently people are just not getting it.
So I will spell it out: When you appropriate someone's personal tragedies to elevate your porn into something more emo/atmospheric/whatever, you are being offensive and hurtful and disrespectful. When you tell an author she has treated such a subject respectfully or realistically because she made her porn more emo/atmospheric/whatever, you are being ignorant and offensive and hurtful and disrespectful.
What this author wrote is not okay with me and there is no world in which it would ever be okay. And if you are someone who thinks it is, perhaps you should tell me that right now so I can start actively not knowing you.
[ETA: Oh my god, fandom. You seriously amaze me. I went out and spent the day with friends, and that calmed me down some, but it meant that I missed out on a lot of these comments as they piled up. I will try to respond as I can. But please know that I really appreciate the response, and I am glad to feel like I'm not alone even on such a very personal issue.]
[ETA2: I am slowly but surely making my way through the comments. I do want to respond to everyone, even if I can't actually answer everything people want answered. However, I should note that as of the evening of 10/22/07, the current version of the story is edited from the original. The author is still leaving comments screened on the story post and on her two follow-up commentary/apology posts, but hopefully that will change soon.]
First of all, I fully expect that someone smarter than me (and less hyped up on anger) will be able to pull together all the various topics and issues and threads into a coherent essay, but this post is not that essay.
I left this comment on a story last night:I find this story quite offensive.
You have used a paragraph about the Killing Fields to lead into a paragraph of Jared and Jensen having sex.
You admit in an earlier post that you just want to put Jared and Jensen "somewhere hot and humid where people don't usually speak English. It rains a lot. Cambodia, maybe? Not that I actually know anything about Cambodia"
So let me get this straight. You don't know anything about Cambodia. You've never been to Cambodia. You maybe don't even know any Cambodian people. (In which case, hi, now you know at least one person.) And you want to use Cambodia as a setting for your Jared/Jensen porn?
No. Highly fucking offensive. And I can't believe this is even something I have to explain.
The story in question.
People keep leaving her feedback to reassure her that she struck an appropriately respectful and somber tone. I couldn't disagree more. And I am not even getting into all the exoticization of the setting in the rest of the story.
I don't know if I have the energy for a retread of the cultural appropriation/cultural sensitivity/aesthetics vs. morals/fanfiction vs. published fiction/RPS is wrong debates. But here's what I do know:
To me this is not theory. This is my family, my family's history, our living history, something they and I have had to deal with in one way or another every single day of our lives. I find it disgusting that I even have to bring them into this by reference, but apparently people are just not getting it.
So I will spell it out: When you appropriate someone's personal tragedies to elevate your porn into something more emo/atmospheric/whatever, you are being offensive and hurtful and disrespectful. When you tell an author she has treated such a subject respectfully or realistically because she made her porn more emo/atmospheric/whatever, you are being ignorant and offensive and hurtful and disrespectful.
What this author wrote is not okay with me and there is no world in which it would ever be okay. And if you are someone who thinks it is, perhaps you should tell me that right now so I can start actively not knowing you.
[ETA: Oh my god, fandom. You seriously amaze me. I went out and spent the day with friends, and that calmed me down some, but it meant that I missed out on a lot of these comments as they piled up. I will try to respond as I can. But please know that I really appreciate the response, and I am glad to feel like I'm not alone even on such a very personal issue.]
[ETA2: I am slowly but surely making my way through the comments. I do want to respond to everyone, even if I can't actually answer everything people want answered. However, I should note that as of the evening of 10/22/07, the current version of the story is edited from the original. The author is still leaving comments screened on the story post and on her two follow-up commentary/apology posts, but hopefully that will change soon.]