revolution slash-style now?

[heyiya]

So I've been speaking up much more than has historically been my wont in fan meta discussions lately, thanks to princessofg's great reviews of the essays from Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet as well as the recent discussions of fandom and queer/feminist politics. I had a convergence moment in class the other day which made the

Comments

[thrownoverbored]

heart you.

i love that false divide between 'activism,' 'art', and 'theory'- as if these things have nothing to do with each other, as if only one or two (but never all three) had anything to do with the political. glad to see other folks are working through this stuff-- a post like yours is one i've been meaning to make but for now i'll just let it stew in my head a bit longer.

[heyiya]

Thank you! Your positive response means a lot, because just from reading you on LJ I have a lot of respect for the work you're doing and the way you approach it.

That the divide between activism, art, theory and politics is false and counterproductive: that's it, exactly.

I don't think I've found the answer to my constant concern about living my politics insufficiently, about the status of the work I want to do and about the privileged nature of the position in the institution from which I find myself doing it, but writing this post - and consciously not framing it in the self-deprecating, navel-gazing style of one's internal monologue but rather in a way that I hope will open conversation - really helped me to articulate how so many of my questions revolve around the same issues.

<3

[alchemia]

...so perhaps this post is unnecesary

Since when is keeping discussion gong on a topic of importance to you unnecissarry!?

if there is political potential, how can that potential be activated? How is it already being activated?

I do think it is being activated in some ways. Like some of the things I mentioned in my posts. But I tend towards that "make a difference one person at a time" approach. But soemthing "Bigger"- I don't know- I have trouble picturing it- not because i dont think it can be done, just, Its a trees vs forest thing, I'm looking at the trees on this issue.

[heyiya]

There was a lot more apologising-for-myself in this post before cathexys wisely made me take it out! :)

I guess from the academic standpoint my interest is in looking at and trying to encourage the growth of the forest without losing sight of the trees... The importance of the trees approach is a big part of what prompted me to post this, because I feel like the standard approach is 'all the forest, or don't even bother' and that just doesn't make sense to me.

I think I need to stop that metaphor now before the trees come alive and drive me out of their forest, or something. :)

[alchemia]

Oh my. relax. triffids are purely fictional.

interesting how much apologising there is in fandom.

for bringing up a meta topic again.
for not getting *every* single kink a person listed in a fic gift exchange.
for not liking a popular fic
for someones water colour painting looking 'crappy' (which i think is fuelled alot by the "perfctionism" digital art programs and photoshopping create - similar to the real beauty vs virtual beauty brought up withe dove ads).
for not enough sex in a fic or for the sex being good enough (this one i think becuase of the assumptions about hat slash issupposed to be; henry jenkins kept doing it with his xmas carol slash, and i see female authors thoughdo it too- its sort of like theres a grand idea of what slashis supposed to be and peopel have toapoogise fornot living up to this ideal or not be "woman/slasher neough" or something).
for not responding to fb/comments practically immediately.

[alchemia]

oh my i shouldahve maybe ate something before takingmy last batch of pills its reallyshowingin my typing .... i hope you could read that! OTOH im vrey happy :)

[battygurl]

I'm too addled to make an intelligent comment, but I liked this post and I'm adding it to my memories.

[heyiya]

Thank you! :)

[heyiya]

Yay thinking! Thinking is good. This post is very much just my tentative thoughts rather than an all-out manifesto of some kind, though I will admit I have a soft spot for manifestos.

And for taking my inspiration from riot grrrl, apparently. :)

[executrix]

I think it's a matter of degree vs. kind. Media portrayals are very powerful in building and affecting perception of RL human beings, which is why there are various anti-defamation leagues and image awards. But if someone is trying to get LGBT Movement Street Cred, I agree that one deserves more credit for one evening spent mailing out flyers for the local LGBT center than for writing all the porn in the world.

In a sense, though, the most political writings are the *least* thought out, not the most, because they show what the writer really feels. For better or for worse.

princessofg: yeah, but it kinda depends on who's first up against the wall.

[alchemia]

But if someone is trying to get LGBT Movement Street Cred, I agree that one deserves more credit for one evening spent mailing out flyers for the local LGBT center than for writing all the porn in the world.

there's some assumptions here I don't think are accurate in all cases.

1. not all slash/femslash/transfic/etc is porn2. one might not have a local lgbt centre to work with

[heyiya]

Also, it depends on what the fliers are about. I don't assume that I will be in total political agreement with my local LGBT centre just because I happen to be a dyke who cares about politics! For example, I don't consider gay marriage to be the be-all and end-all of queer politics, so if the flyers are about that I would rather write (about) porn. I don't consider slash to be the be-all and end-all of politics either, I just like the way it messes with heteronormativity and I want to know where that could go... I don't think that where it could go would be toward LGBT Movement Street Cred, and I don't think that it's a substitute for other kinds of political activity and action, but I think it has the potential to activate different models of sexuality than the ones we are used to, and I think that's important.

In a sense, though, the most political writings are the *least* thought out, not the most, because they show what the writer really feels. For better or for worse.I think that depends on what the writer really feels! For me