Is it a law that you have to be lesbian to write Femslash?
Okay, I know it's a weird title / subject / whatever, but it's something currently bugging me, so I figured I'd post and see what people thought. Not that I haven't wondered something to this effect for a while, but it came to a head as I read yet another rant on YouTube about "all you queers watching queers" in a Bad Girls vid commentary. (this post follows my usual reaction to said comments - lots of derogatory, insulting remarks about the poster and specific-finger-pointing at the monitor)
So is it some sort of unwritten law that one has to be bisexual or lesbian to write real femslash? And if not, how many straight people do write femslash?
As far as I'm concerned, it's the writer's ability to write and the realistic-ness that creates good fanfiction. Hell, I may not like Emma/Shalimar from Mutant X or the rampant SVU and CSI pairs, but I've happily devoured fics for said couples because the writing was spectacular. The same applies for music videos and such - if it's well done, I could care less what gender or sexuality the couple is. But I've noticed that the minute I mention femslash to anyone, the automatic assumption seems to be that only bisexual women, lesbians or sicko-men write that kind of thing.
I suppose I should clarify a few things before I start getting flames. Yes, I write femslash - Mirelle/Kirika, Rachel/Ivy, Xena/Gabrielle, Nikki/Helen and Barbara/Helena are my personal favorite pairings, and I've read good stuff for everything from Voyager to Murder in Suburbia and everything in between. And yes, I'm completely straight. As far as that goes, I could care less about a person's RL sexuality - as my best friend so memorably refers to it, I "may not be gay, but [I'm] definitely bendy." None of it bothers me. My personal reason for writing femslash (aside from loving the particular pairings) is because I can't write a hetero sex-scene without getting embarrassed enough to pass out. Femslash doesn't do that to me. xD
*reads back over the post* Gah, it sounds like a rant, though I didn't mean it to be. I'm just honestly curious.
Edit add: For anyone wondering, I am female. xD
So is it some sort of unwritten law that one has to be bisexual or lesbian to write real femslash? And if not, how many straight people do write femslash?
As far as I'm concerned, it's the writer's ability to write and the realistic-ness that creates good fanfiction. Hell, I may not like Emma/Shalimar from Mutant X or the rampant SVU and CSI pairs, but I've happily devoured fics for said couples because the writing was spectacular. The same applies for music videos and such - if it's well done, I could care less what gender or sexuality the couple is. But I've noticed that the minute I mention femslash to anyone, the automatic assumption seems to be that only bisexual women, lesbians or sicko-men write that kind of thing.
I suppose I should clarify a few things before I start getting flames. Yes, I write femslash - Mirelle/Kirika, Rachel/Ivy, Xena/Gabrielle, Nikki/Helen and Barbara/Helena are my personal favorite pairings, and I've read good stuff for everything from Voyager to Murder in Suburbia and everything in between. And yes, I'm completely straight. As far as that goes, I could care less about a person's RL sexuality - as my best friend so memorably refers to it, I "may not be gay, but [I'm] definitely bendy." None of it bothers me. My personal reason for writing femslash (aside from loving the particular pairings) is because I can't write a hetero sex-scene without getting embarrassed enough to pass out. Femslash doesn't do that to me. xD
*reads back over the post* Gah, it sounds like a rant, though I didn't mean it to be. I'm just honestly curious.
Edit add: For anyone wondering, I am female. xD