When fandoms become something more, again
I would have to be thankful for this tumblr simply for it enlightening me as to the existence of this picture of Key.
But it gets even better.
Grey discussed the nature of the same-sex shipping tendencies of fandom a little less than a year ago.
Here, Trevor Link does the same, and even concerning the same Lesbiansubtextinkpop tumblr, in addition to a couple others. I thought that the talk about gender power relations at the end was very interesting.
Also, Kpop and Jane Austen
[TANGENTS]
I've also been pondering this topic again, same-sex shipping and fandom, because just recently I became aware of, and then watched, the anime Yuru Yuri, which was popular/anticipated enough to merit both simulcast by Crunchyroll for western audiences and a second season, to be aired this summer season. There's already much to ponder regarding why the Pink Bishoujo Ghetto is so popular and the subsequent Les Yay pairings celebrated, (as well as why this is more prevalent in animation, while live-action female ensemble casts still manage to fail Bechdel) but Yuru Yuri took that natural next step and made their Pink Bishoujo Ghetto canonically lesbian. It's set in middle school, and the only sexual acts that occur are for the sake of humor. Other shows have followed the same ship-teasing humor formula, but the slight twist that these girls are actually lesbian takes on rather large implications, especially because no fuss is made about their sexuality at all. Why was this made, and who was the audience? A few female idols have proclaimed themselves fans, even. How do you balance the possible true equality interpretations with the undeniable fetish-pandering interpretation? And then, the "what does this say about the audience" question also gets into the issues surrounding the gender connotations of being a geek, an otaku.
One of these days I'm going to get around to reading that paper on moe, and then ponder on the implications of how casual a word it is now, and especially how idols themselves use it. Also, on the difference between how they use the word when they use it, compared to when they use kawaii as the descriptor. (And then the extra tangled web of diction nuances in moe vs. kawaii vs. aegyo.) [/ TANGENTS]
But it gets even better.
Grey discussed the nature of the same-sex shipping tendencies of fandom a little less than a year ago.
Here, Trevor Link does the same, and even concerning the same Lesbiansubtextinkpop tumblr, in addition to a couple others. I thought that the talk about gender power relations at the end was very interesting.
Also, Kpop and Jane Austen
[TANGENTS]
I've also been pondering this topic again, same-sex shipping and fandom, because just recently I became aware of, and then watched, the anime Yuru Yuri, which was popular/anticipated enough to merit both simulcast by Crunchyroll for western audiences and a second season, to be aired this summer season. There's already much to ponder regarding why the Pink Bishoujo Ghetto is so popular and the subsequent Les Yay pairings celebrated, (as well as why this is more prevalent in animation, while live-action female ensemble casts still manage to fail Bechdel) but Yuru Yuri took that natural next step and made their Pink Bishoujo Ghetto canonically lesbian. It's set in middle school, and the only sexual acts that occur are for the sake of humor. Other shows have followed the same ship-teasing humor formula, but the slight twist that these girls are actually lesbian takes on rather large implications, especially because no fuss is made about their sexuality at all. Why was this made, and who was the audience? A few female idols have proclaimed themselves fans, even. How do you balance the possible true equality interpretations with the undeniable fetish-pandering interpretation? And then, the "what does this say about the audience" question also gets into the issues surrounding the gender connotations of being a geek, an otaku.
One of these days I'm going to get around to reading that paper on moe, and then ponder on the implications of how casual a word it is now, and especially how idols themselves use it. Also, on the difference between how they use the word when they use it, compared to when they use kawaii as the descriptor. (And then the extra tangled web of diction nuances in moe vs. kawaii vs. aegyo.) [/ TANGENTS]