You're welcome. I just honestly got tired of the double standard I kept seeing. A slash story has as much as a het story, which both should be labeled somewhat, with a warning. I'll read damn near everything that doesn't hit my squicks (rape, noncon, incest, things of that nature). I prefer gen in SG, simply because I like the character studies, but that doesn't mean that I think the romance stories should be banned for all time. It's not about that.
For me, a relationship is a part of a person, not the defining moment. I'm a 5'2, overweight, diabetic, straight, 25-year-old woman. Those are descriptors, but they don't define me. To who and what I am, you'd have to get to me, as a person. I apply the same logic to characters. There are some writers that I simply do not like, for whatever reason (though, the usual reason is that they don't fit the characters I see). It would have been far more honest for some of the meta people to admit that's what this was about. They didn't feel like the story worked
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See, this is better put than I could have on this subject. I think there's a definite difference between a ship/slash story and a story in which they happen to be in a relationship but its not a background thing....but, yes, our relationships aren't who we are, they're only a tiny piece of it......
There is a definite difference, at least for me. A ship, be it slash or het, story is one that focuses on the relationship itself. A gen focuses on the person as a whole, not just a part of who they are. Relationships shouldn't be the most defining characteristic. A good story, a good telling, talks about the different parts of character. Relationships are a small portion. For all we know, Rodney might have peed in his bed until he was five (granted, totally fanon concept), but that doesn't change that he had Sheppard for a boyfriend for six months. It shouldn't have alter, not something that small
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Oh, yeah, and that's why I'll never get people who insist on calling it a ship story if a character has even a stray thought of another character. I read a great story with Radek that had him briefly think of his ex-wife...it was labeled a "Radek/OFC" ship and to me that story was totally gen....he wasn't pining over her, it was just something that had made him part of who he was.
That is a brilliant example of a het example for me. I haven't been reading fic this week - save for Freedom - because of how crazy it's been. I mean, of course Radek's wife might be an OFC. We don't know enough about his background to make it canon. That's the point of fanfic, I thought. To work out what canon'll never tell us, or expound on the teeny grains we are given. And if it's just an off-cuff remark that helped shape him, but wasn't ultimately about him, then why label it such? It's a misrepresention, in my opinion, because all those gen-but-not-shippers will miss it, and all those those ship-but-no-genners will, too. There's appealing to your audience, and then there's alienating. To me, labeling the story as such is doing the latter
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I am taking a break from fighting with my computer and word and goddamn marketing to say WORD! So very much word. There is this double standard in fandom that nothing is gen if there is even a hint of slash which is not only homophobic but also total bullshit. I'm not going to think that a fic about Lorne's first days in Atlantis where there is background McShep should be labeled slash. It's not about that it's about Lorne and people that get all up in arms about that are never satisfied.
Okay that's my two cents, again thanks for the sanity. *goes back to beating the beastly paper into submission...stupid word*
*laugh* Glad you could come play. The double standard gets me because I hate that slash within a gen must be mentioned but Sheppard/Novak gets a pass because it's het. It doesn't feel genuine and the more I read of their replies, the more upset I get. Simply because their arguments all consist of a boiling down to "my way is the only way" and stomping feet. Instead of being open-minded, which will get them more consideration, they went the other route.
There are a lot of stories that have background relationships, especially early in the series where they didn't have a lot of options, the people from Earth, so it would be reasonable to assume in high pressure situations some people would need an outlet. If it were the Lorne story, he wouldn't care much since being new and all, but it would be noted in case it became important. That doesn't mean it's the end all, be all of the individual characters. To further clarify, sex and romance are two separate entities, as well. Thankfully, slash falls into both, because they're a focus on the
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For me, a relationship is a part of a person, not the defining moment. I'm a 5'2, overweight, diabetic, straight, 25-year-old woman. Those are descriptors, but they don't define me. To who and what I am, you'd have to get to me, as a person. I apply the same logic to characters. There are some writers that I simply do not like, for whatever reason (though, the usual reason is that they don't fit the characters I see). It would have been far more honest for some of the meta people to admit that's what this was about. They didn't feel like the story worked ( ... )
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Okay that's my two cents, again thanks for the sanity. *goes back to beating the beastly paper into submission...stupid word*
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There are a lot of stories that have background relationships, especially early in the series where they didn't have a lot of options, the people from Earth, so it would be reasonable to assume in high pressure situations some people would need an outlet. If it were the Lorne story, he wouldn't care much since being new and all, but it would be noted in case it became important. That doesn't mean it's the end all, be all of the individual characters. To further clarify, sex and romance are two separate entities, as well. Thankfully, slash falls into both, because they're a focus on the ( ... )
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