Betty said:
Now there's where I would disagree with you, I'm afraid. There is some evidence for heterosexual relationships/feelings/leanings between some of the principal characters on B7.
Well,it's like billboards--there's a lot of pro-heterosexual imagery in Western cultures.
Actually, I *don't* see much evidence of heterosexual relationships between the principal characters at *all*. Let's see what we've actually got, here: 1) the obvious sexual tension between Avon & Servalan, 2) the fling between Tarrant and Servalan in "Sand," 3) Dayna kissing Avon in "Aftermath," and 4) Vila's occasional and apparently not-too-serious attempts at pickup lines directed at his female crewmates. That's *it*. Based strictly on what's on-screen, these people for the most part just aren't involved with each other sexually at *all*. But, as someone (Dana?) pointed out, there's a lot of stuff that we don't get to see on-screen. We don't get to see them using the bathroom, either, but presumably they do it.
Everybody does have eliminatory functions, although I don't find them an interesting subject for fiction. Not everybody has partner sexual relations, although the series goes on for an awfully long time for me to believe that the characters didn't have sex with SOMEBODY.
In other words, to say that these characters were gay or bisexual is to say that the series' creator, script editor and principal actors have no say in their own series. In which case we may as well give up viewing the series entirely.
No, no, we need a springboard for our own and greatly improved versions!
Aw, but Series 2 has better examples. :) But, OK, let's explore an example from Series 1. One scene from that season that's often regarded as being very "slashy" is the bomb scene from "The Web." You know the one:
OK, it's true that my mind is right in the gutter here, but I'd say, "you know, the one where when they're picking themselves off the floor, Blake removes his hand from Avon's lap, looks really upset at the state of play, and Avon says, "Automatic reaction. I'm as surprised as you are."
What, specifically, are you thinking of with respect to "Bounty"? Tyce? I see considerable attraction for Blake on her part, but no real evidence of reciprocation. And I see nothing sexual about the kiss he gives Inga at *all*. I see it as being entirely, well... cousinly. (I could, in fact, make a long and detailed argument as to why I think Blake's feelings for Inga were almost certainly non-sexual, if you really want... :))
Anyway, we're not talking about scientific proof, here, or a court of law. There's no "burden of proof" involved. Anything not explicitly ruled out is possible.
Betty, if we believed that, there wouldn't be millions of words of PGPs.
To take a nonsexual example: if you're going to write a B7 story in the style of a "Carry On" film, this can be a quite clever and fun thing to read. If, however, you start insisting that the series on which the story was based was a camp comedy,
Personally, I think it's a gay soap opera.
(I like to view the series as a Shakespearean-style tragedy, with Avon as a classic Tragic Hero. I kind of doubt that was deliberately intended, though.
I think the Richard III echoes were quite consciously intended, ditto Hamlet.
And Paul Darrow's Avon is *waaaay* different than most fans' perception of Avon. But Darrow, in a sense, did create Avon. Does that mean we should all stop interpreting the character for ourselves and take the version in A:ATA as gospel? <Shudder>
Obviously he didn't object to ALL fanfic departures from canon.
A person who has a religious objection to pornography is, of course, not going to be a slash fan. And for a person whose religion defines homosexual acts as sinful, slash stories will refer to immoral actions. (However, Avon would be at least as culpable in committing adultery with Anna as fornication with Blake.) Even if I thought I could talk anyone out of her/his religious beliefs, I wouldn't want to.
After all, there were consensual hallucinations long before cyberspace. Any fiction is something that the writer has dreamed up and wants other people to see. Personally, given a choice between reading about the crew blowing up a Federation installation, except somebody gets trapped in the basement without a working teleport bracelet and [omitted in the interests of good taste and list etiquette] I'd tend to choose the latter. But then, I don't consider it insulting to a character to say that s/he engages in any kind of sexual activity that s/he can persuade a consenting adult to agree to.
-(Y)