Neil wrote:
and I think the only thing that bothers me is the insistence by either pro or anti-slashers that their reading is the only possible correct one. That particular line coming
from
the pro-slash side bothers me more, but I think that's because they just tend to be so much louder, so much more insistent, and so eager to clutch
at
the feeblest of straws and claim them as hard evidence. Basically, the pro-slashers just become a noisy nuisance, while the anti-slashers can
quite
rightly (IMO) point to the thinness and ambiguity of all this so-called evidence, though not so rightly (IMO) claim that this 'proves' that the characters are absolutely straight.
Actually, on re-reading a selection of recent posts, I think this is a teensy bit unfair. Practically everyone supporting slash readings has been careful to point out that this is a personal view only.
The only real difference between the two is the relative importance accorded to the sexuality of the characters, and it's not something I regard as terribly important. If Blake is planting explosives round a Federation base, who cares if he's gay, straight or bi?
True. But -- likewise -- not everyone's interested in fanfic about Blake planting explosives around a Federation base.
That's probably my biggest gripe about not just slash readings but het readings too. They reduce the characters to nothing but their sexuality. Nobody, straight, gay or whatever, is that one-dimensional. Adult fic
seems
to separate the entire universe into Sex and Everything Else, and promptly homes in on the sex. I consider the Everything Else to be not only more interesting but more important as well. Consequently I tend to avoid
adult
fic not because it squicks me..., but because it's just so bloody
*boring*.
I agree in disliking one-dimensional fiction. To me, the adult/slash fiction I enjoy intellectually is the stuff that attempts to map sexual tensions onto other aspects of the series. (The sort that focuses on the romp aspects doesn't do a lot for my intellectual side.)
However, the same is true of other one-dimensional fiction. A jolly adventure romp about Blake planting explosives around xyz Federation base would bore me to tears. The same action with an added moral aspect (eg consideration of the Federation civilian casualties) or relationship aspect (eg Blake and other crewmember row over the feasibility/morality/necessity of such action) or whatever would be much more interesting.
The separation (dare I say ghettoism) of 'adult' fic is one of my pet peeves in B7 fandom. But I won't reiterate here the rant that already graces the TTBA editorial...
(...I'm virtually unsquickable unless animals get involved)
Tavia womanfully refrains from making that hamster joke.
Tavia
Replying to Tavia and Neil:
Neil wrote:
and I think the only thing that bothers me is the insistence by either pro or anti-slashers that their reading is the only possible correct one. That particular line coming
from
the pro-slash side bothers me more, but I think that's because they just tend to be so much louder, so much more insistent, and so eager to clutch
at
the feeblest of straws and claim them as hard evidence.
Dana womanfully refraining from jokes about hard evidential straws being clutched by feeble straws
(from Neil)
The only real difference between the two is the relative importance accorded to the sexuality of the characters, and it's not something I regard as terribly important. If Blake is planting explosives round a Federation base, who cares if he's gay, straight or bi?
Presumably someone would care if they thought he was a pedophile-- that was the whole point of fabricating those charges rather than others.
(from Tavia)
True. But -- likewise -- not everyone's interested in fanfic about Blake planting explosives around a Federation base.
For my taste, there was too much of that sort of thing in canon, more of it not required in fanfic
Tavia said:
I agree in disliking one-dimensional fiction. To me, the adult/slash fiction I enjoy intellectually is the stuff that attempts to map sexual tensions onto other aspects of the series.
I think that sexuality is one of the more interesting aspects of human personality, although not the ONLY interesting aspect, much less the only aspect.
-(Y)
From: Dana Shilling dshilling@worldnet.att.net
(from Neil)
The only real difference between the two is the relative importance accorded to the sexuality of the characters, and it's not something I regard as
terribly
important. If Blake is planting explosives round a Federation base,
who
cares if he's gay, straight or bi?
Presumably someone would care if they thought he was a pedophile-- that was the whole point of fabricating those charges rather than others.
No, what I meant was that his sexual proclivities bear no relation to his actions as a revolutionary. Although there are scenarios in which one could argue that his sexuality may have directed him towards becoming a revolutionary in the first place, a man blowing things up is a man blowing things up, regardless of whether he prefers to shag women, shag men, shag children, shag horses, or invite the whole crew to watch him shove a banana up his arse. The same could be said for anyone doing anything which has nothing to do with sex, which for most people is most if not nearly all (or even all) of the time.
(from Tavia)
True. But -- likewise -- not everyone's interested in fanfic about Blake planting explosives around a Federation base.
For my taste, there was too much of that sort of thing in canon, more of it not required in fanfic
Well, I'm afraid tastes differ. And who's to say that one's is any better than another's? If you want to read B7 as a gay soap opera (to quote from an earlier post of yours) then fine, do so. I can't stop you and it would be unreasonable of me to want to do so*. But that doesn't mean that B7 *is* a gay soap opera, merely that you choose to read it as such. Personally I would consider calling the show a 'soap opera' to be an unconscionable insult to the series. And if you choose to blind yourself to the wider and - IMO - more interesting possibilities opened up by relegating sex to the margins of the action, then that's your loss.
<grouse mutter grumble> Bloody wind-up merchant <grumble mutter>
Neil
*Note that I'm not claiming to be reasonable here:)
From: Tavia tavia@btinternet.com
(...I'm virtually unsquickable unless animals get involved)
Tavia womanfully refrains from making that hamster joke.
Presumably the same hamster joke that graced the cover of AltaZine #3. For those who never saw it, that was Avon pointing a gun in Blake's face on Gauda Prime, with the following captions:
AVON: I keep telling you, Blake - it wasn't MY sellotape. BLAKE: True. But it *was* my hamster.
Someone called Judith something-or-other didn't get it, IIRC.
Neil
-
Dana Shilling -
Neil Faulkner -
Tavia