Shane said
it does bug me to think of a distorted version of my lifestyle turned into
somebody else's fantasy
Although I put myself on the 'pro-slash' side, I do think this is an issue that slash fans ought to consider. I can imagine (let us say) a Native American objecting to 'Cowboys and Indians' stories (or those new age books which present travesties of native american religious practice etc.). And there are hoards of other examples of people objecting to the inaccurate depiction of their lifestyles by outsiders. I myself object (vocally and regularly :-) to the distortion of working class life by patronising middle-class people.
I think it is important for slash fans not to conflate the objection Shane makes in this post with the other objections we have heard (sheer dislike of homosexual people, and the defence of supposed canon) which I think can be much more easily dismissed.
I would like to say to Shane that in my experience 99 percent of pro-slash fans that I have met are respectful towards gay men. I think that for many women their like of this literature is part and parcel of a tolerant lifestyle. But I know that might sound patronising, as if you should be grateful for my tolerance, and I don't mean that at all.
I can't resolve this issue to my own satisfaction, let alone anyone else's.
Alison
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Alison said:
Although I put myself on the 'pro-slash' side, I do think this is an issue that slash fans ought to consider. I can imagine (let us say) a Native American objecting to 'Cowboys and Indians' stories (or those new age
books
which present travesties of native american religious practice etc.).
But I'd say that these are quite different issues--I'd think it's far worse for someone to write about you as a mindless savage whose extermination is to be applauded than to be smarmed over by some nitwit member of "The Tribe Called Wannabe." I bet in some cases slashwriters have at least a bit of wannabe feeling about gay men, and it certainly would be wonderful to have access to a group of attractive and uninhibited partners even if we have to invent them ourselves.
And there are hoards of other examples of people objecting to the inaccurate depiction of their lifestyles by outsiders. I myself object (vocally and regularly :-) to the distortion of working class life by patronising middle-class people.
1, Yes, there should be more opportunities for working-class writers 2. Maybe middle-class people will learn something from dialogue with working-class people who can explain to them exactly how they got it wrong 3. ...which would never occur if middle-class writers stuck to "tennis, anyone?" subject matter. I don't think there's anything contemptible about an attempt to use fiction to understand someone with quite different experiences--although one reason the attempt fails is the writer's inability to overcome her own prejudices.
-(Y)
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Alison Page -
Dana Shilling