Read this entry in isagel's journal now. Read the discussion that follows and tell me if they aren't talking about our fandom with all it's love for happy!fluffy! stories.
Of course, one of the things that squicks me about a lot of slash in general, and especially some of the defenses of slash, is the underlying assumption that women are icky and men are just nicer and cooler and more intrinsically interesting, and interested in each other rather than, you know, icky women.
I'd seen this great LJ discussion somewhere where people where discussing as to why the slash pairings in their fandom were more attractive than the het pairings. Apparently, the canon het pairings are either always extremely shallow and throwaway, or terribly uninteresting. The women characters are often very shallow/boring/whiny after they fall in love, although the men retain their features - so the entire relationship becomes uninteresting. I wish I had watched more shows to comment on this. But I can say that Michael/Nikita or Paul/Madeline don't fall in this category. *g*
When it happens, and I'm not sure it really does happen with truly strong and interesting female characters - of which there is quite a dearth generally speaking, it is often because the only thing that makes many female characters interesting is her search for love and not her character itself (who would have cared anything at all about Ally McBeal if she had been happily married throughout the series? Or most of the sex and the city girls?). So when her search is over she has nothing in particular to do - she may get sort of boring.
Which to me means she wasn't all that strong or interesting in the first place, and that is something I blame the writers/producers for and not the woman - dreaming up fanfic story lines is my vehicle for fixing that horrid assualt on women, not embracing it. But thems my issues, obviously, and they are not shared widely.
The general slasher dissing of the het relationships, of course, is also an assault on the notion that a man can truly love a woman - which is so very sad and irritating as well.
The general slasher dissing of the het relationships, of course, is also an assault on the notion that a man can truly love a woman - which is so very sad and irritating as well.
Not all slashers are anti-het (How is it possible for any person to be so resolutely anti-het? Doesn't that mean you're consciously dissing all real life heterosexual relationships as well? If that isn't silly and juvenile, then what is? Or maybe it's another case of it's just fan fiction syndrome). But sadly, the anti-het section of the slashers is the most vocal one.
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branchandroot
PS...(r)
Date: 2004-02-25 06:28 pm (UTC)I'd seen this great LJ discussion somewhere where people where discussing as to why the slash pairings in their fandom were more attractive than the het pairings. Apparently, the canon het pairings are either always extremely shallow and throwaway, or terribly uninteresting. The women characters are often very shallow/boring/whiny after they fall in love, although the men retain their features - so the entire relationship becomes uninteresting. I wish I had watched more shows to comment on this. But I can say that Michael/Nikita or Paul/Madeline don't fall in this category. *g*
Swatkat
no subject
Date: 2004-02-25 09:19 pm (UTC)Which to me means she wasn't all that strong or interesting in the first place, and that is something I blame the writers/producers for and not the woman - dreaming up fanfic story lines is my vehicle for fixing that horrid assualt on women, not embracing it. But thems my issues, obviously, and they are not shared widely.
The general slasher dissing of the het relationships, of course, is also an assault on the notion that a man can truly love a woman - which is so very sad and irritating as well.
Nell
no subject
Date: 2004-02-26 05:14 pm (UTC)Not all slashers are anti-het (How is it possible for any person to be so resolutely anti-het? Doesn't that mean you're consciously dissing all real life heterosexual relationships as well? If that isn't silly and juvenile, then what is? Or maybe it's another case of it's just fan fiction syndrome). But sadly, the anti-het section of the slashers is the most vocal one.
Swatkat