andrewducker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2003-12-26 08:19 pm
andrewducker) wrote2003-12-26 08:19 pm
Slash
I've been thinking about Slash ever since I opened my mouth without bulletproofing myself.
Having read the Schindler's List Fanfic/Slash a little later, it's not actually that bad. Well, it's not terrible writing, and it's not offensive.
Except.... except it's solidified something that's been nagging at me for a while - the thing that I've realised I don't like about Slash.
It started with a link that Yonmei sent me to a FAQ page about Slash-writing, which gave various examples of relationships between people, and then said "They sounded romantic, yes? But we changed the genders around, and the people in each case were both men!" (and yes, I'm parapgrasing from memory, as I can't find the page again). This had the implication that as these relationships _could_ be romantic, therefore reframing them as romantic was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
And I then realised that the problem was that the Slash people seem to think that it's impossible for any relationship to be non-sexual. That if one person cares for another, it must be because they want to have sex with them. If a person enjoys another's company it's because they are desperate for sweaty lovemaking with them. If a person loves someone else, it's because of lust.
Taking the relationship between Oskar Schindler and Itzhak Stern and saying that they worked together to save thousands of lives because Oskar couldn't get Itzhak's sexy looks out of his head takes an incredibly noble act and a great friendship and reduces it to animal attraction. And while I have nothing against animal attraction (it's great!), it's as bad as the idea of Aragorn fighting for Middle Earth because Arwen is threatened - suddenly he's not a hero fighting for all mankind - he's just some guy protecting his girlfriend.
It's reminiscient of the people that think that Men and Women can't be friends, because Men want to shag any woman they know - apparently men and men can't be friends, because deep down they want to shag.
(Oh, and all of the above applies to male/female relationships too, 'Het' fiction annoys me just as much.)
Having read the Schindler's List Fanfic/Slash a little later, it's not actually that bad. Well, it's not terrible writing, and it's not offensive.
Except.... except it's solidified something that's been nagging at me for a while - the thing that I've realised I don't like about Slash.
It started with a link that Yonmei sent me to a FAQ page about Slash-writing, which gave various examples of relationships between people, and then said "They sounded romantic, yes? But we changed the genders around, and the people in each case were both men!" (and yes, I'm parapgrasing from memory, as I can't find the page again). This had the implication that as these relationships _could_ be romantic, therefore reframing them as romantic was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
And I then realised that the problem was that the Slash people seem to think that it's impossible for any relationship to be non-sexual. That if one person cares for another, it must be because they want to have sex with them. If a person enjoys another's company it's because they are desperate for sweaty lovemaking with them. If a person loves someone else, it's because of lust.
Taking the relationship between Oskar Schindler and Itzhak Stern and saying that they worked together to save thousands of lives because Oskar couldn't get Itzhak's sexy looks out of his head takes an incredibly noble act and a great friendship and reduces it to animal attraction. And while I have nothing against animal attraction (it's great!), it's as bad as the idea of Aragorn fighting for Middle Earth because Arwen is threatened - suddenly he's not a hero fighting for all mankind - he's just some guy protecting his girlfriend.
It's reminiscient of the people that think that Men and Women can't be friends, because Men want to shag any woman they know - apparently men and men can't be friends, because deep down they want to shag.
(Oh, and all of the above applies to male/female relationships too, 'Het' fiction annoys me just as much.)
no subject
(1) If slash is about exploring possibilities, why does it appear (based on the comments-- I haven't read slash myself) that the main possibility people want to explore is sexual tension or activity? You know, there's quite a lot of that on TV already. Even same-sex sexuality is explored by network TV innuendo now, plus Queer Film Festivals from San Francisco to Minneapolis explore both serious issues and porn. So, my question is, why not explore less-frequently-explored possibilities? What if Harry and Sally in When Harry Met Sally had decided to stay “just friends,” and one of their later spouses got jealous of their friendship and they had to stand up for each other? That might be a good plot. Or what if after Frodo took his ship to that faraway land, it turned out to have a culture like America, and men thought he was "hitting on them" if he showed affection in friendship; maybe he got gaybashed for kissing some fellow the same way he kissed Sam in the movie, and maybe he found some romantic interest over there (you pick the gender) and they both got fed up with it and came back to the Shire for a happy reunion?
(2) It seems that "same-sex relationship" and "gay relationship" are conflated in so much discussion of the topic. They aren't the same thing. The majority of same-sex kissing and hand-holding worldwide is between straight men or women as an expression of friendship. Men and women around the world have Frodo-and-Sam moments with their best friends too-- I remember reading a news story about a couple of Mexican friends who grew up together, and later traveled north together to find better jobs to support their families. They traveled together as friends, and, as a result of tragic errors by a smuggler, died together as friends.
Isn't that a better story than anything about Oskar Schindler having gay sex? Throw in some scenes of childhood friendship, and something heartbreaking about their families losing their farms due to "trade liberalization," written by somebody far more articulate than myself, and you've got yourself a good plot for a tragic drama.
Moving beyond fiction-writing for a second, why is the real-life gay rights movement only defending the sexual and marriage aspects of my rights to same-sex love? I don't see movement people even talking about the fact that some of the practices that are seen as "risque" public displays of affection by gay couples here (such as cheek kissing or holding hands) are actually normal for straight people all around the world! Hey movement folks, if you're so hip to protecting my right to express same-sex love, why not do something about that? You know, my ex-boyfriend was not the guy I loved most so far, it was my best friend from college, and he ran away because his wife was jealous of our "too intense" friendship. A little public education about the fact that MOST people worldwide have the occasional intense (albeit nonsexual) same-sex relationship, would have gone a certain way towards creating a cultural environment where he wouldn't feel "bad" for having strong feelings about his male friends, and his wife wouldn't feel threatened. Oh, but I guess you were too busy getting mad because the Minneapolis park board took away your anonymous-cruising ground to build a bike path (one of many silly local gay issues I have run into). Too bad, so sad! So much for protecting my interest in "same sex love"!
dave
no subject
I came back to this post because someone else linked to it, and by god this is the silliest comment on it...