"I just don't like slash. That doesn't mean I'm a homophobe!" A Public Service Announcement

[citrinesunset]

So you don't like slash fan fiction. "I don't hate gay people," you say. "It's just a personal preference."

But hold on there, buddy. It's a little more complicated than that.

"But why?" you might ask. "I mean, the only reason I don't like slash is because gay porn doesn't turn me on. And so much slash is badly written and unrealistic, isn't it? I just care about quality."

Ah, but slash can encompass many things. Some people associate it with stories where two presumably heterosexual men (or occasionally women) are paired together. Others associate it with stories that are intended to be pornographic in nature, or that are intended to provide a romantic, emotional payoff to the reader similar to a romance novel. Still others disagree about whether slash should or can contain realistic depictions of queer people.

But regardless of how you interpret it, the term slash is commonly used in the world of fandom to describe any depiction of a gay male couple in a story, whether as the central focus of the plot, or as part of a gen-fic.

And with a growing number of fandoms that include canonically gay characters, there's an increase in fan fiction involving these characters and their canon relationships. Even these stories are commonly referred to as "slash."

"Still," you might ask, "just because I don't like gay porn or badly-written, contrived stories doesn't mean I'm against reading about gay relationships on principle."

Well, let's step outside the world of fandom for a moment, and visit two close friends, Mary and Paul. Let's eavesdrop on their conversations.

First, Mary and Paul are discussing their interest in pornography:

Conversation #1

Mary: I like paranormal erotica sometimes. You know, vampires, werewolves, things like that.
Paul: Yeah, that's fun sometimes, but I like it best when it's M/M. Two guys together can be really hot.
Mary: Not really my thing, but I bet it can be hot if you're into it.

Let's analyze this conversation. Mary indicates that she doesn't find the idea of two men together sexually arousing. However, she respects Paul's interest, and shows some understanding of why he likes it.

Conversation #2

Mary: I saw this movie last night that was really bad. It was about these two women falling in love, but God, the acting was so unconvincing. I wish I could have those two hours of my life back.
Paul: Don't you hate that? I got sucked into watching a Pauly Shore movie last weekend.
Mary: Ugh. Bio-Dome is the worst...Anyway, I had to put in my DVD of Saving Face so I could see a well-done lesbian romance.

Here, Mary and Paul are talking about movies that they feel are poor quality. Mary starts the conversation by mentioning a lesbian-themed movie that was bad, but she places the emphasis on the fact that she felt the acting was unconvincing. There's no reason to believe that it's the lesbian theme of the movie that bothered Mary, and she even mentions a movie that she feels is an example of a good-quality lesbian story. In the meantime, she shares in Paul's dislike of Pauly Shore. Clearly, it's not just gay movies that suck.

Conversation #3

Mary: Hey, I was thinking we could rent a movie. Maybe Brokeback Mountain? I'm a sucker for sad movies about tragic love stories.
Paul: Yeah, I heard it's a great movie. A real example of great movie making. But isn't it about two guys falling in love? I don't know about that...maybe we should watch The English Patient instead. I don't watch movies about gay people.

Whoa! The only reason Paul gives for not wanting to see Brokeback Mountain is that it's about two men falling in love. But he's not being homophobic. He just has a preference.

"Wait a second," you might say, "but he's not objecting to the movie because he heard it's bad. And he doesn't object to tragic love stories. And what does he mean, he doesn't like movies about gay people?"

But isn't that what Mary was saying when she said she isn't interested in gay porn? And isn't Mary saying she doesn't like movies about gay people when she talks about that horrible lesbian movie?

"Of course not," you say. "She wasn't objecting to all stories about gay relationships. It was clear from her words and the context."

And there we have it.

So the next time you say, "I don't like slash," think about context, and what you really mean to say. Remember that slash is a broad category that includes more than just that 200 chapter Remus/Sirius domestic mpreg epic that made your eyes bleed from purple prose. And think about why you choose the stories you do.

Comments

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

OMG this this this. Seriously.

And also, a fandom specific example: "I ship A/B so I'd rather not read A/C" where A/B is a het ship and A/C a slash ship <--- this is fine. And very different in quality for ranting for hours about how A is obviously straight and so slash involving him is so OOC because we all know gay is totally a character trait.

[citrinesunset.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And there are totally legit, non-homophobic reasons to not read much slash or go out looking for it, but if you just say, "I don't like slash," nobody is going to know what you mean by that unless they happen to be on the same wavelength. Slash is just...too broad.