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*waves to those of you in NOLA* *blows kisses*
Actually, it's probably better I'm not there, because I'd be so, so tempted to go to this presentation and sit right in the front row wearing my mean face. This was snagged from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sansa1970's LJ, so check her post out for more comments.
No Mary Sues in Slash: Gender Envy in Erotic Fanfiction
Lelac Almagor
Slash writers often express contempt for the heterosexual Mary Sue story, which they perceive as “too close to the ‘sentimental love religion’ of the romance novel.” But I argue that slash fiction is in fact a more radical and less hopeful response to the same fear and worry surrounding female sexuality that motivates the heterosexual romance. Slash authors and audiences construct sexual power and success as impossible in a female body, but readily attainable in a male body. The hard question is whether the work of slash can contribute materially to the alleviation of the discontent it expresses.
Being the intarwebs obsessive that I am, I Googled her. She's 'renowned' for using the Mary Sue concept to teach her fifth graders to write fanfic with themselves in it. Which I find endearing and cool -- for fifth graders. But I wonder if she has the slightest idea of the can o' shit she's popped open here and of the probable hostile reaction she'll get unloading this bizarre pseudo-psychobabble on the slash-friendly fans.
My first question would be: Does she have any evidence whatsoever backing up her hypothesis, or did she just pull this one out of her ass?
I haven't written a post before about my reasons for reading/writing slash, and some of my reasons are still rather amorphous and vague even to me. But never once have I thought that "sexual power and success are impossible in a female body." I think my actions in my own life confirm that in spades, sunshine. Nor have I ever heard any of you lot say anything close to that, and I do read bunches of meta on the topic.
I can guarantee 100% that my writing does not come from a place of "fear and worry surrounding female sexuality." Perhaps I should add this as a disclaimer to my stories. Or an icon, what do you think?
You know what, though? Nowhere in my imagination of this presentation and the subsequent question/answer session do I even think that there'll be anything other than a verbal wankfest. What I can imagine will happen is that the slashers will hear: you're coming from a place of sexual dysfunction (and oh, isn't that a new and original accusation). The speaker will hear the outraged squawks as protective denial of the truth. Words will fly, people will get upset, and nothing will be resolved.
Me, I'm just gonna save my ire to share with the rest of you!
ETA:bookshop and pir8fancier have posted comments about the talk - and the actual thing didn't match the abstract, but instead was more thoughtful and calm.
Actually, it's probably better I'm not there, because I'd be so, so tempted to go to this presentation and sit right in the front row wearing my mean face. This was snagged from
sansa1970's LJ, so check her post out for more comments.No Mary Sues in Slash: Gender Envy in Erotic Fanfiction
Lelac Almagor
Slash writers often express contempt for the heterosexual Mary Sue story, which they perceive as “too close to the ‘sentimental love religion’ of the romance novel.” But I argue that slash fiction is in fact a more radical and less hopeful response to the same fear and worry surrounding female sexuality that motivates the heterosexual romance. Slash authors and audiences construct sexual power and success as impossible in a female body, but readily attainable in a male body. The hard question is whether the work of slash can contribute materially to the alleviation of the discontent it expresses.
Being the intarwebs obsessive that I am, I Googled her. She's 'renowned' for using the Mary Sue concept to teach her fifth graders to write fanfic with themselves in it. Which I find endearing and cool -- for fifth graders. But I wonder if she has the slightest idea of the can o' shit she's popped open here and of the probable hostile reaction she'll get unloading this bizarre pseudo-psychobabble on the slash-friendly fans.
My first question would be: Does she have any evidence whatsoever backing up her hypothesis, or did she just pull this one out of her ass?
I haven't written a post before about my reasons for reading/writing slash, and some of my reasons are still rather amorphous and vague even to me. But never once have I thought that "sexual power and success are impossible in a female body." I think my actions in my own life confirm that in spades, sunshine. Nor have I ever heard any of you lot say anything close to that, and I do read bunches of meta on the topic.
I can guarantee 100% that my writing does not come from a place of "fear and worry surrounding female sexuality." Perhaps I should add this as a disclaimer to my stories. Or an icon, what do you think?
You know what, though? Nowhere in my imagination of this presentation and the subsequent question/answer session do I even think that there'll be anything other than a verbal wankfest. What I can imagine will happen is that the slashers will hear: you're coming from a place of sexual dysfunction (and oh, isn't that a new and original accusation). The speaker will hear the outraged squawks as protective denial of the truth. Words will fly, people will get upset, and nothing will be resolved.
Me, I'm just gonna save my ire to share with the rest of you!
ETA:
bookshop and pir8fancier have posted comments about the talk - and the actual thing didn't match the abstract, but instead was more thoughtful and calm.
