So Miranda and I were walking in the deserted Sheridan Street strip mall and got to talking...

[aruan]

To my considerably narrow repertoire of experience, gay men do not find lesbians attractive in the least. I'm still not entirely clear on why it is that so many of the women who write slash are themselves gay, as there seems to be (objectively) some sort of logistical monkey wrench in that equation. Anyhow, there was a point I'm not making much more clearly now. I, as a straight woman, feel to some extent spoiled by slash - the whole one boy good, two boys better thing - and feel somewhat, well, spoiled for equally good and well-written hetfic. Then I began to wonder if men who have seen equally appealing erotica in both guy/girl and girl/girl scenarios prefer the latter given the choice. Obviously, these aren't necessarily equivalent, but the general question stands. Is the impossibility of participation a factor at all for either group? I can say that I don't insert myself (pardon the pun) or would want to do so into the stories I read. It's not why I read them. Maybe it's all a case of otherwise happily heterosexual me scratching my head about the overreaching appeal of the gay boys phenomenon. Thoughts?


Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappucinos taste like melted candy cane. Mmm, mmm, good. Sometimes it's good to branch out. And I didn't just say that.

Not really.

It was cool enough to warrant my jacket. We might actually get to experience a season other than the indian summer we've been wallowing in for the past three months. Hope springs eternal.

Comments

[crazybutsound]

Now, that's a good point you're raising. And I don't mean I have anything to say about this.

I read somewhere (and boy, I wish I still had that link) that basically, the whole slash phenomenom had a lot to do with feminism. I think it makes sense. And it would also explain why gay women still find writing and reading boyslash is better than writing and reading het. Think about it, in our society, no matter how progressive it might be, literature still follows a lot of old-fashionned rules.

Let me pause here and say I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes. I'm tired, cranky and French. That said, let's get back to the point.

So, if you think about it, most of today's literature still follows the rules of a mostly patriarchal society. Men have more power than women, there is no such thing as true equality.

So, when reading or writing het, it is most likely that whoever you identify with, there will still be a character that ends up with less power than the other. Usually, the woman.

When reading or writing boyslash, the play of power and antagonism is much fairer. Both (or, you know, all) of the protagonists can share equal power and influence in the relationships they develop. I'm not saying one of them doesn't hold more power over the other or something, but at least, they stand equal chances. And none of them has to fit the womanly clichés of het literature. There also can be a lot of shifts and it's then easier to identify with either of the characters, without feeling like one of them corresponds more to us because of gender issues.

Of course, this is particularly true when slash is properly written. There are still many many stories out there in which Orlando or Lance or JC or anyone stand as women and hence, completely disprove my point (did that make sense?).

But still, I quite like that theory. I mean, it makes sense. I won't deny that a lot of the appeal of slash resides in the sexual fantasy of two boys together, but I also happen to be bisexual and hence should be just as attracted to girlslash than boyslash. I'm not. I find it extremely hard to write or find good enough girlslash out there. I still like the boys better. And it's not because I like the boys better, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, just thought that was an interesting point. And I'm not sure I wasn't OT in my comment. I really am very tired, lol. Still, that's a discussion I love having with all of my friends. None of them understand the appeal of slash, and even though I don't really mind being seen as a pervert by them, lol, I still like to think there's more behind my obsession with slash than just... well, you know... oooo, porn! lol.