Hi, random lurker here! I've been having a lot of issues with the overwhelming slash majority in fandom lately. I don't have anything against slash in and of itself, beyond finding it maybe a bit exploitative, but the lack of het or femmeslash really bothers me. It actually got to a point where I found it hard to visualize a woman as a compelling main character, especially in a romance - my mind just kept twisting it around to men.
If anything, I think het fic has the potential to be at least as subversive as slash. As far as fandom goes, I can't think of anything more subversive than taking an awesome female character, making readers like her, and convincing them to take pleasure in her romantic triumphs. I think internalized chauvinism is a big problem in and out of fandom, and as (mostly) women, this is a vital issue for us.
A problem is that it's hard to find female characters who have relationships with men of the angst-filled fraught variety that fandom loves to turn into ships. One recent exception is the Loki/Sif pairing that's been mildly popular since Thor came out. (And if these relationships are rare between a woman and a man, good luck finding one between two women.)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-07-09 11:54 pm (UTC)If anything, I think het fic has the potential to be at least as subversive as slash. As far as fandom goes, I can't think of anything more subversive than taking an awesome female character, making readers like her, and convincing them to take pleasure in her romantic triumphs. I think internalized chauvinism is a big problem in and out of fandom, and as (mostly) women, this is a vital issue for us.
A problem is that it's hard to find female characters who have relationships with men of the angst-filled fraught variety that fandom loves to turn into ships. One recent exception is the Loki/Sif pairing that's been mildly popular since Thor came out. (And if these relationships are rare between a woman and a man, good luck finding one between two women.)