Slash meta #1: please discuss!

[thrihyrne]

Okay! I've begun reading a couple of recent-ish articles so I can have some non-anecdotal references for this article I'm writing, and came across this rather stunning sentence:

In fact, it has been argued that slash is not really about male homosexuality at all; rather, it is about a female fantasy of heterosexual sex acted out via ostensibly male bodies.

I'll be getting the book from interlibrary loan that has the essay that made this argument. I had an instant response to the comment, but rather than put out my thoughts, I'd like yours. I probably won't respond to these as I'm positing myself as an observer and will organize and interpret what happens later, but for anyone who has a thought on this who would like to share it, please do, and comment among each other. But play nice!!! No bashing on my LJ. Everyone is allowed to her own opinion.

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For those who are interested, that argument came from an essay contained in the book Magic mommas, trembling sisters, puritans & perverts: feminist essays, edited by Joanna Russ and published in 1985. It's a bit older, but that premise still stunned me. And with a title like that, why wouldn't I want to read all of the essays?!

Comments

[me-ya-ri.livejournal.com]

FYI, I write a lot of slash, plus femmeslash, het and gen stories. This is totally my POV on the question.

In fact, it has been argued that slash is not really about male homosexuality at all; rather, it is about a female fantasy of heterosexual sex acted out via ostensibly male bodies.

I can see how people would argue that and for many writers and readers I suspect that its quite true. However, for me it isn't.

Slash for me is about opening up more possibilities, about reinterpreting not just what I as a woman can do but also what men can do. There are so many rules about how people interact that are gender based, not just for women but also for men. Writing stories where two men, preferably manly-men as that's the sort of guy I like, interact romantically and/or sexually, allows me to say things about society and the way we're enculturated that I can't necessarily say otherwise.

Of course, I write a lot of AU, so I'm reinventing the rules of the world most of the time as well as putting two guys together.

I would agree in a limited way that it's not about male homosexuality. I'm not male and I'm not homosexual. However, I don't feel that the slash I write is about my fantasies as a female and the stories generally aren't about acting out a standard script of heterosexual relationships.

For what it's worth, I'm bi and somewhat polyamorous, so my slashed guys usually end up bi instead of gay. *laughs*

I think that my slash stories tend to be my fantasy of what society and interpersonal relationships could be if our culture was more accepting and more open. The smut that I do write always serves the plot and character development. PWP isn't my style.

Not sure that this is terribly coherent but it's my 2 cents.

Good luck with your article!

[sanguinity]

:: There are so many rules about how people interact that are gender based, not just for women but also for men. ::

Yes. In my comment above, where I equate "male" with "unmarked" with "free", that's not a statement about how it actually is to be a man. (Because, whoah, men get gender-policed with a vengeance!) It's more of a statement about how my gut sees the gender thing when I'm standing over here being female and once again wishing I could take off my breasts and hips so people would just stop treating me like my gender defines or qualifies everything about me.

The fantasies my id has of being male would not much match the reality, I think.

[me-ya-ri.livejournal.com]

I quite agree! I think men have the advantage in that they have more freedom within their gender roles, i.e. the roles are wider in some ways, but in other ways, damn are they restricted!

The whole 'be a man' thing would drive me absolutely nuts I think.