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

[jaiden-s.livejournal.com]

For me, it depends on the context of the slash. A well-written story that embraces rich settings and deep, thoughtful characterization will cause me to be emotionally invested in what the protagonist says and does. In that instance, it is about homosexuality because the story and the character’s nature will be entwined so tightly that there’s no separating the two. Swordspoint comes to mind as an excellent example. It’s more about the relationship between the two men and less about the time they spend together in bed.

I do find that many slash fanfiction stories fall into female fantasy, especially if the author tends to write herself into the action. She makes it easy for me to insert myself into the action as one of the males.

When considering another medium such as yaoi manga or film, it becomes even more about the female fantasy, mainly because those two mediums do rely so heavily on the visual aspect of sexuality. If a manga character is poorly drawn or isn’t visually pleasing, it doesn’t matter how well written the story may be; I can’t get past the artwork. Film is the same way. If I don’t find the characters attractive on a basic level, I can’t invest in the movie as well as I would like.