I don't have any particular aversion towards gay people and I don't consider myself an homophobe. As clicheé as it sounds, many of my closest friends and family happen to be gay, so do more than a few people that I don't like. But being gay it's not the reason why I like or dislike either of them...

...and yet, when I see the word "Slash" in any work of fan fiction, I feel the sudden urge to avoid that piece like a plague. I could argue that what bothers me is that usually, those works are filled with Mary-Sues, clichés, terrible plots, grammar mistakes and just plain bad writing, but the truth is that at least a few of them have to be well written. Still, I won't read them.

I realized that what makes me want to punch the author's ovaries in those works isn't that the main characters are homosexual, but that being gay is their whole character defining trait, and I think that's the major problem, not just in fan fiction, but in most of the other entertainment media as well.

Think for example Dumbledore; He is a very rounded out character, with many flaws and many merits: A grandfather figure for Harry, Headmaster of Hogwarts, one of the most powerful and wise wizards of his age, defeater of a dark lord, leader of the Order of the Phoenix, an odd, manipulative and meddling twat sometimes... And he happened to be gay. Just like that. it didn't change his character and it didn't take from his awesomeness. Granted, he's always been described as a bit flamboyant, but that was part of his oddity, and many more wizards were like him.

I wouldn't mind reading fan fiction about dumbledore, despite knowing that he's gay. And I don't think i'd mind it if it were Harry either if it was that way; An awesome character that just happens to be gay.

What's your take on this?

 

I think you covered pretty much everything there.

Summed up my thoughts on the matter pretty much exactly.

The only thing I would add, is that I really don't have any wish to read about the protagonist shoving his dick up another guys ass. The squick factor is larger in the fandom, as it's more in your face.

If the slash is off the the side, it's not as much of a problem. However, when fanfic writers write their character to be gay, as you said, they let it define the character, as opposed to it just being another aspect of them.

 

I just read Tina Fey's Bossypants and in it she tells how in her youth she realized something along the lines of "God made these people gay, but not for her own amusement". I kinda suspect slash is girls playing with literary dolls because they're fabulous. It's as immature as the stories about an OFC who marries Remus/Sirius/Bill/etc.

Unfortunately, being immature and badly written does not prevent some stuff from getting published. But it should prevent stuff from getting into the DLP library.

 

I might (when I eventually can continue them) have Harry gay in one of my stories, just to see if I could pull it off. There's a whole shitload of other stuff going on.

And I hardly think Harry in HPAC could be more hated that he is already LOL.

But it would be an interesting experiment. Remove the thirteen-year-old, sexually repressed authoress from the equation and see if it could work.

In fact, this reminds me vaguely of a plot bunny I had ages ago - a The History Boys story set in Hogwarts, with Dumbledore as the gay teacher. I only never wrote it in the bunny thread because I know nobody would ever write it, heh.

 

Well, that could also be part of the problem; Most writers don't seem to know how to show the "gayness" of a character without it ending in explycit descriptions of assbuggery.

Even then, it doesn't need to be violent or disgusting in any way. Take, for example, Apollo and Midnighter from Warren Ellis' "The Authority". They are like Superman and Batman, even more awesome, and they're a married couple. They're shown interacting like one all the time, and even having sex (implied, not shown on panel), but I've never felt the revulsion I've felt reading some slash things in the "Sick & Perverse" section of the forums.



Two bearly dudes getting all cuddly may not be my cup of tea, but if it's well written, and tastefully done, what's not to enjoy? After all, a sex scene doesn't need to be "gay" to make me vomit.

 

Yeah, that's basically exactly what I was trying to convey in the paragraph after the one you quoted. You definitely expanded upon my point and provided nice examples however, heh.

 

It's less the fact that harry's gay in slash stories, it's more the fact that he's having his ass pounded by voldemort or draco in every chapter. In every few paragraphs even.

 

I'm fine with homosexuality and all.

But the reason I fucking hate slash in fanfiction is because 99.999% of the slash is made so that the author/readers can get off on it. Whereas is you see the smut to proper story ratio in het fics, it's better.

I'm all for smut but there is so much of it, that it is actually hurting the quality of fanfiction. In my opinion at least.

I'm probably being a bit hypocritical though because I have a fic floating in my head for the last few months, and it is fem/fem. :/

 

If it's from the main character, I do not want to read it. Well written or not, it's not what I enjoy reading.

Side characters, where it's an aspect of their personality rather than the defining trait, I don't have any trouble with.

 

Pretty much this for me.

 

You know, someday I'm going to write a ridiculously awesome oneshot, said in a post-apocalyptic England after Voldemort took over and shit fell apart, where Neville and Harry act as the Duo-That-Lived and work to kill Death Eaters, Inferi, and Voldemort's army of dark creatures, using wands, goblin explosives, the Sword of Gryffindor, and Sirius' customized motorbike.

And the two characters will also be involved in a quiet, understated romance that is only suggested at, simply due to the comfort they take in each other being the last heroes in Wizarding England. The characters won't be defined by being gay - they will be defined by being a likeable duo of downright awesome heroes.

...actually, as a side-bar, why hasn't this already been written?

 

Don't like reading slash in any shape or form, period.

 

You could argue that slash causes homophobia by being permanently irritating like spam. Following that idea all these confused fangirl slash writers with their anti homophobic chain letters could be part of a false flag operation.

P.S. That should deserve a medal from Stephen Colbert

 

I simply won't read slash at all. I don't mean to offend anyone, but simply the idea of Male/Male relations makes me throw up.
It's a personal preference thing. I honestly don't care much for F/F in fics either.

 

Anyone that picks up Homophobia for something so trivial as retarded people on the internet writing their favorite characters in a juxtaposition of their barbies deserves to have their skull aerated with a pickaxe.

Cause its a terrible idea, but I wouldn't expect a Lily/Snape shipper to understand taste or common sense. D:

To be utterly truthful, Main or Secondary, I don't really care overly much. I've no desire to read graphic slash smut, but I'd read something with slash in it so long as it wasn't a fucking plot point. :| "ZOMG HER-MAN-O-KNEE! I R TEH GAY! PUT TITS AWAY!"

 

Future DLP contest category: "DLP does slash"?

 

Bwahahaha. You sew crazy, Taure. D: Get outta here.


...No. Seriously. Get out.

 

Let's not, eh? How many contest entries do you think we'd get? Silens might pitch one in, obviously.

...and yeah. If I wrote anything, it would be either horror or comedy involving somebody gay stalking Harry, not with Harry actually being gay.

 

Fuck, no - well written or not, leave the slash to the sexually repressed fangirls (and boys?) on ff.net.