Quick meta rec

[magnetic_pole]

There's an interesting discussion going on right now at happydork's journal, Why am I not writing the stories I say I want to read? I know, I know, we've discussed this a hundred times already: why does fandom decry the lack of women and characters of color in our fic* and then turn around and focus on the attractive young white men? But this is a thoughtful post, with some very interesting comments, particularly on the ways in which fandom reinforces the perception of white men as our common denominator. (Note to self: my own thoughts are here.) Thanks, Sophie, for pointing me in the direction of this discussion!

* I was about to type "fic and art and vids," but then it occurs to me--thinking purely anecdotally--that art might be less skewed toward the white dudes than fic or vids. Or not? Something to think about.

Comments

[magnetic_pole]

I flip hardest for characters who are dealing with the kind of conflicts of the abstract that are usually only given to male characters

*nods* Fandom's focus on pop culture and popular genre fiction and movies and tv shows means that we have an uphill battle from the start, doesn't it? Because the women and characters of color in these media tend to be so thinly drawn, it's a vicious cycle of the-powers-that-be creating stronger men characters with more compelling problems, and fandom seizing upon these characters and exploring their worlds and then wondering what happened to everyone else.

As I said to Kelly below, I'm not quite sure how much of the focus on men (concentrating on the gender issue, for right now) is a deep, unquenchable desire to admire men, or crush on them, or watch two hot guys together, and how much is just insecurity about writing women, with all of our own issues, and a reluctance to swim against the tide of media and fandom culture. Part of my love for Remus/Sirius is due to the sheer amount of fic available about them, and the fact that I'm fairly sure my audience will love them as much as I do. They're also more complex characters than Lily, for example, but heaven knows that fandom's had a field day with the next gen boys, who have almost no canon characterization at all, so the lack of complex canon characterization doesn't prevent our forming cultures of reading and writing around specific characters.

I guess I believe that fandom can grow and diversity, and talking about these issues can only help. M.

[elsane]

(sorry for the incredibly long comment, by the way; I hadn't quite realized how much I was rambling on. obviously, this hit a nerve *rueful smile*)

I'm not sure how much of this is just me finding my way and how much of it is fandom genuinely changing, but it does seem to me that since I've been here fandom has started to be a bit more self-critical; certainly I personally have learned a lot about writing interrogations of the source (painful fail!armadas: good for something). But then there's things like the next gen slashapalooza, as you say, which I have to admit to finding deeply dispiriting.

I agree it's a complex thicket of issues, with the individual branches not easily pulled apart. But, like you, I think the more we talk about this and think about what we're doing, both individually and collectively, the better.