[Sherlock Fandom] I Have a Complaint!

Today I wrote a post regarding the really atrocious warning system I've seen in Sherlock fandom at large.
Almost every story coming out of this fandom has a warning for slash and a warning for the mere idea that slash could be implicated within the text.

For fuck's sake.

Just to put this in perspective, I'm currently pursuing two fandoms quite actively, the other is Inception. The difference in attitude is staggering.

The post I wrote was sent into queue for sherlockbbc and was rejected.

This is what I wrote (verbatim with typo fixes):

I'm a recent joiner of the fandom and I've mainly lurked. I suppose this is not the best way to de-lurk or announce myself to the fandom at large, but this comm is the largest and most comprehensive on Livejournal.

I don't know if this has been discussed in this fandom before, but it has been discussed on the meta level on fandom in general and I'm sad to see it pretty much ignored in BBC's Sherlock fandom.

I've read the guidelines, I've read the FAQ's and I'm pretty sure that this is on topic so here, goes.

I'm talking about warning for Slash.

Warning for M/M, boy kissing, naked men together, whatever. And seriously, a huge amount of fanworks that I see on my f-list that are in Sherlock fandom have warnings for the above, along with various kinks, drug (ab)use, incest, etc.

The warning that this fic contains homosexuality.

Now, the warning debate on fandom is fairly current and has a history. You can find it on metafandom's Delicious easily. To put "BDSM" in the warnings section along with "Non-Con" and "Incest" is debatable, but that's not what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the fact that warning for slash or even pre-slash is homophobic.

You know why?

Because that's not a warning for actions in the fic or art. That's warning for the identity of the characters as they are portrayed in fiction.

Sherlock is a Slash based fic, whether you interpret Sherlock himself as Ace, Gay or Queer is some other way, he will generally be paired (if he is paired) with another male character and warning for that is not only redundant, it's insulting.

I'm Queer. I'm a Lesbian-Identified Bisexual. I like to read Sherlock fic among other fandoms and I do so while I am Queer. This is not something I turn off, this is not something I segregate from the rest of my identity in my daily life and if affects the way I read and understand the world and its texts around me.

Those warnings are saying that part of the queer identity is upsetting for some and they need to be warned against it. I'm upset to see a warning for an identity that still bears a social stigma of being "Other".

When you warn for Slash, you're warning that this fic contains people who do queer things, like same sex kissing, or even just cuddling (as happens in Ace!Sherlock fics) and let me ask? How the hell is that on the same level as non-con?
Warning for the most disturbing acts of consensual kink is appropriate I guess, because lord knows those can be triggering, but warning for who is committing those acts?
And with pre-Slash it's even worse because the warning is for sexual tension between two men, which you may or may not notice, depending on your interpretation, i.e. the "squint".

I find it hard to click on fics that warn for slash and pre-slash, because it reads as though you're (general you) are more worried about being flamed by homophobes (who, if they're reading slash are fucking hypocrites) that being, you know, loyal to your characters who are on some level queer or at the very least not-straight and to your QUILTBAG* readers and yes, we're here. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the writers are queer but because of convention also warn for slash.

This was not easy for me to write. I'm very much enjoying Sherlock fandom. I enjoy the fic and the art and the discussion and all that.

But to see this kind of thoughtlessness is upsetting and even if you think this is "cry moar", I urge you to rethink about what it means to warn for homosexuality in a fandom that is Slash based.

Thanks in advance for reading.

*QUILTBAG is a comprehensive acronym for Queer, Intersex, Lesbian, Trans, Bisexual, Asexual and Gay.

Nothing I've never said before and certainly nothing that's never been discussed at large in fandom in general.

Here's what the rejection letter said and I'm cutting it for pertinent information only:

Thank you for this post, but we're going to have to reject it for a number of reasons, not least because we don't want to open this argument again as it has already consumed a great deal of time and energy for the mods.

It also does not pertain to the show itself, only acts as an objection to the acts of other users, which is not the purpose of this community. Comments of that nature should be directed to the moderators.

The mod who rejected this, then goes on to tell me their personal situation with regards to sexuality and relationship which I shan't quote because that's not important. But here's what is:

[W]e [the mods] totally agree that from our perspective it's ludicrous to list 'slash' as a warning. We don't like seeing it and we don't like people doing it.

Yes.
But, excuses, excuses...

However, this community covers all aspects of the fandom, from icons to fan meets to fiction and crafts. The users here may not always be aware what they are getting into if they click on a story, having come here for icons or news on releases.

Utter bullshit.
If you're in fandom, in which the main pairings and almost every other pairing is m/m, you certainly know what to expect. Warning for the fact that the two (or more) characters in the story are in a situation in which there may be sex is a fucking given!
The nature and explicitness of the situation is what you warn for!

Even though they are few and far between, I've yet to see het stories warned for in the same manner.

Sherlock and John kissing is more "explicit" than John and Sarah fucking.

Yes, that is the implication.

They go on with the excuses:

Many members here are totally new to fan fiction as a concept, never mind the idea of slash (which for many, when first engaged in fandom, is a very confusing concept as they cannot rationalise characters written generally as heterosexual being portrayed in homosexual situations).

Are these people watching the same show?
And in any event, fan-fiction, the debate around it and the slash debate (that it's all about the sex and is automatically porn and therefore there needs to be an "OMG! Warning!" should not perpetuated in new fandoms over and over again.

All it does is entrench the notion that queers and queer behaviour needs to be extra supervised!

If people feel that it's necessary to make that warning on their fics, then it may be misguided but we believe that is based on their naivete, not on hostility. If they were writing slash, they probably aren't against it.

This naivitea comes from attitudes consistent IRL. When two women or men kiss, it is more "noticeable" and "disrupting" than when a man and woman kiss. This heteronrmative distinction and hierarchy is a homophobic mechanism and using it as an excuse to say "oh well, they don't know any better" is simply not on.

In fic headers, we ask for only two things: rating and warnings (with severe penalties for those who do not comply), and as a result of that, some people have been overly-cautious, listing everything from kids to smoking to fluff. Although this is irritating for us, it is also better than losing the warnings which are necessary and relevant, and it's a concession we have to make.

Asking for a list of things that the fic contains (which is reasonable) is not the same as warnings. It's not. Fluff is a fic genre that is independent of Gen/Slash/Femmslash/Het, like Angst, like Hurt-Comfort, etc. And like Slash doesn't need a warning!

In general, our warnings warn for ANYTHING that people may not wish to read - right down to fluff, as you will note in some headers.

Please rest assured that in this community we will not tolerate homophobia or any form of deliberate prejudice against any group. We have rules in place which include instant banning for those engaging in harassment or behaving in an offensive/hostile manner toward other users.

I have no words.
I have an analogy regarding Donovan and Anderson, or indeed Donovan with anyone, but I won't.

I'll just conclude by saying that warning for the idea of two men in a sexual/romantic (in all its permutations) relationship is on the same level as "Incest" and "Non-Con" is asinine, offensive and downright prejudicial.

Fuck that.