Very interesting thoughts. As a queer person in fandom (I know, you're shocked) I agree with you for the most part, and applaud you for saying so well what continues to need to be said.
I'm not really sure how I feel about the queer/queered dichotomy— on one level, I see the act of slashing as queering media (and very much enjoy doing it), but I also find it problematic for the reasons wrote about here. On the other level, I don't see that slash (f/f, m/m, or anything else) is inherently political, and there's a lot that, as you said, just reifies heteronormative/sexist gender dynamics with more dicks.
I don't think I see myself as a queer woman reflected in slash fandom much more than I do in the mainstream media, unfortunately. There is, as we all know, such a disproportionate amount of m/m to f/f slash out there. Why this is I couldn't say (at least not without resorting to the "most slash fiction writers are straight women" fallacy).
Anyway, I'm sick (AGAIN) so forgive me if this comment is a bit rambling and less-than-sensical. You're inspiring me to write more meta... I haven't done anything in a while. Anyway. Thanks for the food for thought!
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I'm not really sure how I feel about the queer/queered dichotomy— on one level, I see the act of slashing as queering media (and very much enjoy doing it), but I also find it problematic for the reasons wrote about here. On the other level, I don't see that slash (f/f, m/m, or anything else) is inherently political, and there's a lot that, as you said, just reifies heteronormative/sexist gender dynamics with more dicks.
I don't think I see myself as a queer woman reflected in slash fandom much more than I do in the mainstream media, unfortunately. There is, as we all know, such a disproportionate amount of m/m to f/f slash out there. Why this is I couldn't say (at least not without resorting to the "most slash fiction writers are straight women" fallacy).
Anyway, I'm sick (AGAIN) so forgive me if this comment is a bit rambling and less-than-sensical. You're inspiring me to write more meta... I haven't done anything in a while. Anyway. Thanks for the food for thought!