MPREG: Why do we like the thing?!
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| Title: | MPREG: Why do we like the thing?! |
| Creator: | Angel Wilson |
| Date(s): | October 19, 2015 |
| Medium: | Blog post |
| Fandom: | Panfandom |
| Topic: | Mpreg fanworks |
| External Links: | https://thegeekiary.com/mpreg-why-do-we-like-the-thing/27637 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
MPREG: Why do we like the thing?! is a 2015 blog post on TheGeekiary.com describing the results of an informal survey carried out by the author Angel Wilson.
Excerpts
Within the extremely large world of fanfiction there are tons of subgenres. You can read “fluff,” which are stories that focus on sickeningly sweet moments between your favorite characters. You can read “PWP,” or “Porn Without Plot,” which is exactly what it sounds like. There’s slash fic (same sex pairings), het fics (different sex pairings), gen fic (not focusing on the pairings or lacking any pairings at all), and so many other genres that I can’t even begin to form a comprehensive list here. And then there’s this wonderful little creation called MPREG. That stands for Male Pregnancy. Yes, you read that right. Guys getting pregnant.MPREG.
If you’ve never heard of it before, I can imagine that many people’s initial reaction is ‘wow, that’s really weird.’ When I first heard of the phenomenon I was equally baffled at the concept. I tend to avoid applying the word ‘weird’ to subcultures I simply don’t understand, but I confess I wasn’t exactly the most accepting person about it when I first discovered it. One day curiosity got the better of me, though, and I read some because, hey, nobody knows what I’m looking at on my own computer screen so why not give it a shot? At worst I giggle about it and move on. But to my surprise, it was actually pretty damn good. So then I read more of it. And then I wrote some. And then I just really couldn’t keep lying to myself anymore and had to admit that I’m kind of sort of a fan of it and I can’t even begin to articulate why.
I’m a curious sort of person and I couldn’t let this just sit without exploring it further, so I began reaching out on social media to find out why we like this sort of obscure subgenre. Through Twitter I was getting a lot of amazing feedback, but a lot of people don’t feel comfortable discussing it so openly so I set up a survey where people could anonymously explain why this genre is so appealing to them. The responses were incredible. What struck me was not only the similarities among our responses, but also the rare response that made the experience personal for that one respondent alone.
One of the most common responses from our survey participants was about how it plays with traditional gender roles. This isn’t exactly a surprising reason, but everyone put their own unique spin on what it is about the gender role dynamic that appeals to them.“I’m intrigued by how fic authors treat a part of life that has traditionally existed only in the female sphere. I am particularly interested in how a writer treats the mental and emotional well-being of a man who is pregnant […] I feel like the trope has a lot of potential if authors use it to their advantage. It has a tendency to be fetishised, which isn’t bad, but I think there is a real avenue for writers to take this idea and explore how characters can change and adapt because of it. It also provides an opportunity for writers to explore gender identity and how pregnancy is intertwined with our concept of it.” -The Collectress
“Pregnancy and birth has always fascinated me, and childbirth has been something of a kink; the added spin of a male experience with these life events, and the simultaneous strength and vulnerability inherent in them, is very appealing to me. My personal preferences focus on the childbirth event and the experience of the man in question and the support of his partner.” -J.M.
“The possibility that bodies aren’t bound by the conceptions of gender and sexuality that society rigidly thrusts upon us. That somewhere there is an extraterrestrial civilization or another dimension or whatever magical creature that effortlessly destroys the gender binary.” -Lina
“The nurturing & bonding process of pregnancy stretching beyond gender stereotypes. Different facets of parenting reflected in a male/male relationship (strong omega daddy + tender alpha papa). Baby cuddles.” -Iris
“I’m AFAB genderqueer, and I’ve always been incredibly uncomfortable with pregnancy and childbirth, to the point of feeling ill at ease around pregnant women and young babies, because so much of female gender and the idea of womanhood is wrapped up in pregnancy/motherhood, and the reverse as well, a pregnant body at this point in my culture will inevitably signify “female” to outsiders. As I get into the tail end of my potential reproductive years and start to reexamine my childfree-by-choice status, MPREG gives me an alternative POV, where reproduction is divorced from binary sex, some men have babies, some women have babies, some men impregnate, some women impregnate. [...]” -Jay
Over 91% of our respondents have never been pregnant. Of the small number who have been (or the one respondent who is pregnant with her first child… congratulations by the way!), the reasons for finding the genre isn’t all that surprising. It’s relatable.
“Reading my favorite characters struggling with something I can relate to, and seeing them starting a family plus all the angst that usually comes first. I also love kid fic, and sometimes MPREG is part of a kid fic.” -Alias