Slash Vs. Gen: What Makes Slash So Much More Appealing?
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Slash Vs. Gen: What Makes Slash So Much More Appealing? |
| Creator: | Jeannie Marie |
| Date(s): | January 10, 1999 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | while pertinent to all fandoms, it has a due South focus |
| Topic: | Fanfiction, Slash |
| External Links: | online here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Slash Vs. Gen: What Makes Slash So Much More Appealing? is a 1999 essay by Jeannie Marie.
It has a due South focus.
For additional context, see Timeline of Slash Meta and Slash Meta.
Some Topics Discussed
- the differences between gen and slash writing and writers
- Meg Thatcher is probably a lesbian
- hurt/comfort as a substitute for slash
- gen writing lacking feeling
- slash as freedom
The Essay
The eternal question in fandom. :)
Okay, what *is* the answer? Well, I've been in fandom a good long time now, and I feel that I can speak with some authority on this subject.
In The Days Before Slash (horrors!) I read a lot of hurt/comfort stories. They allowed more emotions to be expressed than typical gen stories, though some Relationship stories were good at showing the affection between male characters. However, in the gen world, only extreme pain or near-death would allow two men to express their innermost feelings. I have no problem with that, as I enjoy stories where the characters wind up in desperate situations that trigger long-denied confessions. Yet with gen, I noticed that such moments were almost required.
Slash allows writers to let their male characters express emotions in tender situations. Blood and gore are not required. Love can be expressed romantically without Death knocking at the door.
Slash promises freedom, and frequently delivers. As I listed in Slash: A Celebration, many combinations can be used: m/m, f/f, m/m/f, f/f/m, m/m/m, f/f/f, and more. Even adult het stories are limited to m/f. Gen appears restricted in what can be written.
I've noticed that when I read gen now, even the stories that feature the two male characters' relationship feels...arid. Something seems to be missing. Yes, sex is, but the depth of feeling seems lacking. Gen writers bend over backwards so much to avoid the hint of slash that they leech all the emotion out of the males involved. Stories can feature one of the men grievously injured, and his partner will barely register that fact. In a less-threatening situation, touches and words of affection are not depicted because of that same fear.
I've also noticed that slash writers tend to be more mature than gen writers. While there are certainly excellent gen writers out there, a surprising number of stories are of juvenile quality. There are bad slash writers, too, but in comparison, the number seems less. It may be that many gen writers start at a young age, still daydreaming of being the one their favorite male character will love. That's why there are so many Mary Sue stories in gen fandom, and not as many of that type in slash fandom.
Gen DUE SOUTH writers tend to be more fixated on Benton Fraser. He is the perfect, ideal male, and classically beautiful. He is a paragon of virtue, someone easily idealized. Ray Vecchio is more often ignored by gen writers who are disturbed, perhaps, by his obvious sexuality?
To many gen writers, sex=dirty, or at least in the context of Our Favorite Mountie. Benny is so good, he couldn't *possibly* do...*that*! Only with a woman, and frequently with Mary Sue types. Or with Meg Thatcher, whom I personally believe is a lesbian at heart. *G* But Benton Fraser, RCMP, would *never* lust after a man. Therefore Ray Vecchio, the Italian Tempter with his peachy buns, long, elegant fingers, and incredible green eyes is not worthy of attention. He whispers into the ear of The Perfect Mountie while he stands ramrod-straight (!) outside the Consulate, tempting him with forbidden fruits. Ray is the Sensuous Italian, a man who enjoys delicious Italian food, wears silk shirts and fine Armani next to his body, and *likes* his comforts. He is more dangerous than Vile Vicki in a gen writer's eyes, and therefore even the slightest hint of real feeling is excised in the stories of gen authors whose homophobia runs deep.
To many gen writers, Benny cannot have sex because he could never lust. Or at least never lust for a man. Lust is not an 'honorable' emotion. The thought of the angelic Mountie in Red able to shed his uniform and tumble into bed with Ray and be bawdy disgusts them. Since the things gay men do with each other are dirty and immoral, Benton Fraser could never do them! Enjoying his body and that of Ray's just cannot be for a moral, upright person.
It is sad to note that if Benny had 'come out' during the run of the show, that many gen fans would have turned away from him. My question, "Just because he's gay means that he's no longer good, gentle, decent, heroic, etc.?" was answered by "Yes." They could no longer look at him with the same eyes and see Virtue. All that would be left was Vice. Same Benny, different sexuality.
Slash writers tend to be more willing to explore a variety of themes than gen writers do. It could be that since they are more open to unconventional sex, that unconventional ideas are a comfortable fit.
The world of the slash writer is a varied one: she/he can find great fulfillment in the writing of slash, but there is the flip side: the hostility that is engendered by some gen fans toward them.
But, in the long run, who can resist the image of a passionate Mountie entwined with his Italian lover? :)
"Slash: A Celebration"
The essay references an essay that this fan posted the previous week called "Slash: A Celebration." That essay is now offline, but was exceprted at another's fan's page:
- Slash: A Celebration
- 1. Slash is good.
- 2. Slash is sexy.
- 3. Slash is beautiful.
- 4. Slash is fun.
- 5. Slash is diverse.
- 6. Slash is freedom.
- Slash stories can feature m/m, f/f, m/m/f, f/f/m, m/m/m/, f/f/f, etc., whereas het stories can only feature m/f.
- Slash fandom is not perfect. People have fought, flamed, and fussed.
- Yet the willingness to try new things (or at least read them) is always in evidence.
- Also, if someone chooses not to do something (read certain types of stories, for example), you are not tarred and feathered for it.
- Can it be wrong to see two lonely people come together and love one another? [1]