Fanfiction and sex... slash vs. het

[Mdartagnan]

Ooooh, a fanfiction thread... ***____***
(A word from our sponsor: my first language is Spanish. Please be 
patient with me).

> We were talking about what a mature teen/adult writer can "get away 
> with" in a fic without the audience getting squicked.  We both came 
> to the conclusion that slash writers can get away with a whole lot 
> more than your average het writer.

I'd answer that yes, it does happen. But at least for me, there's a 
reason.
Personally, I don't mind reading slash or het, as long as it doesn't 
feature Harry, Ron and Hermione after book four —no, not because I 
can't see them as real teenagers who will discover sex sooner or later, 
but because I want to read it first in the books. Once that JK is done 
with the Potterverse (I might have grandchildren by then -_-*), I'll 
finally read those fanfics. I'm weird, I know.
So, this only leaves me with MWPP fanfics and stories set before and 
during book 4. I really enjoy James/Lily stories, but also Sirius/Remus 
ones. 
But there are two things that will make me stop reading a story, no 
matter how well written it might be: Mary-Sue het stories and 
out-of-character slash stories.
I understand many persons might percieve a slash fanfic as an 
out-of-character story by default. I don't think it's neccesarily so. 
But, for instance, I dislike fanfics in which Remus behaves as a shy 
and weak violet. Canon Remus is strong yet sweet, and has problems with 
personal relationships (how many months did it take him to create a 
bond with Harry? And yet, he kept his distance afterwards). But that 
doesn't transform him into a weakling that cries everytime he has sex, 
be it with a male character or with a female character. (BTW, tears, 
like death, sex and violence, must have a plot that justifies them. ^^
UUU)

That said about slash, lets go to het fanfiction. On one hand, I think 
there seems to be more slash than het stories because there aren't as 
many female characters as there are male characters (and even so, there 
aren't many writers that might want to write an epic about the romantic 
life and times of Rita Skeeter). Het romance might be as steamy and 
well written as slash romance, and yet, it might be more difficult to 
make it believable. The main reason, from my POV, is that you might 
pair Lily, for example, with all the Marauders and with Snape, and yet 
you *know* she'll end up with James. So, many writers want to create a 
new character that will fall in love with Sirius, Remus and/or Snape 
(poor Peter). And if the plot gives much attention to this character 
and she's almost perfect and the canon character in turn falls blindly 
in love with her... you wonder if you're not reading a Mary-Sue story, 
and if instead of reading an alternate universe plot, you're actually 
learning about the wishes and desires of the author. Many readers, 
myself included, will then say "no, thanks".

I don't think that *every* non-canonical character is a Mary-sue by 
default. There are many wonderful fan-created female characters out 
there, but there are a minority against Mary-Sue fanfics (at least on 
Fanfiction.net).

In short (and all the list will want to hang me right now ^^U), het 
romance might seem less popular because it's harder to convince your 
readers and because it's more difficult to write your characters, canon 
and fan-made, in a believable way. You already know Sirius and Remus 
and you know how they *might* react in a romantic setting, but you 
don't know this "new-character" and you might doubt in giving her the 
chance, esp. if you dislike Mary-Sues. At least that's what happens 
with me.


> 1)  Why do you think this double standard exists?  Is it reflective 
> of the quality of the writing or the maturity level/personal squicks 
> of the audience?

Again, from a personal POV, I think it depends on the personal squicks 
of the audience. Most of the slash writers I've met are quite mature 
and won't go flaming het writers. But many het writers/lovers I've 
seen, not only in this fandom but in many others, will flame both slash 
writers and het writers —if they don't like the pairing. 
For example, in the Saint Seiya fandom, it's almost as if you could 
only write about the couples insinuated or established in the show. 
Dare to change that (for instance, make Seiya fall in love with Shaina 
instead of Saori) and that will guarantee you a lot of flames even if 
you're writing a het romance. And let's not talk about the attacks on 
slash/yaoi writers in the same fandom.


> 2)  Is there a way to write het fanfiction, R or higher, that escapes 
> this stigma?

Since I've not read many of the best HP fanfics out there (yet), I'm 
sure there is. Keep your canonical characters "in-character" and create 
believable and likable fan-made characters. And about the steamy 
scenes, write them as you feel comfortable with. Sex scenes are, after 
all, a matter of personal taste: what might seem erotic for some 
persons, might seem gross for others.

And yet, no one is a gold coin to be liked by eveyone. I've met persons 
who won't read some of the best fanfics out there just because they're 
too long for their tastes. *sigh.*


> 3)  In your opinion, should there even *be* NC-17 Harry Potter 
> fanfiction, slash *or* het?

If we depart from the definition of fanfiction as a "what if" realm, 
why not? As long as they're properly labeled, both for the writer's and 
reader's sake, I can't see any problem with that. After all, I insist, 
it's all a matter of personal tastes. ^^



I hope this makes sense, it's late and it's hard to think in two 
languages at the same time. ^^UUUU


Misbehave,
Marijose

PS: Sorry, I've just realized it's a very long message. v_v