Fanfiction and sex... slash vs. het

[ftah3]

I hadn't noticed the double standard (spicey het = trash, spicy slash 
= erotica), as I've never written sex-fic.  But, as a reader...well,

> Questions:
> 
> 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?

For me, it's a reflection of the quality and maturity level of the 
writer.  I will say that I have a penchant to label sex-fic (of any 
sexual inclination) 'trash' possibly more quickly than most because 
A) there are very, very, very, very, very (very!) few PWPs that I 
enjoy.  Sex-fic just to be sex-fic is usually incredibly boring to 
me.  And also B) whenever sex appears in a fic, the writer has to be 
tremendously good at describing it as well as making it integral to 
the plot...or else I'll burst out laughing.  Sorry, but references 
to, say, a "pike" as enhanced by inane lascivious 
descriptors...rotflmao.  And repetitive scenes/descriptions get 
boring fast.

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

Oh yes.  Ooooooooh yes.  I've a friend who wrote both het & slash in 
another fandom...the first ever piece of het-sex I liked was one in 
which she managed to couple a female character with 6 different men 
(in her dream/fantasies) in 6 different ways dependent on what the 
female character liked about each different male character...the 
towel-o-meter (which measures how many towels it took to wipe up the 
drool) went through the roof.  I'd rate the story somewhere between R 
and NC-17, and it was definitely erotic, not trashy.

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

On one hand, what will be will be.  On the other (my own personal) 
hand, bleck.  

Firstly, kid-sex (i.e. underage) is disgusting to me.  Secondly, any 
sex-fic which contains grown up versions of current kid characters 
would be *extremely* off-putting to me simply because it would color 
my view of the characters in their current state.  (I don't really 
want to be reading a Draco-Harry bit in the books and suddenly have 
an image of them, er, shall we say, discovering their intimate 
feelings for each other; ditto, even, Hermy/Ron dialogue.  That's 
just me.)  Thirdly, imagining any of the adult characters doing of 
The Sex just isn't someplace I want to go right now.  This is mainly 
because the reason I enjoy the books is not for their 
(imagined/possible) erotic content.  And if (IF ~ highly unlikely, 
but if) I were to read HP fanfic, it would be specifically because I 
can't wait for book 5 and I'm in desperate need of fiction that 
*highlights what I like about the original books*.  If that makes 
sense.  Also, in line with that 'thirdly,' the 'ship potential in the 
books is only mildly interesting to me.  I have vague notions that I 
think Harry/Ginny would be cute, eventually, and that Hermy/Ron is 
possible.  Beyond that...I don't care.  I love Harry's 'hero 
journey,' and the adventures he has with Ron, Hermione & others.  I 
love meeting new characters and finding out what, if any, connection 
they have with Harry's 'journey' and outside of that finding out 
about their quirks.  The love lives of any of them ~ eh.  Whatever.  
If Rowling crafts it as integral to her plot, but doesn't spend a lot 
of time on mushy stuff, could be good.  

Interesting topic!  

Mahoney