Fanfics with slash & sex...I don't get it

[siriusgeologist <lrcjestes@earthlink.net>]

Wow.  I stop by this list for the first time in ages and not only are 
there birthgay greetings for me (thank you Heidi :), but there's a 
thread I've been thinking a lot about.  Personal attention and 
relevancy!  What more could I ask for!

Anyway, back to the thread


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Diana Lucas <dianasdolls at y...> 
wrote:
> 
> Extremely disgusting.  I'm glad my son doesn't know
> how to read my email or find fanfics online.  Triple
> yecch!

While I wouldn't be quite as vehement as you, I am glad my 9yo isn't 
reading my email or trolling the net for the fanfics that I read (or 
write for that matter).  Just like I really don't think he should pick 
up one of my novels that I enjoy reading.  I'm into romance (what can 
I say...looks sheepish) and most of those novels are not appropriate 
for kids.  That's what we parents are here for.  To watch out for the 
content of what our kids are exposed to.  You are subscribed to a list 
called HP4Grownups.  Hence we indulge in things that grownups enjoy 
including reading and writing stories that include stuff not suitable 
for a 9yo.  That doesn't make it pornography, just inappropriate for 
the kids at this stage in their lives.

That said, I *do* agree with a lot of what you say here:

> 
> I honestly don't understand the appeal of all these
> slash pairings.  I suppose people will write what they
> like, but I won't be reading any of it.  I like the
> characters too much as they are written to go changing
> their sexual preference on them!  If the Harry Potter
> books introduced a gay/lesbian character I wouldn't
> try to pair that character up with someone of the
> opposite sex in a fanfic I wrote, so I can't see
> trying to pair up hetrosexual characters with someone
> of the same sex.  

As someone else stated before there is a bunch of evidence that the 
main trio is hetero.  Add to this my own preconceptions of the 
characters and there really isn't anyone I really see in the HP novels 
as being gay.  That doesn't mean that they aren't and we just haven't 
seen it (which is certainly a valid basis for a fanfic) but it just 
doesn't *feel* right to me, hence I don't read a good majority of the 
slash out there.  

I want to emphasize that I have no problem reading about gay 
characters.  I LOVED the relationship developed by Peg Kerr in her 
book "Wild Swans"  The gay couple in that book was heart-wrenchingly 
wonderful and I read and reread that book and gave it to many people.

But I just don't see that in the HP characters.  I don't even read 
Sirius/Remus slash and that's about as boring as you can get in the 
realm of HP Slash.  I tried..I read..I tried...really, but I can't 
read Sirius/Remus, but then I can't read Sirius/Narcissa either.  It 
isn't about it being a gay pairing, it's about it feeling right, and 
that varies for everyone.  


> Besides, I can't see 11 to
> 14-year-old children [the age span of Harry, Ron and
> Hermione from PS/SS through GoF] being written as
> having sex at all.  Why can't child characters remain
> children without people writing about them having sex?

As has been stated before, most of the time the characters are aged up 
 so as not to have 12 and 13 yo having sex.  That's as out of 
character as a lot of other situations.  There's also the contigent of 
us out there that are writing about the adult characters (mine is 
Sirius-centric) but does have the "children" aged up to nearlung 28.  
Hence there is sex and other grownup stuff. 

That said, the few fics I've read with sex at Hogwarts have been 
difficult for me to read, even though the writing was great, so I 
empathize with you on that front.

>  Yeah, free country, I know, so the writers have a
> right to write that if they wish - and I support their
> right to do it - I just refuse to read it.

So have you rejected all HP fanfic or just those that involve the trio 
in romantic situations and slash?

> 
> It's fun to dream up alternate stories for the
> characters from TV shows and movies, but the best fan
> fiction I've ever read, whether it's Star Trek, Star
> Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files or Lord of
> the Rings, has kept true to the characters as
> envisioned and outlined by the ORIGINAL
> creators/writers of the characters.  I haven't even
> ventured into Harry Potter fanfics because I won't be
> happy if I stumble onto some ribald sex scene between
> characters currently no older than 15 (as of the
> anxiously awaited OotP) or "secret lustful glances"
> between Ron and Harry.
>  


And here is the point that I've been wanting to discuss and I've been 
toying with the topic as a presentation for Nimbus 2003, but haven't 
quite figured out a way to present it that won't get me 
either attacked or answer my own question.  I just want to start a 
dialog.

As fanfic writers we have a right to write whatever we want.  I 
definitely support this as I am a fanfic writer and therefore can't 
limit that right for others if I want to take advantage of it myself. 
 But just because we have the right to write whatever pair that 
challenges us, should we?  I don't know...it's just a question.

The problem would certainly come in deciding just what is *in 
character* and what is not *in character*.  That varies as much as 
everyone's interpretation of canon.  It's the ecsesence of the main 
list. If everyone agreed with everyone elses interpretation of canon, 
we'd have given up posting to the list a long time ago.

However, just because you *can* write incest, necrophilia, or zombie 
eating babies, does that mean you should?  Well...yeah. I guess and 
the morality of a given scene is sooooo dependant on the context of 
the story.  If anyone would have told me I'd read a book series full 
of graphic violence and enjoy it I'd have told them they have a screw 
loose, but I love the character development in this particular set of 
books, so I muddle through the violence and still enjoy them.  
:::shrug:::  It all depends on the writer.  

But with that right, just what is our responsibility to the fandom and 
to the characters.  I know how I'd feel if someone else writes about 
my original character.  I'd be worried that they wouldn't get them 
right.  How much more so would JKR be appalled by some of the 
writings?  How much more would she be delighted by some of our astute 
detection of her characters more subtle definitions?

And how does some of the more bizarre and strange pairings make the 
fandom look in the eyes of the rest of the public?  If the more 
bizarre pairings get the public eye, does that tarnish the whole adult 
fandom as decadent?

One of the reasons I loved the HP books to begin with was because they 
were *interesting* books that I *could* read to my then 7yo without 
worrying about language, violence, or sex.  So do we ruin the magic of 
these books by bringing the characters into the adult world of sex, 
violence, and slash?  I wouldn't try to say this was right on a list 
open to all ages, however, this segment of the fandom *is* supposed to 
be the adult wing of the fandom.  It's supposed to be where we 
grownups can come play with characters we love as much as our kids.  
Which brings us back to...parental involvement and parental monitoring 
of what their kids read, and are exposed to.

So as much as some of these pairings squick you out completely, 
someone somewhere has found some justification for it, and just 
because it sounds awful in a sound bite, might not mean it's a 
not a really realistic event in the context of the build up of the 
story.  However, everyone is entitled to read what they want and like 
what they like.  Me, I like romance and find it really hard to get 
through a book that has none. That's why there are summaries and 
ratings, so you know ahead of time what's in your realm of comfort and 
what's not. 

Did I get too long winded?  Did I make any valid points that hadn't 
already been made?  I hope this helped Diana and you don't think any 
of these posts are attacks on you or your opinion...just an attempt to 
explain why people write and read what they do.

Carole
Birthday girl

Sending a big HEY THERE! to voicelady...long time no see!!! must get 
together and chat sometime..YM me sometime.