SHIP/FF why m/m slash?

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 11688

Neil wrote:

>Is it just
> that women in general are more inclined to write HP fanfic or fanfic 
in
> general, or is there some other reason for the bias?  How many of 
these
> writers are straight women and what *is* the fascination?  Are there 
many
> f/f HP slash fanfics out there?
> 
> I've read some HP fanfic, and like or dislike it according how good 
it is,
> rather than what the subject is.  I've never felt a burning desire 
to seek
> out m/m fanfic stories just because I'm gay; I'm primarily 
interested in the
> work of JK Rowling and I admire writers who can extrapolate from her 
work in
> interesting ways.

The slash fanfics I've liked do this.  I thought Silver's 
"Uncontrollable Passions" was a very convincing extrapolation from 
Harry and Draco's canon characters (it kind of devolves into excuses 
for sex scenes in parts 2-4 IMO, but it seems like it's getting back 
on track near the end).  It fit: okay, if these two were gay, this is 
the way things might play out.

I have a few theories as to why hetero women might find m/m fics 
appealing, but that's drifting pretty far OT.  In a nutshell, 
encountering a romance from inside a male character's head is unusual 
and very satisfying--after all, one of women's chief complaints about 
their male lovers is that they don't tell the women what their 
feelings are.  You shouldn't have to read gay romances to know what a 
male character is feeling, but writers of hetero romances (I'm 
thinking Harlequin here) don't seem too interested--they are playing 
to women's fantasies and so tell us what the women are thinking and 
feeling.  The more I think about it, the more I think they're missing 
the boat.  

Plus, of course, in HP the interesting characters are mostly male.  
One reason there aren't as many f/f stories (if that's true--seems to 
be, but I haven't exactly done a review of the literature) is that 
there aren't nearly as many compelling female characters.  There do 
seem to be some McGonagall devotees out there though.

Amy Z