OT: harrypotterslash ML

[Firebolt]

No: HPFGUIDX 11751

Alex Corvus wrote:

> Slash stories can romanticize men, but there's also plenty of slash that deals
> with darker sexuality, with obsession and violence, Rita mentioned rape, and I
> think it's because it gives some women the distance to examine their feelings
> about those issues when there's not the immediate identification of seeing
> them played out through female bodies. It also gives them the chance to
> examine both sides of the equation. I've seen what I consider a shocking
> amount of rapefic come across the harrypotterslash list (which is different
> from hpslash), particularly given the general age over there. At times I've
> rolled my eyes and wondered why poor Remus can't seem to step outside the
> Gryffindor common room without someone assaulting him. And if it's not Lupin,
> it's Draco. Good lord, the boy has been gang-raped and tortured and mutilated
> ... although with Draco, I think they're whumping him to try to engage the
> reader's sympathy, given he's not a particularly sympathetic character. If we
> can beat him up enough, maybe everyone will feel sorry for him. Anyway, why
> are teenaged girls - some of them barely into their teens - turning out
> rapefic? I'm not sure how many of those writers have a good theoretical handle
> on rape and its aftermath, and I might wish they'd handle the issue more
> responsibly, but they're certainly exploring issues of aggression and power,
> not only as victim but *as aggressor*, as possessor, when girls have
> traditionally been taught to squash aggression in themselves. Sex is
> undeniably one weapon of aggression, it's used to threaten other people all
> the time.

Warning: Covering some dark issues.

As a member of harrypotterslash, I thought I'd wander back into the conversation ^_~. First of all, I think there's a large number of teen girls there because, well, at the time the
list was founded, there was only one other HP slash ML - that one being hpslash - and it had an age restriction. I mean, what's a poor teenager to do when she can't go and read fics
about her fave pairings? That's why I joined that list, actually - I was getting tired of begging my 18-year-old friend to send me any not-too-hihghly-rated and well-written stories
from hpslash (yes, I know that's not allowed now; that rule didn't exist then as far as I know). So that's an element of the list I felt I should point out, that the population is
much younger than hpslash.

Secondly, I too was a little bit 'weirded out' by all those rapefics. It calmed down after a month or two, though, I haven't seen any pop up in a long time. Well, still some Draco
stuff occasionally, but I think that's because people want to put, er, a new twist on Draco's difficulties. Instead of Lucius beating Draco, Lucius beats Draco, and well...sheesh. I
agree with your analysis of the issue, but I also think it's partly because some of these writers (not all) are relatively new to writing, and so may want to delve into deeper,
darker subject matter, just to 'see if they can do it' (that's actually where some of my more off-the-wall fic ideas come from, although nothing like *this* so far ;) ). And, hey,
we're not all bad writers (only kidding).

- Firebolt