I really *really* don't want you to think that *I* think slashers are deliberately setting out to ruin my time in fandom! That would be extremely silly and paranoid and just not true. But I am pretty sure that the "kicked in the gut" feeling that McShep fen are feeling right is pretty similar to the way I feel when I read a slash fic where one of the boys declares something along the lines of "oh wow, I was spending all this time with you because I was attracted to you" or when I run across episode reactions that describe John as "flirting" with Rodney when I just saw him enjoying his company and liking hanging out with him.
But of course I'm not going to say anything to them about it; it's someone else's journal and someone else's story, and I have absolutely no right to jump in and make their fanning experience less happy. If their fanning style is making me unhappy, then it's my responsibility to either not venture into areas of fandom that make me unhappy, or learn to be more tolerant and less bothered by views that conflict with how I see the characters.
And I try, I try like anything to do that! Knowing that a lot of the people who frequent and comment at my journal are slash fen, I try to keep my episode reviews and discussions non-slash-hostile. I don't jump into discussions and say, "My squee, it is harshed by this", because I think I'd be a complete ass to do that, when everyone else is having fun and on the same page; if my squee is that easily harshed, then I need to keep my squee away from places that harsh it.
Also, like we talked about earlier, there is a certain amount of anti-gay bigotry in gen fandom, and I really, really don't want to fall into that trap. The last thing I'd want to do is make the gay fen who read and comment on my journal feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.
And I know that no one is harshing my squee on purpose. Of course, neither is Gero; he's simply describing the show as he sees it, and in the process, causing a bunch of fans to feel what I'm pretty sure is the same dismissiveness that they (entirely by accident and with no malice whatsoever) have caused me to feel, on a lesser scale of course, but pretty much a constant since I've been in fandom, especially in this fandom because I associate more closely with slash fen and read more slash than has generally been true of me in the past.
Obviously, as quote-unquote "oppression" goes, this is absolutely as petty as it gets. XD It's just that after so many years of trying so hard to get along with people, and to not put down their fannish tastes even when I felt like they were invalidating my own, it's kind of startling and unpleasant to see this same demographic in the same situation that I've been in, standing up and railing against it when I've spent so much time learning not to feel those feelings so that I won't be tempted to do exactly that to them. If I'm not getting upset about the Gero quote (which I'm really not), it's because I've so thoroughly trained myself not to get upset at that particular sentiment, to avoid being angry all the time! Not just because of fandom, but because of society in general. (Er, sorry about all the edits on this one. CAN'T TYPE.)
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 06:57 pm (UTC)But of course I'm not going to say anything to them about it; it's someone else's journal and someone else's story, and I have absolutely no right to jump in and make their fanning experience less happy. If their fanning style is making me unhappy, then it's my responsibility to either not venture into areas of fandom that make me unhappy, or learn to be more tolerant and less bothered by views that conflict with how I see the characters.
And I try, I try like anything to do that! Knowing that a lot of the people who frequent and comment at my journal are slash fen, I try to keep my episode reviews and discussions non-slash-hostile. I don't jump into discussions and say, "My squee, it is harshed by this", because I think I'd be a complete ass to do that, when everyone else is having fun and on the same page; if my squee is that easily harshed, then I need to keep my squee away from places that harsh it.
Also, like we talked about earlier, there is a certain amount of anti-gay bigotry in gen fandom, and I really, really don't want to fall into that trap. The last thing I'd want to do is make the gay fen who read and comment on my journal feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.
And I know that no one is harshing my squee on purpose. Of course, neither is Gero; he's simply describing the show as he sees it, and in the process, causing a bunch of fans to feel what I'm pretty sure is the same dismissiveness that they (entirely by accident and with no malice whatsoever) have caused me to feel, on a lesser scale of course, but pretty much a constant since I've been in fandom, especially in this fandom because I associate more closely with slash fen and read more slash than has generally been true of me in the past.
Obviously, as quote-unquote "oppression" goes, this is absolutely as petty as it gets. XD It's just that after so many years of trying so hard to get along with people, and to not put down their fannish tastes even when I felt like they were invalidating my own, it's kind of startling and unpleasant to see this same demographic in the same situation that I've been in, standing up and railing against it when I've spent so much time learning not to feel those feelings so that I won't be tempted to do exactly that to them. If I'm not getting upset about the Gero quote (which I'm really not), it's because I've so thoroughly trained myself not to get upset at that particular sentiment, to avoid being angry all the time! Not just because of fandom, but because of society in general. (Er, sorry about all the edits on this one. CAN'T TYPE.)