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Why I like Gen
Ok, all the recent talk about gen on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
metafandom has inspired me to go through what gen means to me and why I like it. This will be of absolutely no interest to anyone who doesn't read fanfic (and possibly not even then), sorry to the majority of my flist but I had to post it somewhere and my lj seems the best place for self indulgent ranting :) Though you will get to "see" me say the words 'sex' and 'porn" more than I probably have in all my other blog/lj posts combined.
The reason I wrote this post is that people seem to be trying to come up with one single reason for reading gen, and on the whole they don't apply to me becuase I read it for multiple reasons., many of which seem to be misunderstood/misrepresented. And hey, there's so many "Why we slash" posts, why not a couple more "why we gen"s :) I've also tried to address some of the conflict between gen and slash since it seems to come up so much. I'm not sure anyone is going to read this, but I feel better for having it out there. I am not saying my way is best, but it's what I like and I think it's not as crazy to like it as some people make out.
There are three separate things I like from fanfic:
A lot of people conflate these together into one word: gen. But they are separate. I would classify "gen" as meaning the last two categories, though different people take it to mean one or the other. Some people take it to mean all three at once and this I have a problem with, since it ignores the fact that 90% of the fiction fanfic is based off focusses on romantic relationships sometimes, so it's not wildly against canon if we do it too from time to time.
I've read plenty of stories which satisfy one of these parameters but not the other two.
For example, A Deeper Season matches the tone of the books really well, and in my opinion the canon could easily have gone this way. Yes, it's a gay romance, but so is "Ethan of Athos". Most importantly, it's not just a gay romance. It's about what would actually happen in that world if those characters got into a relationship with each other, political as well as personal. And there's adventure and a mystery and all the things that make Vorkosigan books good.
I've lost the link, but I read a Buffy AU where Andrew is a vampire and at one point early on has explicit sex with Giles-as-teen-Ripper. Now I might have been missing the point, but afaict it wasn't meant to sexy, and certainly wasn't romantic, the sex existed to help utterly mess that character up, and the story went on from there to be about other things.
And of course there's plenty of PG rated romance stories.
I liked all those stories (especially a Deeper Season, it's actually the story that got me into fanfic). I'll enjoy a sexually explicit romance AU if it's really well written and has other stuff I like. I'm just talking general preferences here.
The question is: why do I like these three things from my stories?
First, being like canon. Now, by this I don't just mean "consistent with the events shown in canon", or having the character voices and mannerisms match, since afaict everyone likes that. I mean if canon is an action adventure with little to no romantic content, that's what I want to see. If canon doesn't deal with serious issues, or I feel the writer(s) would never make any of the main characters gay (not even sekritly in their heads), then I don't generally want that from fanfic either. If the story is set in the Jossverse, I won't really buy a happily ever after romance.
Now I used to be one of these people who saw this is being the only way to stay consistent with canon, which put me at odds with slashers a lot of the time. But on further thought I've realised it's just one approach to fanfic, and just as subjective as any other. I know authorial intent doesn't matter intellectually, but can't change it's importance to me emotionally. And I don't like it because it's better, I like it because even small deviations from my personal authorial-intent-driven canon tends to throw me out of the story. This is less of an issue for book based fic (especially Harry Potter for some reason) as long as it matches the written tone, but for tv shows it doesn't take much for fanfic to become, to me, an original short story. And I don't like short stories.
That said, one of my main criteria for liking a show is not being cliched crap (another is continuity). Which generally means the characters do not, universally, come across as totally 100% straight for now and always. Also I can buy a fair amount of deviance from "canon" if the story works really hard to make it work (though perhaps then it's just a really good original short story). And if the canon is romance then bring on the schmoop :)
I do also like the sort of fanfic which deliberately subverts canon, looking say at what it would be like to be gay in Narnia. But it has to come across as deliberate and thought out, or be fun and silly and not to be taken seriously (and my taste for such stories is limited) I also really like the idea of stories which look at the stuff that happens off-screen that noone else has examined (like what would it be like to be a Stormtrooper?) Which theoretically does cover slash, but only if it's about what it would actually be like for those characters to get together rather than a romantic/sexual fantasy, and only the first couple of times. Then the idea has been done and I'd rather read about something else.
Second, the lack of romantic/sexual relationships. Now I actually don't mind romance, in fact I like it. But so much of fanfic is focussed on sex and romance I need a break from time to time (roughly every second to third story, I find)
Also, for me to engage with a romantic story I need a fair amount of lead-up, so it either needs to be a very long fanfic or I have to already be engaged with the couple. My shipper goggles are remarkably myopic, so this pretty much leaves me with canon couples and the odd non-canon couple which pings for me. (Mot of which turn out to have been deliberate UST from TBTB. Except possibly Legolas/Gimli :))
I have no problem with stories which reference romantic/sexual relationships as a minor part of a larger story arc. I don't even mind stories with a relationship at their core when that relationship is written realistically rather than to push peoples romantic/sexual buttons. (because chances are it won't push mine) Really for me it's about the relationships being driven by the characters and the story, not the other way around, not so much about the gen as the "Bob" or the "gron", but people don't label for that so I go for gen.
There are so many different types of stories to tell, why limit yourself only to the ones which revolve around smooches? It's like if all anyone wrote was murder mysteries. Yes, there's a lot you can do with the genre, it can examine class and race and character and all that good stuff (also smooches). But every now and then it might be nice to read a story where noone died. And if you were reading a story marked "not murder mystery", and it was really good and interesting, and then in the final act there was a passing reference to how the Butler did it you would get grumpy just because gee, does it always have to be about the murder?
That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with people who happen to only (or mostly) enjoy slash/het, any more than there's anything wrong with me with only/mostly liking gen, or science fiction, or whatever.
Also, I am one of these people who sometimes see shipping of friends (regardless of gender) as "cheapening" the relationship. I think because I tend to see romantic relationships (or interest) as intense but short lived, creating only the appearance of a close bond. Friends or family don't fall out of love or lose interest when they find out you're taken. Which is odd, given that I'm getting married to the guy I would classify as my soulmate in a couple of weeks, but it's just the way I feel :) Maybe I've just been burned by TPTB noticing a bond between two characters I like, playing up the UST then breaking them up angstily, ruining the bond forever. Or something, I don't know.
Lastly, since I have the least to say about it, the lack of sex. I don't know why I don't like reading explicit sex scenes. I have vague theories, but they're kind of personal, so let's just leave it at the fact I don't like 'em. I'm happy enough to skip them if the story is otherwise enjoyable, but given the preponderance of out-and-out porn I find it best to avoid "NC-17" (ie R by australian standards) stories unless I have good reason to think I'll like it. I'm fine with non-titillating sex which drives the story, but for some reason porn is more popular :)
Also, as a final even more tangential thought, I sometimes feel like the only straight girl on the interent who would rather read femslash than boyslash since I find female characters easier to identify with, not to mention ignored by canon. This may have something to do with not reading it for the porn :)
So, there you go. Sorry I rambled on so much, it's the only way I know how to communicate! Feel free to tell me what I'm saying makes no sense or is deeply offensive, chances are I'll realise at least half of it is wrong. Also, I apologise to anyone who thought this was going to be about why I like Jen(*), but that's so self evident it doesn't need a livejournal post :)
(*)Or Genevieve, who none of you know and doesn't read this. She's pretty cool too.
metafandom has inspired me to go through what gen means to me and why I like it. This will be of absolutely no interest to anyone who doesn't read fanfic (and possibly not even then), sorry to the majority of my flist but I had to post it somewhere and my lj seems the best place for self indulgent ranting :) Though you will get to "see" me say the words 'sex' and 'porn" more than I probably have in all my other blog/lj posts combined.The reason I wrote this post is that people seem to be trying to come up with one single reason for reading gen, and on the whole they don't apply to me becuase I read it for multiple reasons., many of which seem to be misunderstood/misrepresented. And hey, there's so many "Why we slash" posts, why not a couple more "why we gen"s :) I've also tried to address some of the conflict between gen and slash since it seems to come up so much. I'm not sure anyone is going to read this, but I feel better for having it out there. I am not saying my way is best, but it's what I like and I think it's not as crazy to like it as some people make out.
There are three separate things I like from fanfic:
- Matching up to canon so closely it might as well be part of it
- Not focusing on romantic or sexual relationships
- Not sexually explicit
A lot of people conflate these together into one word: gen. But they are separate. I would classify "gen" as meaning the last two categories, though different people take it to mean one or the other. Some people take it to mean all three at once and this I have a problem with, since it ignores the fact that 90% of the fiction fanfic is based off focusses on romantic relationships sometimes, so it's not wildly against canon if we do it too from time to time.
I've read plenty of stories which satisfy one of these parameters but not the other two.
For example, A Deeper Season matches the tone of the books really well, and in my opinion the canon could easily have gone this way. Yes, it's a gay romance, but so is "Ethan of Athos". Most importantly, it's not just a gay romance. It's about what would actually happen in that world if those characters got into a relationship with each other, political as well as personal. And there's adventure and a mystery and all the things that make Vorkosigan books good.
I've lost the link, but I read a Buffy AU where Andrew is a vampire and at one point early on has explicit sex with Giles-as-teen-Ripper. Now I might have been missing the point, but afaict it wasn't meant to sexy, and certainly wasn't romantic, the sex existed to help utterly mess that character up, and the story went on from there to be about other things.
And of course there's plenty of PG rated romance stories.
I liked all those stories (especially a Deeper Season, it's actually the story that got me into fanfic). I'll enjoy a sexually explicit romance AU if it's really well written and has other stuff I like. I'm just talking general preferences here.
The question is: why do I like these three things from my stories?
First, being like canon. Now, by this I don't just mean "consistent with the events shown in canon", or having the character voices and mannerisms match, since afaict everyone likes that. I mean if canon is an action adventure with little to no romantic content, that's what I want to see. If canon doesn't deal with serious issues, or I feel the writer(s) would never make any of the main characters gay (not even sekritly in their heads), then I don't generally want that from fanfic either. If the story is set in the Jossverse, I won't really buy a happily ever after romance.
Now I used to be one of these people who saw this is being the only way to stay consistent with canon, which put me at odds with slashers a lot of the time. But on further thought I've realised it's just one approach to fanfic, and just as subjective as any other. I know authorial intent doesn't matter intellectually, but can't change it's importance to me emotionally. And I don't like it because it's better, I like it because even small deviations from my personal authorial-intent-driven canon tends to throw me out of the story. This is less of an issue for book based fic (especially Harry Potter for some reason) as long as it matches the written tone, but for tv shows it doesn't take much for fanfic to become, to me, an original short story. And I don't like short stories.
That said, one of my main criteria for liking a show is not being cliched crap (another is continuity). Which generally means the characters do not, universally, come across as totally 100% straight for now and always. Also I can buy a fair amount of deviance from "canon" if the story works really hard to make it work (though perhaps then it's just a really good original short story). And if the canon is romance then bring on the schmoop :)
I do also like the sort of fanfic which deliberately subverts canon, looking say at what it would be like to be gay in Narnia. But it has to come across as deliberate and thought out, or be fun and silly and not to be taken seriously (and my taste for such stories is limited) I also really like the idea of stories which look at the stuff that happens off-screen that noone else has examined (like what would it be like to be a Stormtrooper?) Which theoretically does cover slash, but only if it's about what it would actually be like for those characters to get together rather than a romantic/sexual fantasy, and only the first couple of times. Then the idea has been done and I'd rather read about something else.
Second, the lack of romantic/sexual relationships. Now I actually don't mind romance, in fact I like it. But so much of fanfic is focussed on sex and romance I need a break from time to time (roughly every second to third story, I find)
Also, for me to engage with a romantic story I need a fair amount of lead-up, so it either needs to be a very long fanfic or I have to already be engaged with the couple. My shipper goggles are remarkably myopic, so this pretty much leaves me with canon couples and the odd non-canon couple which pings for me. (Mot of which turn out to have been deliberate UST from TBTB. Except possibly Legolas/Gimli :))
I have no problem with stories which reference romantic/sexual relationships as a minor part of a larger story arc. I don't even mind stories with a relationship at their core when that relationship is written realistically rather than to push peoples romantic/sexual buttons. (because chances are it won't push mine) Really for me it's about the relationships being driven by the characters and the story, not the other way around, not so much about the gen as the "Bob" or the "gron", but people don't label for that so I go for gen.
There are so many different types of stories to tell, why limit yourself only to the ones which revolve around smooches? It's like if all anyone wrote was murder mysteries. Yes, there's a lot you can do with the genre, it can examine class and race and character and all that good stuff (also smooches). But every now and then it might be nice to read a story where noone died. And if you were reading a story marked "not murder mystery", and it was really good and interesting, and then in the final act there was a passing reference to how the Butler did it you would get grumpy just because gee, does it always have to be about the murder?
That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with people who happen to only (or mostly) enjoy slash/het, any more than there's anything wrong with me with only/mostly liking gen, or science fiction, or whatever.
Also, I am one of these people who sometimes see shipping of friends (regardless of gender) as "cheapening" the relationship. I think because I tend to see romantic relationships (or interest) as intense but short lived, creating only the appearance of a close bond. Friends or family don't fall out of love or lose interest when they find out you're taken. Which is odd, given that I'm getting married to the guy I would classify as my soulmate in a couple of weeks, but it's just the way I feel :) Maybe I've just been burned by TPTB noticing a bond between two characters I like, playing up the UST then breaking them up angstily, ruining the bond forever. Or something, I don't know.
Lastly, since I have the least to say about it, the lack of sex. I don't know why I don't like reading explicit sex scenes. I have vague theories, but they're kind of personal, so let's just leave it at the fact I don't like 'em. I'm happy enough to skip them if the story is otherwise enjoyable, but given the preponderance of out-and-out porn I find it best to avoid "NC-17" (ie R by australian standards) stories unless I have good reason to think I'll like it. I'm fine with non-titillating sex which drives the story, but for some reason porn is more popular :)
Also, as a final even more tangential thought, I sometimes feel like the only straight girl on the interent who would rather read femslash than boyslash since I find female characters easier to identify with, not to mention ignored by canon. This may have something to do with not reading it for the porn :)
So, there you go. Sorry I rambled on so much, it's the only way I know how to communicate! Feel free to tell me what I'm saying makes no sense or is deeply offensive, chances are I'll realise at least half of it is wrong. Also, I apologise to anyone who thought this was going to be about why I like Jen(*), but that's so self evident it doesn't need a livejournal post :)
(*)Or Genevieve, who none of you know and doesn't read this. She's pretty cool too.