I think the situations aren't that different, though the ratio of "writing about the Other" to "writing about people who share one's own sexuality" is different, meaning that the pressure for authenticity manifests in different ways. I think you're spot on for this point! I guess it's also kind of funny talking about Those Fans in that way when there's a trope fest for f/f going on right now. lol I guess this is the only "acceptable" time when you can celebrate the silly side of fandom.
bad f/f written by and/or for men can be bad in different ways from bad f/f written for women. Again, I think that you've got a really good point here. It's a pity that somehow these two things get conflated more often than not.
I agree with you that it's unfair to assume someone's gender based on the flaws in their f/f writing, but I don't think it's completely out of the question to note that some of those flaws can relate to gender or sexuality--I just think people get carried away applying that sometimes. And some of the stuff aimed at the male gaze is so absolutely repugnant on a fundamental level that I can see why people are bending over backwards to go the other way, though--as you noted--that creates its own share of problems. *nods* I agree with you about that; there's just certain real life situations that just don't work well, or will never make it to the page.
The misandry sentiment comes from what I've read on certain anonymous meta post threads about certain male authors who write femslash primarily, and I'm not sure whether it's representative of a larger communal sentiment. To be very honest, it makes me very uncomfortable engaging in a subculture that seems to be quite silent in response to such attitudes. I can see it snowballing into something big and uncontained. Then again, it could be trolls, and they're just trying to bait the young'uns, but at times, I'm just not sure. :|
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Date: 2011-05-01 12:33 pm (UTC)I think you're spot on for this point! I guess it's also kind of funny talking about Those Fans in that way when there's a trope fest for f/f going on right now. lol I guess this is the only "acceptable" time when you can celebrate the silly side of fandom.
bad f/f written by and/or for men can be bad in different ways from bad f/f written for women.
Again, I think that you've got a really good point here. It's a pity that somehow these two things get conflated more often than not.
I agree with you that it's unfair to assume someone's gender based on the flaws in their f/f writing, but I don't think it's completely out of the question to note that some of those flaws can relate to gender or sexuality--I just think people get carried away applying that sometimes. And some of the stuff aimed at the male gaze is so absolutely repugnant on a fundamental level that I can see why people are bending over backwards to go the other way, though--as you noted--that creates its own share of problems.
*nods* I agree with you about that; there's just certain real life situations that just don't work well, or will never make it to the page.
The misandry sentiment comes from what I've read on certain anonymous meta post threads about certain male authors who write femslash primarily, and I'm not sure whether it's representative of a larger communal sentiment. To be very honest, it makes me very uncomfortable engaging in a subculture that seems to be quite silent in response to such attitudes. I can see it snowballing into something big and uncontained. Then again, it could be trolls, and they're just trying to bait the young'uns, but at times, I'm just not sure. :|