The truth about Alpha/Beta/Omega fanfic

[dhrachth]

I've been on a Teen Wolf fic binge lately and something has been bothering me. There are a really high number of Alpha/Beta/Omega fics in the Teen Wolf fandom. I usually just avoid them, but with the sheer numbers I can't help stumbling across one inadvertently from time to time--improperly tagged ones, clicking on fic recs that don't have much

Comments

[anonymous]

There are pretty obvious parallels between a/b/o fic and the traditional dominant/submissive role of men and women. It's D/s with a layer of animalistic kink.

That being said tarring all a/b/o fic as inherently misogynistic is about as stupid as labelling all BDSM fic inherently stupid. There are fics that deliberately take the issues with a/b/o and examine them, use them as a metaphor for gender and create detailed, intricate stories.

There are many more that just use it to write smut. Kinky smut that turns quite a lot of women on, if the popularily of the genre is anything to go by. But like women that get off on rape fantasies fantasy =/= reality. You can't help what turns you on and how you act in the bedroom/what you prefer does not have to have anything to do with how you view gender in real life.

[dhrachth]

A/B/O fics link female sex organs with submissive behavior as one of the main tenets of the genre. That is inherently misogynistic (and offensive to legit BDSM at the same time).

There are probably some hybrid A/B/O fics that use elements of the genre but discard the problematic bits, but I can't think of any fics of that nature off hand.

I will grant that straight up porn is often a special case. But there's still a difference between something written as dirty/wrong but really hot and porn that has problem elements that are presented as perfectly healthy and loving.

[chihana11]

I know you made this comment over a year ago anon. I'm gonna respond anyway. Submissives consent, they choose to be submissive.
These omegas don't consent, they are weak, inferior, lesser. Their very nature makes them omegas.
It's really hard for me not to see them as women. Choiceless, pitiful,inferior women.

Dhrachth please feel free to delete this comment. I know this is an old post.

[dhrachth]

Even if it's an old post, the point still holds true. I agree with you 100%.

I never take the ABO settings seriously

[anonymous]

To be honest, the ABO settings are used basically because they make things fast and easy, in applying some kind of hot scenes in the fiction. Well, I agree about that since the those can be boosted when both of the characters lose their heads easily. I don't like the ABO settings, but it is true that they lower the difficulty of writing a romance fiction.

[minesomine]

It's not just the ABO settings. Most stories you can change John and Jack to John and Jane and it's still the same plot. It's mostly women writing and using fantasies. Which gets rather obvious because of how often rape gets used, never in a realistic way but again as if describing a fantasy of losing power as an excuse to enjoy sex.

[anonymous]

I must agree on many points and I really dislike those kind of fanfic. I’m amazed to see how it became more and more popular… After there is still some ABO fics which don’t use all those “typically” attributes and can be amusing to read.
Anyway I think the ABO system isn’t mean to be used at a human level. I don’t mind in the world of fantasy but unfortunately a lot of people like to use them… Some human like finding stuff which put them in cage. I guess the next step is the Japanese ABO system which going to be used over the all world. You know the blood group system. Yeah, let’s bully the AB because there are like that and praise the O leader! I can’t wait to see fanfic about that.

Alpha/Beta/Omega controversy

[anonymous]

Admittedly this is an old comment and most of the fics I've read a more recent, but I've found, porn set aside, most of the stories are about struggling with the class restrictions and assumptions. Many have fought against over aggressive Alpha societies, many have laws that protect an individual's freedoms, both sexual and reproductive rights. A good example would be the Raza Pack stories on archiveofourown (no, not my stories, not self promoting) where the crew of the Raza face both a group of aggressive, take what they want Alphas, and a culture that has learned to control their basic animal behavior for a more progressive, free society

Re: Alpha/Beta/Omega controversy

[dhrachth]

I wasn't saying Omegas and Alphas, as depicted in fanfic, are analogous to real men and women. I'm saying that they're a repetition of bad stereotypes of men and women that have been used to oppress women and excuse bad behavior on the part of men.

And there's nothing wrong with being submissive or gentler, but only if it's your choice. Forcing people into those roles based on their genitalia is wrong. (And forcing people into a dominant role and shaming them for coming up short, can be just as bad.)