Defending the Dubious End of Fandom
Massive apologies to anyone who has read this already elsewhere. Skip over it, if so. But it belongs here, really.
I've agonised. And I've guilted. And then I've guilted some more. And then I've agonised.
I write all manner of things in fandom. I write dubious consent sex scenes regularly because I find it an interesting area. I've been known to write about 15 year olds having sex, about violence, about rape; I've even written a very very gentle incesty type thingemy (though to be honest, that's not particularly my area).
Just recently, there's been a big furore about the whole area. Now, I know that (a) I'm not a pedophile or rapist or indeed murderer (yes, I'm sure I've written murder fics; certainly suicide) and (b) that the other people I know in fandom who have written all sorts of crazy stuff are not any of these Bad Things.
But there have been suggestions that fandom has been encouraging Bad Things by writing about them. Making them seem 'normal'. Making them seem 'acceptable'. Especially as they're posted on the internet where anyone might find them.
And I thought about this. And thought. And thought. And people started going on about 'responsibility' and 'making sure that fics weren't used for the wrong purposes' and so on and so forth. And I guilted and angsted some more.
And talked to my partner. And read a lot of the things that were being written, on both sides.
And it's no use: in the end, I have to - for once in my life - say that I actually don't think I, or the rest of fandom, have really done anything wrong. All fics with dubious content are posted behind cuts; they have masses of warnings on the top, even when that means that there are spoilers for the content. Because, you know, we're not trying to convert people to the Dark Side. We're just writing.
We're writing fiction. About fictional characters who do not exist in real life. And everyone I know - everyone I have even passingly met in fandom is aware of this.
Maybe - for argument's sake - there are a few people out there who come across these fics and think "ooh, hurray, lots of other people think rape/incest/whatever is okay". I've never met one, but you never know.
I have never had any sympathy for the people who say after a murder "and do you know, so-and-so had so many pictures of Marilyn Manson over his bedroom wall, and that just SHOWS and obviously Manson should be banned". WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH, I've always thought. And if it's not true for that, then why should it be true for fandom?
People have also said that by writing such things we're 'normalising' the behaviour and making it less shocking in real life. Okay, do all crime books - especially those with a glamourised killer (or certainly a killer whose murder is shown to be 'okay' and you're rooting for him/her to get away with it - yes, I've read several books like this, one in the last week) - desensitise us to ACTUAL murder? No. Not if you're a normal person.
Equally, to suggest that if we weren't writing such things then no one would be thinking them - nonsense. I might stop writing tomorrow, but the thoughts that inspire my writing would still be there. And lots of other people think such things, too. I suggest anyone who doubts me read either of Nancy Friday's books about sexual fantasies (My Secret Garden, about women's sexual fantasies; and Men in Love about men's). There's no denying that some of the fantasies are downright weird and some I personally find incredibly unpleasant. But that's not to say that these people are going to carry them out, and it's not to say that they've created a world full of monsters by thinking these things (or that Nancy Friday has done so by writing them down and publishing them).
Finally, we should have thoughts for people who have experienced Bad Things in Real Life. Of *course* we do. Look at fandom_gives, for a start. And as I have already said, fandom writers are NOT suggesting that any of these things happen in real life. Likewise, everything written is cut and warned about. You can not fall across these things by accident.
Then let's talk about personal responsibility. People have a responsibility to themselves. If you're made unhappy/uncomfortable with something you're reading... don't read it. There's no law that says that once you've started reading something, you have to finish it.
So.
I've paid my money and I've made my choice. And just this once - I actually don't think I'm doing anything wrong. So sue me.
I've agonised. And I've guilted. And then I've guilted some more. And then I've agonised.
I write all manner of things in fandom. I write dubious consent sex scenes regularly because I find it an interesting area. I've been known to write about 15 year olds having sex, about violence, about rape; I've even written a very very gentle incesty type thingemy (though to be honest, that's not particularly my area).
Just recently, there's been a big furore about the whole area. Now, I know that (a) I'm not a pedophile or rapist or indeed murderer (yes, I'm sure I've written murder fics; certainly suicide) and (b) that the other people I know in fandom who have written all sorts of crazy stuff are not any of these Bad Things.
But there have been suggestions that fandom has been encouraging Bad Things by writing about them. Making them seem 'normal'. Making them seem 'acceptable'. Especially as they're posted on the internet where anyone might find them.
And I thought about this. And thought. And thought. And people started going on about 'responsibility' and 'making sure that fics weren't used for the wrong purposes' and so on and so forth. And I guilted and angsted some more.
And talked to my partner. And read a lot of the things that were being written, on both sides.
And it's no use: in the end, I have to - for once in my life - say that I actually don't think I, or the rest of fandom, have really done anything wrong. All fics with dubious content are posted behind cuts; they have masses of warnings on the top, even when that means that there are spoilers for the content. Because, you know, we're not trying to convert people to the Dark Side. We're just writing.
We're writing fiction. About fictional characters who do not exist in real life. And everyone I know - everyone I have even passingly met in fandom is aware of this.
Maybe - for argument's sake - there are a few people out there who come across these fics and think "ooh, hurray, lots of other people think rape/incest/whatever is okay". I've never met one, but you never know.
I have never had any sympathy for the people who say after a murder "and do you know, so-and-so had so many pictures of Marilyn Manson over his bedroom wall, and that just SHOWS and obviously Manson should be banned". WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH, I've always thought. And if it's not true for that, then why should it be true for fandom?
People have also said that by writing such things we're 'normalising' the behaviour and making it less shocking in real life. Okay, do all crime books - especially those with a glamourised killer (or certainly a killer whose murder is shown to be 'okay' and you're rooting for him/her to get away with it - yes, I've read several books like this, one in the last week) - desensitise us to ACTUAL murder? No. Not if you're a normal person.
Equally, to suggest that if we weren't writing such things then no one would be thinking them - nonsense. I might stop writing tomorrow, but the thoughts that inspire my writing would still be there. And lots of other people think such things, too. I suggest anyone who doubts me read either of Nancy Friday's books about sexual fantasies (My Secret Garden, about women's sexual fantasies; and Men in Love about men's). There's no denying that some of the fantasies are downright weird and some I personally find incredibly unpleasant. But that's not to say that these people are going to carry them out, and it's not to say that they've created a world full of monsters by thinking these things (or that Nancy Friday has done so by writing them down and publishing them).
Finally, we should have thoughts for people who have experienced Bad Things in Real Life. Of *course* we do. Look at fandom_gives, for a start. And as I have already said, fandom writers are NOT suggesting that any of these things happen in real life. Likewise, everything written is cut and warned about. You can not fall across these things by accident.
Then let's talk about personal responsibility. People have a responsibility to themselves. If you're made unhappy/uncomfortable with something you're reading... don't read it. There's no law that says that once you've started reading something, you have to finish it.
So.
I've paid my money and I've made my choice. And just this once - I actually don't think I'm doing anything wrong. So sue me.