The endless slash debate & other links

[rochefort]

While researching something else (it was legitimate, honest, guv!) I came across this article which actually might have something to add to the endless and often pointless-seeming debate about why women like slash. (It also draws some parallels between Harry Potter and Orestes which may be either interesting or silly, depending on your outlook,

Comments

[childofatlantis]

Wait, we're an underground movement now? Only, I thought we were pretty brazen about it all really...

[rochefort]

Yes, makes us sound all edgy doesn't it? But I suspect that in reality it's only 'underground' because it's a women-thing and therefore unnoticed by the 'mainstream'; ie men.

[childofatlantis]

It conjures up images of clandestine meetings in shady cafes. One trenchcoated fangirl sidles up to another, who is clutching a battered Mills and Boon book as cover, and hands over an unmarked brown folder...

"Here. Chapters 7 and 8. Freaking hot sex. Pass it on within the week. You know the rendezvous point? And remember, if they catch you, you're burning your A-level maths notes..."

[rochefort]

Bwahaha!!

[miraminx]

To be honest (a phrase which almost always signals something dreadful, doesn't it?), I thought the slash article lacked focus. It had some interesting points, but what sticks with me is "Both played a hand in their parents' death"; that, I think, is stretching the comparison between Harry and Orestes just a bit

[rochefort]

I was interested in the survey mentioned in the later bit of the article, that said women are interested in sex generally, whereas with men their interest level depends almost entirely on their sexual orientation. But the comparisons of HP and Orestes sounded strained to say the least, and reminded me of those 'HP Character A and HP Character B looked at each other -- they must be shagging!' arguments I used to see everywhere. As the writer said, sometimes a closet is just a closet.

Yes, one of those

Oh yes. The 'baby-as-doll-substitute' type. And what is it with those pseudo-medieval names in North America? Someone's been attending one too many costumed Renayssance Fayres, methinks.

Through A Glass Darkly was one of my favourite HL episodes partly because of the Warren Cochrane character: Dougray Scott always seems to have had that gravitas and animus in his acting. And you're right, he doesn't have to try hard to be masculine.

[canis_m]

Thanks for the link to that slash article, which did jump at random all over the map, and you're right, the mention of that study is the most interesting thing about it. "Women registered arousal to everything," hahaha, this is so awesome. All this time I thought I was a freak for getting turned on by things like oceans and mandarin oranges and fuzzy animals and Heian poetry

[rochefort]

All this time I thought I was a freak for getting turned on by things like oceans and mandarin oranges and fuzzy animals and Heian poetry!

Hahaha!

One could even make a leap and suggest that this helps to explain why women are more into textual erotica in general.

This is something I've wondered about for a while, too; although given the obvious general disinterest in studying women's responses to erotic stimuli (what are they afraid of finding out??), I suspect we'll all be wondering for some time yet.

And thanks for the link; it was very interesting to read in a little more detail.