Is it a law that you have to be lesbian to write Femslash?

[runetraverse]

Okay, I know it's a weird title / subject / whatever, but it's something currently bugging me, so I figured I'd post and see what people thought.  Not that I haven't wondered something to this effect for a while, but it came to a head as I read yet another rant on YouTube about "all you queers watching queers" in a Bad Girls vid commentary.  (this

Comments

[frogfarm]

My personal reason for writing femslash (aside from loving the particular pairings) is because I can't write a hetero sex-scene without getting embarrassed enough to pass out. Femslash doesn't do that to me.

I'd just like to say I find this inconceivably, adorably weird.

And that I have nothing constructive to add, except that for me, good fic is good fic regardless of source. It takes all kinds, and the universe contains multitudes.

[runetraverse]

*flush* I know, it sounds idiotic, but it's true. A good half of my novels (all with female protagonists) have some form of romantic relationship, and several of the adult stories have erotic scenes built into their outlines. Unfortunately, while I'm not a prude, I have absolutely no ability to write something hetro beyond kissing without getting embarressed and/or turning myself on. (which for obvious reasons makes it hard to write.) xD Oddly enough, I don't seem to have near the problem writing femslash, so I use it for practice. Hell, I'd write yaoi / male slash too, but I don't have as much knowledge / experience with guys and sex. And I haven't found more than maybe one m/m pairing that I like.

[frogfarm]

Well, they say "write what you know". Guess that explains my own output :)

(And IMO, if I don't get turned on by my own sex scenes? I'm not doing it right.)

[runetraverse]

Oh, I do get turned on with femslash - erotica is erotica, after all, and I'm a fully functional of-age adult. But it's not as horribly bad with femslash. I guess in the back of my mind, there's that little bit of "yeah, but it couldn't be me doing it." Whereas with het, I create hot guys, and I'd love it TO be me. xD

[rpickett77]

I'm in the "Q" category at the moment (questioning), though I think I lean straight, and I read and write femslash. I'm new at writing, and my interest in writing has everything to do with the characters, and wanting to express certain qualities that I see in characters through a story (such as integrity, honesty, courage). The qualities are genderless. It seems to me that if there was no homophobia, it might be natural that people would write love stories... regardless of the pairing, or the writer, being straight or gay. Hope that made sense :) Thanks for asking the question!

[runetraverse]

Here here! Truly heroic / evil qualities are genderless - why can't love stories be the same? And you're quite welcome for asking the question. These responses have been just awesome.

[rpickett77]

I think love is genderless. There's so many forms and expressions of it! I've been curious about the crossroads between intimacy, love, and sexuality for a long time, but I also just think that trying to capture the depth of connection and love between people in a story (of any kind, doesn't have to be sexual...) is exciting. I wonder if fan fiction is ever written without a focus on a pairing... just to explore a particular character the the writer is intrigued by?

Also, I suspect women are a bit more open-minded about gender and sexuality... maybe it's more fluid with us, and we seem to care about connection between people (and I'm being so stereotypical!), and I wonder this is related to why some straight women write and read femslash....

thanks again for asking that question :) Since this is (obviously) a topic I like chatting and philosophizing about! And I'm happy to see how many open-minded women of any orientation there are answering you :)

Rachel

[ein_myria]

Good writing is good writing, regardless of who writes it. One has to be open to those concepts though

[ein_myria]

oops I meant *recommendations*

[runetraverse]

*giggles* In that particular case, I think it was probably a mistaken-assumption on her (the writer's) part that calling her male meant her writing was 'less,' since the general public seems to assume females write better fanfiction. The guys probably had a similar thought, and that's why they were pleased. xD

Kinky and hot - gaaaah, I gotta get to the smex part of the Bad Girls fic already, damnit. *dies*

[ein_myria]

*nods* This is why I usually stick with female attribution (she, her) or write the gender-neutral hir if I'm uncertain of an author's gender, nowadays. lol I don't need irate female femmeslash writers and their legion of fanboys after me with pitchforks and the like. ;p

[pocketnympho]

As long as it's well written and respectful I don't care what gender or sexuality the writer is. Good fic is good fic as far as I'm concerned. ^_^

btw...when can we get another Rachel/ Ivy fic? >.>

XDDDDD

[runetraverse]

*snicker* I need a Rachel / Ivy icon. Wonder how I'll do that? *ponders*

Anyway - the next bit of Witching Hour should be up sometime next week, hopefully. Website's gotten bogged down with some stuff I've gotta sort out. But I do have a summary for it, and a teaser. ^^ Chapter two, Rachel gets called by the FIB to take on a special case - one connected to her past in a way she would never have imagined. *evil laugh*

[pocketnympho]

OoOoOoOo *waits impatiently*

[the_girl_20]

I'm straight and I write and read femslash.

My reasons for doing so are almost lost in the mists of time - I've done it for so long. I actually discovered femslash by mistake and ended up in a community (Buffy/Willow) and found it to be very welcoming and friendly, far more so than any other fandom community I'd come across. And it sort of all developed from there.

I also get embarrassed when I write sex. Of any description. Involving anyone. And I don't really read it either, I kind of skim sex scenes in most fics. I am a prude!

[runetraverse]

*cheers and adds another mark to her mental tally* I've noticed that too - the welcoming and friendly aspect, I mean. I can honestly say I've been more welcome here than pretty much any place I've come across.

I don't mind sex scenes - reading them, anyway - but certain words people choose to use bug the snot out of me. Pussy and dick are big ones (pun not intended) - cum and repeated "fuck" are similarly annoying. To me, most of the great writers can evoke imagery without trashy language. Not that I won't read something with said words in it, but they do take away some of my enjoyment of the stories.

[the_girl_20]

Oh God!!! Sex words make me cringe. Any sex scenes I've written have tended to be quick and vague. Which I hope isn't a reflection on my actual sex life ;)

[runetraverse]

*looks at reply, then at icon*

*promptly laughs her ass off*

I don't think so, m'dear. xDDDD