On Sex and Slashers

The Misanthrope hypothesised, in an internal assessment, that Robinson Crusoe was gay. One of his pet theories is that Feluda is gay.

Given The Misanthrope's other theories, this should just have been worth a bit of a laugh. But the fact remains that a not-too-small number of people, mostly women, mostly straight women, also subscribe to these theories. Oh, not neccessarily about Crusoe or Feluda, but several male charcters spread across fandoms. Just Google James/Sirius if you don't believe me. Or Qui-Gon-Jinn/Obi-Wan-Kenobi.

Part of the reason for this fad is that the authors of fanfic, who are, after all, basically setting up 'what-if' situations in the worlds created by TPTB, like experimenting with sexual 'what-if' situations as much and/or more than other situations. Another reason women (sorry, Sam) write slash is the same as men watching lesbian porn.

Of course, these reasons mean that all characters are equally vulnerable, but handsome ones are more so. And, of course, it is true that you will find Gone with the Wind slash, which I refuse to read on principle, as well as Little Women...hmm, haven't actually found Little Women slash. Fic, sure, slash, no, or even R or NC-17 fic, for that matter. Thank all the gods.

To come back from that digression, despite the fact that there's slash about everyone, the 'best', and by this I mean stories which have actual plots and well-fleshed characters, slash is usually about characters whose sexuality is never definitely stated.

Let's take the HP fandom, which all of us are familiar with. Almost all the major male characters have been slashed. However, writing slash about someone who, in the novels, is married, or in a heterosexual relationship, may provide entertainment, but not a long, structured story. A pwp about Lucius may work, but longer (slash) stories about him are rare. The same with Severus Snape. James Potter proves an odd exception, but only, as a rule, in Sirius/James stories. Dunno why, though I write 'em. Lily is usually not side-lined, and even then these are hardly long, chaptered, stories. Remus/Sirius, on the other hand, was taken up as the primary slash pairing in the HP fandom. It was not too hard to imagine, neither man had other romantic interests even hinted at, Alan Rickman called them 'an old married couple' in the PoA fim, they finished each others sentences in the OotP novel, etc. It's possible Ms. Rowling got wind of it. Why else the awkward, contrived Remus/Tonks angle, slapped on at the end of HBP? *grumbles* I've read Remus/Tonks fic that is much better written. Here, go read it. It's not at all that I dislike the idea. It just felt like such a cover-up. Whatever. The best Sirius/Remus fic I've ever read is by the same author, who, btw, is a man, which is an oddity in the fandom. The story is AU, but none of the characters are unrecognisable. It's a WiP, and will perhaps always remain so, but three novel length fics are available, starting here.

Okay, now that I have fangirled about Sam, I'll try to get back to the point. Sirius Black can be slashed so well because we never see him with anyone, female or male, in a romantic situation. Of course, there's a lot of het. fic as well, including gross inter-generational stuff (which is there in slash too, but less) which we will entirely avoid. All the others in the age-group of 16-46 are obviously heterosexual. Well, not Charlie Weasley...

The same applies to other fandoms. Anakin Skywalker has a wife and kids. Not really slashable. Luke Skywalker- somewhat slashable. Qui-Gon-Jinn and Obi-Wan-Kenobi, eminently slashable.

Of course, it's mostly sci-fi whose charcters are kidnapped. And older, 'moral' novels. The only reason Crusoe can be called gay is that he never, in nearly thirty years, mentions a woman. Ever. And, well, Friday's the only human arounds. *shrugs*

Somewhat the same thing happens to comic-book superheroes. Batman, despite the Robin theories, and the Harvey Dent theory, does have sexual interests, in Talia Head and Selene Kyle.

Superman, on the other hand. Yeah, there is Lois Lane, but, c'mon, how many years have they been engaged/unengaged/re-engaged? So, slashers, encouraged by 'Smallville', started in on the Clark/Lex fic. Brilliantly written , some of it. They have a son together, after all, who appears here, as the Superboy we know, and here , in a slightly different avatar. Another, lovely, chaptered novel is about them, during the 'Smallville' years, when Clark is 16 and Lex 21, found here.

So. The point I'm trying, and very possibly failing, to make, is that where TPTB have left the sexual orientation of the characters absolutely blank, slashers work mayhem. Not that a wedding ring wards them off entirely. But people writing for 'kids', and/or writing sexless stories often don't even include a spouse in the back-ground, which, honestly, is odd. Not saying that every character must be married off, but creating a Sirius Black, or a Obi Wan Kenobi and leaving their sexual histories either completely or mostly blank is really just asking for trouble.

Right, that's the rant for now. Hope the links work.