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ishtar79So fandom is great, right? No pairing too cracktastic, no kink too extreme to have at least one community or fic challenge dedicated to it. Mind you, I’m aware that not all fandoms are created equal, and you’re less likely to get flamed for writing non-con bestiality incest chan in the Fandom Of 1000 kinks aka the HP fandom (or start a series of posts both defending and condemning non-con bestiality incest chan, and then there are sockpuppets, and then a bunch of people delete their ljs, and then the whole thing ends up in Metafandom and Fandom Wank…actually, that sounds exactly like the HP fandom!) than if you write said story in say, Veronica Mars.
Generally speaking though, in fanfic, no subject is really taboo, right?
Except for the things that kind of are.
Adultery/Infidelity: This one has become significantly more common after the Crapilogue Of Doom, if for no reason than the purely practical. Yes, Harry might be considerate enough to divorce Ginny before jumping into bed with Draco/Newly Ressurected!Snape/Hermione/Teddy Lupin but sometimes, it just doesn’t work out that way. In just as many fics, Ginny ends up preemptively leaving Harry for a fellow Quiddich Player (and how much do I love a fandom where that’s already a fanon cliché?), or because she realizes how deeply messed up/deeply gay he is. Or she ends up tragically dying, because she’s considerate like that (or more likely, because the author doesn’t want Harry to look bad).
I awful lot of fans seem to have a pronounced Infidelity Squick. And when it’s actually infidelity within the pairing, then well! This becomes the kind of thing that requires actual warnings, like “charater death”, “water sports” and “bottom!Snape”.
I don’t really get it. Infidelity can be the basis of great drama-just ask Tolstoy! It’s got readily built-in angst, tension and complications, and unlike some of the verse-specific angst, it’s something readers can relate to, at least somewhat easier than it is to relate to the angst of being in love with a Werewolf/Slytherin/Death Eater/Reanimated by Magic Corpse.
Is the problem that it’s a theme that hits too close to home? Yes, in real life, infidelity is a Bad Thing. But then, so is murder, rape or teachers having sex with their sixteen-year-old students, and no of course I’m not equating the level of wrongness in any way, just pointing some typical fic plot points that are overall more popular and (mostly) unchallenged than character A stepping out on character B in an A/B fic.
It’s not unique in fanfic. I love the show Dexter and given the lack of interest/discussion of it on my flist, like to read the TWP forums after every episode (not participate myself, since I have many issues with TWP I won’t get into here). For those who don’t know, the main character of the show is a serial killer. One who only goes after bad guys, sure, and one played by the infinitely charismatic and dead sexy Michael C. Hall, but the bottom line? Serial killer.
Last season included a subplot of Dexter having an affair with a sociopathic headcase by the name of Lila, despite being in a long term relationship with Rita. And then the Internets exploded. Suddenly, much of the season arc and non-soap opera plot elements were pushed to the side in favour of a screaming discussion about how Lila is a terrible character and actress (kind of true on the former, YES on the latter), arguments about whether this technically constituted cheating (“We were on a BREAK!”/Ross Gellar> and a whole lot of (overwhelmingly female) fans grumbling about how they could ‘never look at Dexter the same way again’ and the character was ‘ruined’ for them. And I repeat, fans previously adoring and even woobifying a sociopath who routinely chops people into little bits and have impassionate morally relativist arguments justifying his every action, but oh no, he cheats his girlfriend and suddenly they think he’s kind of a bastard? (This? Is precisely why I avoid the TWP forums!) Oh, fandom, what sweet crack you’re smoking!
Abortion: This is by no means limited to fic: abortion is the pink elephant in the room of popular media, an option that is not only not taken, but seldom even considered. Hell, it might as well not exist.
I realise that it’s a divisive topic (well, in some cultures. I’m happy to say that despite the many ways Greek society is socially backwards, reproductive rights are largely a non-issue. Abortion is legal and acceptable, and that’s all there is to it). Not everyone in fandom is pro-choice, but if you go by the way unwanted pregnancies are handled in fic alone, you’d think nobody is.
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter how you (the writer, the reader, the random troll who stops by to flame) would handle an unwanted pregnancy, only how the character would. If you’re writing BSG where canon states that abortions are illegal and one of the show’s themes in the survival of the human race then yes, the character would probably have the baby. (Or they might go for a highly dangerous illegal abortion to get rid of their potentially homicidal half-Cylon spawn, and presto! Instant drama!). If you’re writing about school age Hermione getting pregnant, especially as a result of rape? Then she would probably abort. Or she could conceivably not, but as I reader I require a hell of of a lot of explaining for that option. Saying ‘Hermione believed in the sanctity of life’ is imposing your own cultural bias on a middle-class, progressive, academically-focused British girl, and it makes me cringe and grit my teeth more than other examples of lazy writing/OOCness.
Look, it’s not as if it’s a plot I encounter particularly often. I make a conscious effect to avoid baby!fic and I mostly read slash, but when I do occasionally stumble upon it, mostly in Snape/Hermione fic, I’m deeply disturbed by the writer posting apologetic author’s notes about even mentioning the “A” word or even worse, anti-choice being kind of the default fic setting. Since I’m assuming not every single writer's personal politics are anti-abortion, then a big chunk self-censor. TV shows/films self-censor to avoid loss of adverts/viewers. Fic writers self-censor…why exactly? Losing readers? You do anyway by your choice of paring/rating/inclusion of the words ‘frock coat’/because X BNF that Y reader hates in your flist. Flames? The very act of posting a fanfic in the HP verse online makes flames a real possibility. I’m not saying every writer should engage in an awareness-raising campaign, all I’m saying is that if you’re prepared to stand by your choice to write Underage/Crossgen/Rickman!Snape, be prepared to stand by your choice to write…well, choice.
Generally speaking though, in fanfic, no subject is really taboo, right?
Except for the things that kind of are.
Adultery/Infidelity: This one has become significantly more common after the Crapilogue Of Doom, if for no reason than the purely practical. Yes, Harry might be considerate enough to divorce Ginny before jumping into bed with Draco/Newly Ressurected!Snape/Hermione/Teddy Lupin but sometimes, it just doesn’t work out that way. In just as many fics, Ginny ends up preemptively leaving Harry for a fellow Quiddich Player (and how much do I love a fandom where that’s already a fanon cliché?), or because she realizes how deeply messed up/deeply gay he is. Or she ends up tragically dying, because she’s considerate like that (or more likely, because the author doesn’t want Harry to look bad).
I awful lot of fans seem to have a pronounced Infidelity Squick. And when it’s actually infidelity within the pairing, then well! This becomes the kind of thing that requires actual warnings, like “charater death”, “water sports” and “bottom!Snape”.
I don’t really get it. Infidelity can be the basis of great drama-just ask Tolstoy! It’s got readily built-in angst, tension and complications, and unlike some of the verse-specific angst, it’s something readers can relate to, at least somewhat easier than it is to relate to the angst of being in love with a Werewolf/Slytherin/Death Eater/Reanimated by Magic Corpse.
Is the problem that it’s a theme that hits too close to home? Yes, in real life, infidelity is a Bad Thing. But then, so is murder, rape or teachers having sex with their sixteen-year-old students, and no of course I’m not equating the level of wrongness in any way, just pointing some typical fic plot points that are overall more popular and (mostly) unchallenged than character A stepping out on character B in an A/B fic.
It’s not unique in fanfic. I love the show Dexter and given the lack of interest/discussion of it on my flist, like to read the TWP forums after every episode (not participate myself, since I have many issues with TWP I won’t get into here). For those who don’t know, the main character of the show is a serial killer. One who only goes after bad guys, sure, and one played by the infinitely charismatic and dead sexy Michael C. Hall, but the bottom line? Serial killer.
Last season included a subplot of Dexter having an affair with a sociopathic headcase by the name of Lila, despite being in a long term relationship with Rita. And then the Internets exploded. Suddenly, much of the season arc and non-soap opera plot elements were pushed to the side in favour of a screaming discussion about how Lila is a terrible character and actress (kind of true on the former, YES on the latter), arguments about whether this technically constituted cheating (“We were on a BREAK!”/Ross Gellar> and a whole lot of (overwhelmingly female) fans grumbling about how they could ‘never look at Dexter the same way again’ and the character was ‘ruined’ for them. And I repeat, fans previously adoring and even woobifying a sociopath who routinely chops people into little bits and have impassionate morally relativist arguments justifying his every action, but oh no, he cheats his girlfriend and suddenly they think he’s kind of a bastard? (This? Is precisely why I avoid the TWP forums!) Oh, fandom, what sweet crack you’re smoking!
Abortion: This is by no means limited to fic: abortion is the pink elephant in the room of popular media, an option that is not only not taken, but seldom even considered. Hell, it might as well not exist.
I realise that it’s a divisive topic (well, in some cultures. I’m happy to say that despite the many ways Greek society is socially backwards, reproductive rights are largely a non-issue. Abortion is legal and acceptable, and that’s all there is to it). Not everyone in fandom is pro-choice, but if you go by the way unwanted pregnancies are handled in fic alone, you’d think nobody is.
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter how you (the writer, the reader, the random troll who stops by to flame) would handle an unwanted pregnancy, only how the character would. If you’re writing BSG where canon states that abortions are illegal and one of the show’s themes in the survival of the human race then yes, the character would probably have the baby. (Or they might go for a highly dangerous illegal abortion to get rid of their potentially homicidal half-Cylon spawn, and presto! Instant drama!). If you’re writing about school age Hermione getting pregnant, especially as a result of rape? Then she would probably abort. Or she could conceivably not, but as I reader I require a hell of of a lot of explaining for that option. Saying ‘Hermione believed in the sanctity of life’ is imposing your own cultural bias on a middle-class, progressive, academically-focused British girl, and it makes me cringe and grit my teeth more than other examples of lazy writing/OOCness.
Look, it’s not as if it’s a plot I encounter particularly often. I make a conscious effect to avoid baby!fic and I mostly read slash, but when I do occasionally stumble upon it, mostly in Snape/Hermione fic, I’m deeply disturbed by the writer posting apologetic author’s notes about even mentioning the “A” word or even worse, anti-choice being kind of the default fic setting. Since I’m assuming not every single writer's personal politics are anti-abortion, then a big chunk self-censor. TV shows/films self-censor to avoid loss of adverts/viewers. Fic writers self-censor…why exactly? Losing readers? You do anyway by your choice of paring/rating/inclusion of the words ‘frock coat’/because X BNF that Y reader hates in your flist. Flames? The very act of posting a fanfic in the HP verse online makes flames a real possibility. I’m not saying every writer should engage in an awareness-raising campaign, all I’m saying is that if you’re prepared to stand by your choice to write Underage/Crossgen/Rickman!Snape, be prepared to stand by your choice to write…well, choice.
