I actually spent most of the day thinking off-and-on about what you said in your last post on the topic. The 'Yaoi and Misogyny Bingo Sheet'.
I'm glad that you provide a fairly even point of view of how het and yaoi can be empowering but also can be used to subvert women. I can think of examples of both.
Although, a couple of things I think you don't touch on:
-The fact that slash/yaoi often portrays unrealistic and objectified males. The argument could also be made that, at it's worst, it devalues men the same way a two-dimentional female character devalues women; as sex objects instead of people.
-You make some good points about how femslash could be empowering...but I think you forget a few downsides to it. If yaoi can be misogynistic at it's worst, then femslash can be man-hating at it's worst. It's NOT a worm hole where matter can only travel one way. The very idea that one gender is excluded from a romantic relationship CAN be horribly abused. Just as easily as someone could write about two men who were driven to each other by a long line of women who are portrayed as horrible witches who used them, one could write a story about Amazon warriors that are convinced men are apes that are only good for reproduction and that real pleasure and understanding CAN ONLY be found in another woman. Basically what I'm saying is that things that are true for yaoi are going to be true at some point for femslash as well (you know...minus anything that involves a penis). There are right ways and wrong ways to write each, but I think they can be equally damaging when written wrong.
no subject
I'm glad that you provide a fairly even point of view of how het and yaoi can be empowering but also can be used to subvert women. I can think of examples of both.
Although, a couple of things I think you don't touch on:
-The fact that slash/yaoi often portrays unrealistic and objectified males. The argument could also be made that, at it's worst, it devalues men the same way a two-dimentional female character devalues women; as sex objects instead of people.
-You make some good points about how femslash could be empowering...but I think you forget a few downsides to it. If yaoi can be misogynistic at it's worst, then femslash can be man-hating at it's worst. It's NOT a worm hole where matter can only travel one way. The very idea that one gender is excluded from a romantic relationship CAN be horribly abused. Just as easily as someone could write about two men who were driven to each other by a long line of women who are portrayed as horrible witches who used them, one could write a story about Amazon warriors that are convinced men are apes that are only good for reproduction and that real pleasure and understanding CAN ONLY be found in another woman. Basically what I'm saying is that things that are true for yaoi are going to be true at some point for femslash as well (you know...minus anything that involves a penis). There are right ways and wrong ways to write each, but I think they can be equally damaging when written wrong.