No Homo (Subtext Is Not Representation)

[redbrunja]

So, a couple of things showed up at the same time in my fannish life that I want to talk about. First, I learned about Ginnifer Goodwin's comment that Swan Queen was never going to happen because Once Upon A Time is a "family show", I was listening to femmeslash for fans show on Subtext 101,

and then I read this article, Why Embracing Slash Is Good For Everybody.

Let me bottom line it.

SUBTEXT IS NOT FUCKING REPRESENTATION.

ABC is not going to write Swan Queen (or ANY homosexual romance in their show about true love and blood family) because they are not going to risk offending viewers.

RDJ's Sherlock Holmes was never going to make out with John Watson because the studio isn't going to risk offending viewers.

Trust me, studios are already "embracing slash" in their 100% mercenary way, which is by showing deep, complex, meaningful and nuanced relationships between TWO WHITE DUDES without ever having to commit to actually writing homosexual characters.

That's what all those buddy cop shows and bromance movies are all about.

And the result of this, the part that really HITS ME WHERE I LIVE, is that "embracing slash" MEANS THROWING THE FUCKING FEMALE CHARACTERS THAT I LOVE UNDER THE BUS.

Do you know what it looks like when a show feeds the slashers? It looks like fucking Supernatural, where every goddamn awesome good/neutral/evil lady winds up dead.

The reason that there is not a gay Avenger is because MARVEL STUDIOS DIDN'T HAVE THE BALLS TO WRITE ANY OF THE AVENGERS AS GAY.

DO YOU KNOW WHY THERE ISN'T A BLACK WIDOW MOVIE ALREADY IN PRE-PRODUCTION? BECAUSE HOLLYWOOD DOESN'T THINK A WOMAN CAN HEADLINE A MOVIE.

And none of that is fucking okay.

The mainstream media is throwing scraps of representation at the audience and some people are pretending that it's enough. It's fucking not, and honestly, to me personally, it feels like a slap in the face.

Stop pretending to be inclusive of homosexuality and fucking be inclusive of homosexuality.

Realize that audiences can handle and fucking love movies with female/poc/homosexual (or all of the above) leads and film them.

Comments

[lady-with-cats.livejournal.com]

ugh yes! and the worst part is people actually equating slash with real representation! no, just, no, no, no. and all that "family friendly" stuff is such bullshit. f/f or m/m is just as family friendly as het romance, wth. if a couple can make out in a "family friendly" show (which certainly has happened; i would argue we've even seen het sex on ouat), i don't see why the gender of the people in question suddenly raises questions about age appropriateness (or whatever "family friendly" means).

and the worst part is when lack of representation comes down to the wire, queer ladies get sent right down to the end of the representation line. :( (and that's not even getting in woc!) why does 1 person who isn't a straight-white-male have to fill a quota? why can't we ask for more. why can't we demand more without being told to pipe down and stop ruining the fun? we should expect more from our media. i don't think it's okay anymore to just accept that things will never change or that talking about this stuff or demanding it won't "do anything". (speaking generally, not at you specifically!)

(wow that turned into a rant, sorry!)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

no, just, no, no, no. and all that "family friendly" stuff is such bullshit. f/f or m/m is just as family friendly as het romance, wth. if a couple can make out in a "family friendly" show (which certainly has happened; i would argue we've even seen het sex on ouat),

Oh, totally. "family friend" is code for = het sexuality is normal and gay relationships are inherently kinkier and should only be shown on cable.