I do adore meta posts and your philosophy is, I believe, quite correct. I think there's something feminist about deconstructing traditional male roles, which is what a lot of good slash does. That isn't inherently feminist, of course, but it can be feminist, consciously or otherwise.
But then there's all the other stuff—the bash-the-female-characters fic (I'm glaring at you, Torchwood fandom), the Yenta Sues, the "feminization" of male characters that reproduces the same fucked-up dynamic that we're all happy to criticize in het fic. And to some degree, the fetishization of gay men.
The Twilight article made me rage. I read the first one, and it seemed to me less about female desire than the male policing of female desire, which was even more disturbing than the sparkly vampires. Bella had no agency. She had desires, which I suppose is a step forward from "lie back and think of England," but those desires were entirely regulated by the men in her life.
And I don't think a story has to have "strong" female characters (where the value of "strong" is empowerment of the ass-kicking variety); one can write a feminist story where a woman is at the mercy of patriarchal men, as long as I get a sense from the author that she doesn't consider that to be a good thing. I got the opposite from Twilight.
The question of what to do with canon female characters in slash fanfic is also a fun one, because I don't think that fic authors get to dodge that one, even if what one is writing is solely for the purpose of turning yourself/others on. (The out of, "well, the female characters aren't well-written" isn't an excuse either.) I'm equally annoyed by the female half of the canon couple being "Oh my boyfriend's gay now? Yay, I will dance at his gay wedding!" as I am by her suddenly becoming a relentless homophobic caricature. For me, feminist fanfic, slash or otherwise, has to take the idea of the radical notion that women are people and apply it.
no subject
But then there's all the other stuff—the bash-the-female-characters fic (I'm glaring at you, Torchwood fandom), the Yenta Sues, the "feminization" of male characters that reproduces the same fucked-up dynamic that we're all happy to criticize in het fic. And to some degree, the fetishization of gay men.
The Twilight article made me rage. I read the first one, and it seemed to me less about female desire than the male policing of female desire, which was even more disturbing than the sparkly vampires. Bella had no agency. She had desires, which I suppose is a step forward from "lie back and think of England," but those desires were entirely regulated by the men in her life.
And I don't think a story has to have "strong" female characters (where the value of "strong" is empowerment of the ass-kicking variety); one can write a feminist story where a woman is at the mercy of patriarchal men, as long as I get a sense from the author that she doesn't consider that to be a good thing. I got the opposite from Twilight.
The question of what to do with canon female characters in slash fanfic is also a fun one, because I don't think that fic authors get to dodge that one, even if what one is writing is solely for the purpose of turning yourself/others on. (The out of, "well, the female characters aren't well-written" isn't an excuse either.) I'm equally annoyed by the female half of the canon couple being "Oh my boyfriend's gay now? Yay, I will dance at his gay wedding!" as I am by her suddenly becoming a relentless homophobic caricature. For me, feminist fanfic, slash or otherwise, has to take the idea of the radical notion that women are people and apply it.
Actually, wait, that goes for all fiction.