I've been sort of hesitant to post, but I think part of the problem with the reception of this essay is that there's some 'talking across fandoms', which can really confuse things.
Let me try and explain this, although I already feel like it's going to come out wrong. I see her essay as aimed at a certain subset of fandom that really doesn't think of these things- and unfortunately I think a lot of people to whom she ISN'T speaking are thinking that she's talking about them- and sort of freaking out about being called on the carpet for something that they believe they're already doing.
I also got the impression that she's talking about Harry Potter fandom more than she's discussing Supernatural- although I freely admit I could be wrong. As much as I think there are issues that cut across all of fandom, I think the way those issues ferment (maybe?) is different depending on the source material. Incest fics in SPN are much more likely to be stories about consenting adults- where maybe that isn't the case in Harry Potter (although again, I can't say for sure, and I'm hesitant to put words in her mouth).
I appreciated her essay, because it's something I've been struggling with since this whole strikethrough thing started. On one hand, part of me thinks there is, or should be, a line somewhere about what is acceptable and what isn't in fanfic. But how do you come to a decision about that? Who enforces it? How the hell could we even agree? I'm sure not comfortable telling someone that their chan story is essentially kiddie porn- how can I ask others to? How do you not cross the line into censorship- where the hell is that line, anyway?
Let me put it this way- if Law and Order does a serious episode about kiddie porn and the FCC decides it can't be aired- that's censorship. But if "General Hospital" does a storyline where a 14 year old girl is in a relationship with a 40 year old man- and it's portrayed as healthy and happy- should that be shown? It wouldn't even get to the FCC, because it would never be thought of- it's considered (by our mainstream society) to be completely unacceptable.
Should that kind of thing be considered acceptable in fandom? I think that was more the point of her essay than anything else- I don't think (although I could be wrong) she was talking about the kind of adult incestuous relationships that are seen in fandoms like SPN or Numb3rs.
Please feel free to disagree with me- and I'm sorry for hijacking your journal. I've been really, really struggling with this issue since the whole strikethrough thing happened.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2007-06-08 11:53 am (UTC)Let me try and explain this, although I already feel like it's going to come out wrong. I see her essay as aimed at a certain subset of fandom that really doesn't think of these things- and unfortunately I think a lot of people to whom she ISN'T speaking are thinking that she's talking about them- and sort of freaking out about being called on the carpet for something that they believe they're already doing.
I also got the impression that she's talking about Harry Potter fandom more than she's discussing Supernatural- although I freely admit I could be wrong. As much as I think there are issues that cut across all of fandom, I think the way those issues ferment (maybe?) is different depending on the source material. Incest fics in SPN are much more likely to be stories about consenting adults- where maybe that isn't the case in Harry Potter (although again, I can't say for sure, and I'm hesitant to put words in her mouth).
I appreciated her essay, because it's something I've been struggling with since this whole strikethrough thing started. On one hand, part of me thinks there is, or should be, a line somewhere about what is acceptable and what isn't in fanfic. But how do you come to a decision about that? Who enforces it? How the hell could we even agree? I'm sure not comfortable telling someone that their chan story is essentially kiddie porn- how can I ask others to? How do you not cross the line into censorship- where the hell is that line, anyway?
Let me put it this way- if Law and Order does a serious episode about kiddie porn and the FCC decides it can't be aired- that's censorship. But if "General Hospital" does a storyline where a 14 year old girl is in a relationship with a 40 year old man- and it's portrayed as healthy and happy- should that be shown? It wouldn't even get to the FCC, because it would never be thought of- it's considered (by our mainstream society) to be completely unacceptable.
Should that kind of thing be considered acceptable in fandom? I think that was more the point of her essay than anything else- I don't think (although I could be wrong) she was talking about the kind of adult incestuous relationships that are seen in fandoms like SPN or Numb3rs.
Please feel free to disagree with me- and I'm sorry for hijacking your journal. I've been really, really struggling with this issue since the whole strikethrough thing happened.