Slash rant

[dangermousie]

I hate the main idea of slash. I really do.

Nope, not homophobic. I exclude from my loathing of slash stories about same sex couples where it is merely continuing canon. All the fic in the world writing about Renault's Alexander and Hephaistion, or the two female leads of Deepa Mehta's "Fire" or even something where you could concievably read in a lover's relationship (e.g. Sirius and Remus. I don't see it, but I can see how one would) does not bother me one whit.

I mean all these stories where there is NO indication the canon characters are anything other than straight (and/or violently hate each other). Aragorn has faithfully loved Arwen for 60 years? Too bad, as in fanfic he is paired with Legolas. Harry Potter likes girls? Too bad. In fanfic he is Draco Malfoy's love slave (even though there is nothing redeemable about Draco in canon and the boys loathe each other. Harry/Neville would even be more plausible). Anakin is obsessive about Padme, and went to the Dark Side for her? But what do you know, fanon Anakin is too busy boinking Obi-Wan to care. Apparently, so many men are gay that it's amazing that the human race is managing to reproduce at all.

Basically, I find the notion that one cannot be really good friends (or even have a strong emotion like hatred) with a person of the same gender without wanting their naughty bits in one's mouth utterly revolting and a horrible (not to mention oversexed) view of the human nature.

I am very close to my best friend, who is female. We have been friends for almost a decade, talk on the phone every day, and share a hive mind on a lot of books, movies and other minutia. We help each other through problems and are hopefully there for each other. Yet, somehow we managed to avoid an unbridled lesbian orgy. I certainly don't think men are any different.

Hey, teenybopper girls who revel in slash between characters whose only claim to slashiness is that they are friends. How would you feel if everyone assumed you had sex with all your girlfriends merely because you hung out with them and were good friends? See? Absurd.

/rant

Flame away.

Comments

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Hehe. :-) I'll spare you a lecture on how
a) sometimes slash is a quasi-feminist/gay conscious subversion and a queering of pop culture into your own (underrepresented) worldview and a reclamation of power
b)er, I forgot what B was.

Teenybopper slash, now... Eh. It's not like the het these girls write (MarySues) is any better.

I think what you are is a canon nazi! :-D (And in most ways, so am I.)

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Or, in other words, I think what you mean is that you like your fic to be well-written and either canon-supported, or plausibly-developed.

Whether it be slash or het, etc. Because Aragorn going for a random hobbit girl would make you just as annoyed, right?

[daygloparker.livejournal.com]

This is a driveby random comment to say YES! someone else who AGREES with me! We must band together and form a gang.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

We shall be known as The S.L.A.S.H.E.R.S. ( Slash Loathing, Arrogant, Sinister, Highly Exclusive and Right Society)

Slash Apologia

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

I think it depends how you look at fanfiction's relationship to the canon. All the stories of yours that I've read involve canon pairings, or interpolations of thoughts, or stuff that is well-suggested by the canon. Everyone comes to fanfic for different reasons.

But I think one of the interesting dimensions of fanfiction is exploring another way things could have gone. I read a brilliant LotR fic where Aragorn turned evil and took the ring. Obviously, this did not and could not have happened in the canon, but it was an amazing AU, that brought a deeper meaning to LotR for me, because it revealed the true power of the ring.

So, I kind of like that aspect of slash sometimes, of showing a different possiblity.

And even though it is all over the place online, the idea of women creating their own fantasies and dare-I-say-it porn is still kind of transgressive. I don't think a lot of slash writers are trying to say "this is how it happened", but more, this is how it could have happened and wouldn't it be cool if it did.

Hey, teenybopper girls who revel in slash between characters whose only claim to slashiness is that they are friends. How would you feel if everyone assumed you had sex with all your girlfriends merely because you hung out with them and were good friends? See? Absurd.

Unfortunately, I know a large number of annoying men who think just that about me and my girlfriends.

Another reason for the genesis of slash is that people wanted their favorite characters to be in romantic relationships with equals, and they saw no women who fit the description, since they were busy fainting and needing rescuing, so they put the character with a man.

I think that quality is sacrificed when EVERYONE is gay--I can't enjoy slash unless there is a lot of canon subtext, and it's not like everyone in Hogwarts is just banging merrily, so I agree that part of it bugs.

Re: Slash Apologia

[katranna.livejournal.com]

I think I've told her all that. :-D

>>Obviously, this did not and could not have happened in the canon, but it was an amazing AU, that brought a deeper meaning to LotR for me, because it revealed the true power of the ring.

But you, too, like plausibility in canon, I think?

I mean, I'm imagining that the Aragorn thing was well-developed; he didn't just snatch it away suddenly, yes?

Re: Slash Apologia

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, but for most people, sexual orientation is not a matter of a "different interpetation." Unless you are bisexual, you are not going to wake up next to a man and say "I think I want to fall for a girl next" and after a few weeks of it, switch back.

There is a difference between AU and out-of-character. The Ring can tempt anyone (and does). In the movie at least, Aragorn is clearly tempted. I could see having a plausible AU where he slowly gets seduced by the Ring and goes evil. It is quite different to have him switch sexual orientation. Most people don't just flip theirs on/off at will. It strikes me just as OOC for Aragorn to fancy a man as if there was a fanfic that portrayed Aragorn as evil from childhood.

this is how it could have happened and wouldn't it be cool if it did.

I am (as katranna correctly pointed out) a canon Nazi. But I can buy AU as long as it's logical. However, when it goes explicitly against the original author's writing and/or world-view, it gets truly problematic. To leave slash out of the picture, I would find it really annoying to read a Potter fic where Draco is a misunderstood sweet thing, Potter is a bully, and Voldemort is right about Muggle-elimination.

I know a large number of annoying men who think just that about me and my girlfriends.

Well, then their minds are just as much in the gutter as the teenybopper slashers'. I still think both are ridiculous.

the idea of women creating their own fantasies and dare-I-say-it porn is still kind of transgressive

I suppose. I happen not to care for NC-17 fic myself, whether slash, het, conon or not, because I like to keep private things private, but whatever rocks the author's boat. However, one can write plenty of het and slash NC-17 explicitness without completely subverting the original story. Heck, all the LOTR slashers are welcome to play with the Silmarillion as there is a lot more plausible slashy stuff there than in LOTR.

But it's the underlying assumption that there is no such thing as friendship. Only lust, that bugs me. It's the same way as if someone started writing Chiana/Crichton fanfic based on nothing more but the fact they are really great friends, despite the indubitable Crichton/Aeryn. Not everything is about sex, after all.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

No flames, I've posted several similar rants.

How would you feel if everyone assumed you had sex with all your girlfriends merely because you hung out with them and were good friends?

Aren't the fundies doing that to us right now? Because many of the anti-same sex marriage laws say you can't have any of the "incidents of marriage" - including power of attorney, medical authority, or any other form of legal partnership with someone BECAUSE OMG TEH GAY!!!! YOU ONLY WANT THAT BEKUZ YOU'RE HAVING SEX YOU DIRTY HOMOS! YOUR GOING TO HELL!!!1111eleventyone!!!!!!

Uh, no. It's perfectly possible to want to form a business partnership with someone without banging them.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Uh, no. It's perfectly possible to want to form a business partnership with someone without banging them.

Exactly. That is a a bit OT, but I find the paranoia ridiculous. If I was single and rooming with a really good friend and had no other family, it would be a convenient thing to have.

[leolandria.livejournal.com]

I personally find Obi-Wan and Anakin to be an icky pairing, anyway.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes. Not only dramatically uncanon, there is the whole rather incestuous air about it.

Btw, icon? To die for.

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

Nope, no flames from me, either.

In general, I find slash squicky. But there are good slash fics out there. Not a one of the good ones, though, pulls things out of thin air. They all have a patina of plausibility about them. Of course, the only ones I've finished reading were written by someone who has a clue how to write, and, for that matter, doesn't portray the otherwise canonically straight characters as gay.

Does that make sense?

What really freaks me out is this stuff I've been seeing on crack_van with real people slashed, not just fictional characters. I just can't fathom that. O_o

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Why squicky? :-P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

has a clue how to write, and, for that matter, doesn't portray the otherwise canonically straight characters as gay.


Oh yes, that makes perfect sense.

real people slashed, not just fictional characters

I find real people stories (slash, het, gen what not) really disgusting, frightening and WRONG.

[meyerlemon.livejournal.com]

No, but, see, it only works that way for MEN. Women can be just friends. That's fine. But men who like each other, you KNOW there's a blowjob in there somehow.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

ROFL.

Yes, I would think that if there is so much slash out there, there should be as much femmeslash as well. You know, if Harry and Draco could be doing the deed even though they loathe each other, then Hermione and Ginny simply must be getting it on because they like each other. But no...femmeslash is far and few between.

This is the inverse version of those salacious paintings of lesbians done in 19th century for rich male patrons.

Btw, just as I am confused about what makes two lesbians attractive to a man (hey, they are lesbians. They don't want you!) I am confused about what makes slash appealing to women.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

I wear my slash goggles proudly. I blame Buffy-dom.

There are pairings I cannot see (90% of HP slash fits here, Sirius/Remus being the lone exception, most LotR) and pairings that leap out and grab me by the throat. (Kirk/Spock, Starsky/Hutch, etc)

I like there to be at least some subtext (a couple of once-overs and a prolonged eye-fuck are fine, lots of touching and constant space-invasion are better), and some ambiguity about orientation in the canon texts. Starsky and Hutch buy a house together, canonically. (My dad may have shared houses with single male friends, but they RENTED)

I believe in bisexuality, and the way you can go for years not knowing until bammo! you fall in love with someone who is of the same sex. This is, however, more common in women than men.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I have no problem with slash that is canon-based (and by that I don't mean the two people will confess their love in front of a band of witnesses). Heck, even if the characters haven't been attached to anyone else and there is no hint about their preference (e.g. Sirius, Remus) then fine. It's the slash of really straight characters that annoys me. That, and the implied in the above, sexualization of friendship. I.e whole "my proof they are a couple? Well, why else would they hang out." But then, HP fandom is the lovely place that came up with twincest.

I believe in bisexuality, and the way you can go for years not knowing until bammo! you fall in love with someone who is of the same sex.

Well, yes, obviously bisexuality is real. But statistically speaking, it's a small percentage of the population. However, according to fanfic, it would appear that 90% of men are bisexual which is just plain dumb.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I don't know. Your argument sounds to me like you are mainly objecting to stupid/unfounded pairings. With that I completly agree. To me Draco/Harry is just as annoying as lets say Hermoine/Dumbledore.

It's not the fact that it's a homosexual relationship that makes unrealistic, it's the character set up.

I always object when a canonically strong relationship is just ignored for the sake of the author's prefered pairing. I don't really care if an author pretends that Clark never actually liked Lana because they want to write Clark/Lex or Clark/Chloe. Or, a main characters wife and kids miraculously disappear for he/she can have hot monkey sex with various other characters. Whether a het pairing or a slash pairing is the intended outcome doesn't matter, what matters to me is that they are going about it the wrong way. It's the same amount of annoying to me, not because I like the ignored pairing, but rather because I find it disrespectful to the characters motivations.

In Harry Potter all kinds of over the map pairings are rampant. It shows that all kinds of relationships are being sexualized, not just same sex relationships. If you take Hermoine/Hagrid or Ginny/Snape, the basic complaint is the same and it has nothing to do with slash. People shouldn't write pairings that make little sense, canonically, especially not without a huge amount of thinking.

That said, I think that a good writer with a long enough build up (and with a big enough universe) could make just about EVERY pairing or generally every situation work. They have to walk us through every step and address all our concerns, and then it just might work.

Still, one issue of mine is that a lot of those unrealistic pairings (slash or otherwise) sometimes feel like a rebellious reaction of people just not liking the presented cannonical pairing. People dislike the designated love interest for whatever reason and therefore look around of who else they could pair their favourite character with. And, especially if we are talking about an action oriented movie, more often then not there aren't a whole lot of interesting female characters to choose from. In fact, there often aren't any other female characters around at all (at least none with a sizable amount of charaterisation;). And of course there's the problem of characters who don't have a cannonical pairing at all. Jack in POTC, Obi Wan, Legolas, characters who are still fan favourites, so people want to see them in pairings.

If there are no canonical females available, there are really only two options, slash or Mary Sues. And slash has the advantage that you have at least some canon background, something familar that you can build things on.

Of course, the biggest stumbling stone is the "But wouldn't it be so much cooler" argument. "Wouldn't it be so much cooler if character X loved character Y instead of character Z" or "Wouldn't it be so much better/healthier if character X loved Y instead of Z". To that I usually can't say much, because it's just a very different understanding of canon and its relation to fanfiction.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Tastes differ. *I* personally like slash only in small doses. In my mind, big time love stories never work for me in slash. Especially because they usually don't gel with canon. Not just if there's a canonincal pairing for either partner, but also, if these characters supposedly have this big larger than life love for each other, wouldn't we have seen more of it during the movie/tv show/book?

For example, one might be able to convince me that Anakin had something with Obi-Wan at one point and even feels torn between his love for Obi-Wan and his love for Padme, oh, only if I had not seen ROTS yet. But how on earth would one explain the events of ROTS if there was a more intimate connection between Anakin/Obi-Wan? It just wouldn't gel with the story, with the reactions of the characters we have been presented, with what they said and did.

Still, in my eyes, there are ways to sidestep canon facts, simply by making the pairings smaller. Not writing about that forever love or the bestest sex ever, but make it smaller. Not "Character X and character Z are screwing their brains out every second, every day.", but "Something happened between X and Z once at some time, somewhere in the past." One sided feelings, friends with benefits, one time encounters in a time of grief can be ways to do a slash pairing without upsetting the canon and the canon relationships too much (also, fantasies, dark stuff like abuse...). But that goes for both uncanonical het and slash pairings. And, no, it doesn't work for every character, but I do think that there's a certain amount of grey zone.

[aliterati.livejournal.com]

(I need to break this into two comments, because I'm longwinded.)

No, I think that what you've said it totally valid. Slash that has no basis in canon whatsoever (even if you squint and turn your head and look the other way a moment) isn't good slash. Nor is slash where the characters are so OOC that you can barely recognize them good slash.

(E.g. Harry as Draco's love slave, or what not. As a dedicated slasher, I hate the idea of giving characters 'slash personalities'--i.e. creating a whole new psychological mold for them to fit a slash relationship. In my head, proper slash is slash where the characters already have a slash personality in the canon. It's seeing that personality that makes me want to read fic in the first place.)

However, I think your rant is ignoring two important points…

A) This might have been covered by some other people, but I'm not certain, so I'll just go for it. Your assessment of 'acceptable' or even 'good' slash is functioning on the idea that slash fiction articulates or explores a relationship already set up in the canon. And your grievance, in this case, is that so many slash authors maintain very loose integrity with the canon. (Ergo your chastisement of them making you a 'canon nazi'--the idea that your interpretation of the canon is right and strict, and that people who deviate too far are inherently wrong.)

But I think you're leaving out another, very valuable version of slash: not exploring something in the original story, but writing your own story. I daresay that the best slash stories I've ever read aren't stories were the author said, 'Oh my god, they are so in love, I must write about it.' Rather, they're the ones where the author said: "The story as Writer X wrote it is really interesting, but mightn’t it be even more interesting if these two characters had a different relationship? What kind of story would we then have? How could we then psychologically reinterpret these scenes, events, etc?'

What I'm basically trying to say is that the best slash--and I think this makes sense--isn't slash where the author tries to address the existing canon. Rather, it's where the author borrows some situational inspiration to create her own canon. A perfect example: For the last few weeks, I've been obsessed with this Firefly story called 'Trauma Medicine.' It's beautiful, it's brilliant, it's slash. It's also--to set your own heart at ease--incredibly in character. Not only does the author not ignore the male characters' female love interests, but she never tries to undermine the hero's love for his female interest, and even devotes whole chapters to building (het) romantic tension between them! In the end, of course, the hero goes with the (non-canonical) male love interest. The author never pretends it's in the original story. Instead, she focuses on building her own story--which is a sophisticated, nuanced, and incredibly compelling exploration of 'trauma' itself and which, through the demands of this theme, necessitates a pairing between those two particular (and incidentally male) characters. And before you ask why she didn't just write her own characters to begin with, I need to say that part of the author's brilliance is her very use of the canonical material--her incredibly thoughtful recontextualization of certain scenes, certain quotations, etc, into the greater tapestry of her own story. She references T.S. Eliot. She references children's songs like Humpty Dumpty. She references Joss Whedon's Firefly. In the end, she creates a brilliant story that--as an added bonus--makes you appreciate each of those three referents all the more.

[aliterati.livejournal.com]

And point (B) is short. You say that the problem with slash is that it isn't based on canon--it's not believable in context of the original story. I've just said that slash doesn't have to try to place itself within the original canon. But a confounding variable is that very well-written slash sometimes makes you recognize the author's recontextualizations in the original story. I'll reference the story above. The author makes a point of saying that her work is an absolute re-imagining of the series. Having seen the show, I don't think that there is actually any slash in it. But her story is so good, so thorough, and so well thought-out that I almost have to place the original show in its context, because it makes so many parts of the show more profound or more logical than they were in the original canon. Nothing against the original show--I'm not saying it's bad or thoughtless. But her work actually makes it better.

And, hey, let's ignore the fact that there is no such thing as canon, that there are no such things as original stories, and that all stories exist only as interpretations. You always end up choosing an interpretation of a work, which you then come to believe in as the 'true' story. I'm choosing the interpretation of 'Trauma Medicine' for my true Firefly because it's actually better than the original interpretation I formed after watching the show. And if even one slash story in a thousand is good enough to do that, I have to love the entire practice.

[minerva-fan.livejournal.com]

I tried to find some reason to be mad at you for this, just to be loyal to femmeslashers, but I have to agree with you for the most part. Much slash/femmeslash out there is completely OOC. (Not mine, of course....:) And that's predominantly because people are writing stories, not to explore characterization, but because they want to see two characters getting it on, no matter what the cost to reality.

As a femmeslash writer, I certainly share your disgust with the way some characters are mangled by fanfic writers to force them into gay/lesbian relationships.

But as a lesbian myself who has known quite a few bisexuals, I do feel it is possible to write characters who are open to both genders in a romantic way without killing characterization. You mentioned there being no indication of a character being gay. What if there is no indication of a character being straight or gay? What makes us imagine that, since nothing has been said, they are automatically straight? Because straight is the predominant culture in our lives. Several of the characters I slash (Laura Roslin, Minerva McGonagall, etc.) have no sexual preference indicated in canon at all. And if I can write a story that shows them as open-minded and bisexual, why shouldn't I, as long as the characterization is right?

I think the biggest problem you've listed in your rant is not slash relationships, per se, but horrifically mangled characterizations by fanfic writers who apparently have never actually read the book/seen the show/watched the movie! And with that, I can totally agree!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

the biggest problem you've listed in your rant is not slash relationships, per se, but horrifically mangled characterizations by fanfic writers who apparently have never actually read the book/seen the show/watched the movie!

Precisely. Which I why I listed Remus/Sirius as a slash ship that (as long as it's well written, of course) does not bother me in the least. There is no indication in canon they are straight, and all sorts of events that one can percieve as "indicators" if one is so inclined, so if the author wants to write a ship fic with them, then I have no problem with it.

What makes us imagine that, since nothing has been said, they are automatically straight? Because straight is the predominant culture in our lives. Several of the characters I slash (Laura Roslin, Minerva McGonagall, etc.) have no sexual preference indicated in canon at all. And if I can write a story that shows them as open-minded and bisexual, why shouldn't I, as long as the characterization is right?

I really enjoyed your "pre-slash" Laura/Starbuck fic, the one from Laura's POV. Because it's true. We know nothing of Laura's (or McGonagall's) sexual preferences. Thus, as long as everything else is IC, whether they prefer men or women will not make them OOC. I think I was rather overbroad in my statement above. Slashing that makes no sense by twisting the characters and making them a couple against canon rules, and for no other reason than "they are pretty" and as your only justification "they are friends" is what makes me see red. If someone writes Sirius/Remus or e.g. McGonagall/Poppy, I have no problem with it whatsoever. I think the slash I have problem with is exemplified by Aragorn/Legolas slash. It is violently anti-canon (as Aragorn is not only straight, he is also madly in love with Arwen in a "mythical, larger-than-life" way, and Legolas like all elves is a bit on the asexual side and a lot of these fics have them humping like bunnies), the only reason they are slashed is because they are "hot" as opposed to anything canon based (heck, slashing Gimli-Legolas makes more sense) and the reason why the author thinks it's OK? Because they are friends. Because, even if everything in canon is against it, the fact that two characters are friends outweighs everything else as sure proof that they are doing it.

[wasabi-girl1.livejournal.com]

I must admit that sometimes I see two characters in a show of the same genders who just seem like they would be a MUCH better couple, or I'll laugh over some suggestive dialogue, but I don't go far enough to make fanfics about them. Ah well, it's just a fad.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Yeah, like I joke about the suggestive scenes between Ram and Ballu in Khalnayak, but I think writing a fanfiction about them would be extremely hard if not impossible. Not just because of the canonical love interest(s), but simply because the story is too tight (it covers a relatively short time span (like a week maybe? And there are hardly any scenes where there would be space for these characters to hook up; Especially with the frame of mind, which would take quite a transition to get from (A) (nudge, nudge dialogue) to (B) actual physical something) to throw in a random couple-scene. It's similar with John and Abhishek's characters in Dhoom.

Just having suggestive dialogues or scenes isn't enough.

We're not all evil.

[ayn-rand-fan-13.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I feel a rant coming on.
I know you're right, and slash is wrong in that way. Still, I can't help myself from slashing people right and left. There is no rational pattern to my thought process, I just pair people if I think they're right for each other. In real life as well as fictional characters, I obsessively pair people up. It's not just slash, it's het as well. I think I've inherited a bit of yenta from my grandmother, because I am constantly shipping people. It's just so fun!
I separate fandom characters from canon. I don't associate them with each other, and as long as what they do is in character or includes plausible character development I am alright with it.
Actually, as an aforementioned teenybobber girl, a lot of guys do kind of assume we're more than just friends. It doesn't really bother me, because hey, I do the same thing to them. I may be kind of overboard with slash, but at least I'm an equal opportunity slasher.
Also, it's not like I'm ever serious. I know what's going on. It's just more fun to live out a delusion.
Wow, never has this icon been more appropriate.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I don't like slash and don't read it. While I have no issue with people who write it or read it, it's my choice not to (I have a lot of friends into yaoi and there's plenty of anime is blatantly shounen ai, so I'm used to it). My main gripe is that it seems to support the macho phobia that any men who are close friends are "queer". Men should be allowed to have close relationships just like women without having that stigma attached to it. Unless someone is in a direct position to know how a relationship works or not, I don't see that they have any place to judge whether they agree with it or not. While a lot of slash writers obviously enjoy slash and writing it, the adamant ones are the ones who bother me. The ones who are there saying "omg tehy are SOOO totally gay because etc." This tends to happen more on forums than anywhere else, but it does get annoying when people trying to shove what they think in your face.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Word. I really do hate the feminization of men in such fics.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Wordy McWord! I loathe slash as a genre and the obsessive need to turn every relationship into a romantic/sexual one is crazy.

On another LJ, I commented on a similar post that slash's appeal lies in a) a superficial "golly, two hot guys getting it on! w00t!" thing and b) on a deeper level, taking one or both manly men from canon and turning them into women. I'm aware there are many more openly gay/lesbian/bi fan fic writers today as opposed to 30 years ago when Trek slash started appearing and certainly, homosexuality has become more "out" there in popular culture over the past 10 years (pun intended). But most of the slash is still between men and most of the slash is written by and read by straight women. And one or both of the men involved, from the few slash stories I've glanced at, are feminized. Not in the sense they wear dresses or something, but in their emotional makeup and thought processes. How else to explain bizarre subgenres like mpregs?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Don't even get me started on mpreg. Because unless it's scifi with an inhuman species that is shown to have males have ability to be pregnant (in canon), hello? Biologically impossible much? No organs for gestation or giving birth, people!

Btw, icon.....*guuuuuuh*

[rowanna73.livejournal.com]

I so agree with you! Either I'm incredibly innocent and stupid or then the world has gone mad. I go for the latter. I couldn't have ever imagined in my wildest dreams that someone would consider for example Frodo's and Sam's relationship any other than pure friendship. Or any other relationships you mentioned. I hate the introduction of slash themes everywhere - I still can't see any slash pairings myself when reading HP or LotR but even the existence of these thoughts has spoiled the pleasure of true meaning of beautiful friendships in those genres.

And I have absolutely nothing against gay. Heck, many of my friends are openly homosexual or bi. But I just wonder what kind of kick does it give to people to write mainly slash about anything that moves. I understand being gay is very fashionable nowadays, at least if we believe in television. I would really like to hear some gay opinions about these stories since I know that they are mainly written and read by young, heterosexual women. Why? Not my cuppa tea, dear.