putting the ick, in ficktion: why slashers hide

[krickets]

Snow day! I have been looking through del.icio.us for slash meta to help me brainstorm for ideas when we talk about why there is so little Battlestar slash in the fandom over at bsg_slashathon. I haven't found much that is particularly useful when it comes to that discussion, but I am finding plenty of other thought-provoking topics.

One is the following entry, The Slash Closet by fairestcat, written about a year and a half ago. While the entry is dated, I don't think the topic is.

In it, she talks about how slashers are a relatively closeted bunch, who tend to hide their fannish activities from the people in their lives. Not only that, but she talks about how it seems like the normal thing to do. The post opens up the floor for discussion as to why that is. Why the secrecy? Why is it seemingly the status quo?

My thoughts:
This may be redundant, but personally, I think it has more to do with fanfic in general than it has to do with the slash. I read and write both het and slash fic, and my family and those close to me don't really know much about either.

Why? Simply put; they just don't get it. I might as well wear dead birds in my hair or start eating live snakes for breakfast or something. I would just get strange looks and a dismissive, "Huh, well isn't that interesting."

-

I don't go to great pains to hide the fact that I participate in fandom. And while I'm not giving most close to me my livejournal address, I'm sure my mother knows I at least read and/or write fic, but beyond that, they don't know very much with some exceptions. While I do show my family and friends my vids on occasion, they just wouldn't understand fan fiction, what it is, that its purpose is, or why I participate in it.

In their eyes, most specifically, my parents, it would be putting my good talent to waste. It's not productive, it doesn't contribute to the household or to society, so it would be seen as pointless and looked down upon. I choose to keep it in the closet so-to-speak, because I don't feel like being belittled for something that is essentially a hobby.

A few of my friends get it, and I do share that part of myself with those select few. Others get the writing aspect and I have reluctantly shared some of my fic with them, but nothing sexually explicit that's over PG-13. Which is for the same reasons that I suspect a guy wouldn't show his mom, or his girlfriend (usually) or his colleagues his playboy collection for the sake of being "open and honest."

-

Now, I'm not equivocating either het fic or slash fic with that sort of pornography. I, personally, don't see it that way in most cases. (Though I can't exactly justify pure PWP in any other way - haha.) But it doesn't matter whether I see it that way or not, because people outside of fandom would see it that way.

(Note: I have to say that if I did have a SO, my fic wouldn't be something I'd want to hide from him at all.)

-

I do feel that it was a bit disheartening to see fannish habits put into the same category as sexuality. As though to say that by hiding the fact that you're a slasher is like hiding who you truly are. Let's say I really really like cooking shows, but since I'm a horrible cook, I don't tell anyone about it, and I only watch them when I'm alone. Would that be put into the same "self-denying/hiding" category?

-

I think worth noting here is Wincest and other incestuous pairings. I have shown my mother my Jawyer vid. (Her response: "I'm sure they would appreciate you making it look like they're gay, KC!") But I don't think I'd ever show her a Wincest vid or a Jawyercita (or Jack/Claire) vid. I feel pretty confident in saying that incest is an entirely different animal, whether the pairing is same-sex or opposite-sex.

-

Another thing I wonder about is perspective. There are people who only slash. There are people who only het. (And probably gen as well, but let's leave them out of it.) And there are people who do both het and slash. I fall into that latter category, so I can comparatively say, that what I share with friends and family isn't effected by whether it's slash or het, it's equal all-around.

So what do you guys think? Do you hide/separate your slash habits from your real life? What do you think that means or doesn't mean? Why? Why not? Etc. etc. blah blah blah, GO!

Poorly constructed indeed! Forget about the poll. I had to do it multiple times and the last time I forgot to include options for people who don't share at all. (The first two times I made it I did though. Rats!)

Comments

[mofic.livejournal.com]

I don't hide, but I don't talk about it with everyone, either. I'm a slasher. Writing and reading slash (and reading other fanfic sometimes, too) is a hobby of mine. If someone asks "What are your hobbies?" I generally mention it. I have published essays about writing it (on advocate.com and in the feminist periodical Off Our Backs). I write about it in my lj, and the url for my lj is in the sig line of all my personal (i.e. non-work) emails, but like this: "mofic.livejournal.com, but it's mostly fannish stuff." I write fanfic under a pseudonym, but put my real name on both my lj info page and my fic archive. So, I'm not hiding.

That said, people are often bored by other people's hobbies. I don't go on and on about fannish things with people who aren't interested. I'm happy to try to explain what I write/read to someone who is interested, and I recognize that it does take some explaining to get across *why* I would want to write stories about mutant superheroes who have sex with each other. I think I have some good reasons, but it's not a common thing people encounter. If they'd like to hear more I will tell them. Some of my friends and family have been interested, some not. I think the same would be true if I collected butterflies or was a bird watcher.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

That said, people are often bored by other people's hobbies.

This is very very true and an interesting point. Maybe the reason we don't talk about it, is not because no one will understand - but because no one will care? Hehehe. And you're definitely right about the explanation not being worth it in most cases.