Feel the Need to rant
Apr. 6th, 2003 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amezriI've been noticing a disturbing lemming trend in fandom of late. Nothing too specific, but basically it goes as thus: someone comes up with a snarky, brilliant idea and everyone proceeds to bite it. It wouldn't be so bad if the ideas were improved upon, but more than not, it ruins the joke and it just becomes stupid.
Smooshing pairing labels together? Okay, a couple of them are cute (Orlijah being one that works) but for the most part they are frelling obnoxious. I will refer to Spike/Buffy as Spuffy only because I see it as derogatory term since I hate that pairing. And can we talk about whatever they're calling Buffy/Wood? Bood, Wuffy, whatever. Wes/Faith is what... Fes? Waith? It's dumb people. Dumb.
Also: if it is canon, it is not slash. Slash is a non-canonical same-sex relationship. If your fandom has a gay or lesbian couple, it cannot slash itself! >_<
This "my fandom" thing is just the latest I've seen. I admit it, I thought it was pretty funny at first, like the first 20 times I saw it. There are definitely some really brill icons sets and some great lines. But for every good one there is a truck load of shit. And thus I present:
Do with it what you will. I just felt the need for snark of my own. Want to flame me? There's a convenient comment link.
Smooshing pairing labels together? Okay, a couple of them are cute (Orlijah being one that works) but for the most part they are frelling obnoxious. I will refer to Spike/Buffy as Spuffy only because I see it as derogatory term since I hate that pairing. And can we talk about whatever they're calling Buffy/Wood? Bood, Wuffy, whatever. Wes/Faith is what... Fes? Waith? It's dumb people. Dumb.
Also: if it is canon, it is not slash. Slash is a non-canonical same-sex relationship. If your fandom has a gay or lesbian couple, it cannot slash itself! >_<
This "my fandom" thing is just the latest I've seen. I admit it, I thought it was pretty funny at first, like the first 20 times I saw it. There are definitely some really brill icons sets and some great lines. But for every good one there is a truck load of shit. And thus I present:
Do with it what you will. I just felt the need for snark of my own. Want to flame me? There's a convenient comment link.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Incoming flame...
Date: 2003-04-06 05:28 pm (UTC)I am, unfortunately guilty of using these, mainly because it's quicker type-wise. Plus, people know what you mean. It's a language.
I've seen several really interesting "my fandom" icons. They did start to bother me, however, but I guess like everything else, it'll pass too.
{hands
Care to flame back?
Re: Incoming flame...
Date: 2003-04-07 10:01 pm (UTC)No flames :) *mwah*
Re: Incoming flame...
Date: 2003-04-08 10:10 am (UTC)No, that's just ridiculous. Sometime it just won't work. Like Syd/Vaughn. I'm not a fun of "Spuffy" because it kinda sounds like "fluffy" and Spike/Buffy are anything but that.
I hear ya, and raise it to a new level of stupidity
Date: 2003-04-06 09:29 pm (UTC)Wood + Faith = FOOD
*gouges eyes out*
give me a fuckin' break.
Re: I hear ya, and raise it to a new level of stupidity
Date: 2003-04-07 09:59 pm (UTC)There are no words. *twitch*
Hope you don't mind me chiming in
Date: 2003-04-07 02:37 am (UTC)I could be wrong and I don't have any links to the essays I've read, but I've seen lots of defenders of slash explain that the designation of "slash" is simply to warn people that there is a same-sex relationship. "Slash" isn't meant to indicate unconventional pairings, but to indicate homosexuality.
Now, the meaning might be mutating as fandoms and fanfiction evolve, I can't say. But I've yet to see Willow/Tara not categorised as "slash". My personal view is that slash is fanfic with a focus on a same-sex relationship -- which is not the same as a gen fic that involves the entire Scooby Gang, Willow and Tara included. Again, definitions change over time, I could be wrong.
If I may ask, what would a Willow/Tara fic be categorised as then? It's not het, and if it's more than PG-13, I don't think you can call it gen either. We'd probably have to come up with another term, or discontinue using these designations altogether.
Re: Hope you don't mind me chiming in
Date: 2003-04-07 09:33 am (UTC)I'm a stickler for old tradition and the new mutation irks me, therefore the outburst. Using your example of Willow/Tara, I don't see them as a slash pairing because they're a couple. Labeling them as slash, to me, would be as silly as me refering to my friend and her girlfriend as a slash couple. We don't need to pretend that they're a couple, because they are a couple.
To me, slash has always been a subcategory of unconventional shipping - putting together two people of the same gender who are either not normally or canonically (is that a word?) homosexual.
If I may ask, what would a Willow/Tara fic be categorised as then? It's not het, and if it's more than PG-13, I don't think you can call it gen either. We'd probably have to come up with another term, or discontinue using these designations altogether.
In other fan circles, same-sex pairings were noted as f/f or m/f, and sometimes people even noted m/f - this was before slash became a well established label for fics. I think a notation of such should be put back into use, if it isn't still.
Again, these are just my opinions and a vile gut reaction to some of the things going on within fandom that have gotten a bit muddled and strange and sadly, sometimes very teeniebopper. You are very much free to have your own opinion and argue it with me :)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 05:24 pm (UTC)Hm. After doing a bit of research, I will conceed that since I have been involved with fanfic/fandom online (1995), the word slash has mutated to include all same-sex pairings.
Actually, maybe the word "slash" has mutated back to mean all same-sex pairings. I know in the Star Trek fandom, when they first began putting together 'zines 35+ years ago, the word "slash" was first coined because of the punctuation mark between "Kirk/Spock". It then grew to indicate same-sex pairings in general.
To me, slash has always been a subcategory of unconventional shipping - putting together two people of the same gender who are either not normally or canonically (is that a word?) homosexual. Yes, canonically is a word :)
Maybe over time slash expanded to include all non-canon or unconventional pairings, but I think the original meaning when first coined by K/S shippers was for same-sex pairings. It was a warning label for Star Trek fans who didn't like homosexuality in fanfic/fanart/etc.
But maybe the best way to avoid confusion is to use m/m, f/f, m/f, etc. designations. Slash may no longer be sufficient or accurate as a warning label.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-07 05:45 pm (UTC)You weren't being argumentative :) I'm very interested in other people's opinions, provided they don't take the "I'm right and you're wrong nyah-nyah" approach, which you didn't. Also, I can admit when I'm wrong, so.. yeah. ^_^
Actually, maybe the word "slash" has mutated back to mean all same-sex pairings.
Hm. This is true. I'd almost forgotten about K/S. Of course, K/S is noncanonical ^_~
Slash may no longer be sufficient or accurate as a warning label.
Especially when the line is all blurry. :D
Re: Hope you don't mind me chiming in
Date: 2003-04-07 09:37 am (UTC)Re: Hope you don't mind me chiming in
Date: 2003-04-07 05:28 pm (UTC)Re: Hope you don't mind me chiming in
Date: 2003-04-07 05:49 pm (UTC)Oh, and welcome to livejournal ^__^
Amen.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-08 02:35 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-04-08 03:48 pm (UTC)