Title owes a debt to Gloria Anzaldua.
Slash fiction is not the be-all-and-end-all of subversive, radical restructuring of media.
Slash can be subversive - writing about gay characters in media that is determined to pretend our sexualities can only be Very Special Lessons to Teach Good Straight People? That is subversive, I’m not denying that.
But who are the characters we spend so much time on? Who do slash fans care about? For the most part slash fans focus on white cisgender men, able-bodied and traditionally attractive.
Inception. X-Men First Class. Sherlock. Supernatural. Merlin. Bandom. Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The Avengers. All fandoms with large slash communities where the focus is on white men.
What I am not saying is that white gay folks have a perfectly fine life. What I am saying is that white men are incredibly privileged in our society. White cisgender gay men have less intersections of oppression than queer women, queer men of color, queer women of color, transgender people.
Western fandom is incredibly white. It’s by-and-large dissection and writings and drawings of western media - that is to say, media that focuses a good 90% of the time on white men.
The casting of Lucy Liu as John Watson in “Elementary” is not homophobic. The reaction that HOLY SHIT A WOMAN OF COLOR IS NOT MY WATSON WATSON IS A WHITE MAN is worrying. Why are you assuming Lucy Liu will be playing a love interest? Why are you assuming that this Watson will be a straight woman? Can you not imagine a world where a WOC might be queer? Can you not imagine a world where a woman might no prioritize romance?
As a queer woman and a feminist I have confronted outright misogyny from slashers - people who think that the male characters are just so much better than female characters. People who think slut-shaming women is a great way to pave the way for the True and Pure Love of Two White Men.
I have encountered vile homophobia from slashers - admittedly probably because I’m a woman. My queerness has been deemed less acceptable than men’s queerness. How dare I be a lesbian and be interested in slash fiction.
There’s transphobia and racism that also cannot be swept under the rug by slash fans.
You have to be careful about the media you consume and produce. Don’t assume that everything is fine. Don’t assume that people will want to help you. Don’t assume that being progressive on one issue means anything about other issues.
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