relax, relapse

[asimplechord]

I think I'm missing something. Please to be 'splaining?

J sent me a link to this article this morning with the comment that the author clearly didn't know about slash fanfiction (or websites like Gay Porn for Girls, was my unvoiced thought).

Anyway.

On my lunchbreak I went ahead and read the entire article, and I sorta think I missed something.

Lawson says

I know no women, although they may exist, who find the notion of male homosexual activity erotically exciting.

But then a few paragraphs later on, she says

One thing is true: men's sexual fantasy involves straight women having lesbian sex, which is rather different from imagining them as lesbian. And the truth is that straight women have the same fantasy

Isn't that a contradiction of the first statement? Or am I missing something? Is it that getting turned on by imagining two men having sex not the same as imagining that they are really gay, or at least not completely straight? Because, I don't know, when I watch gay porn or read slash fic, I'm not thinking, "Yeah, they're having sex, but they're not gay, they just love each other or are waiting for the right woman (me) to come along." Generally, my thought processes are more, "Holy hell, that's hot. Losing... brain... function..."

*is confused*

Dude, just as an aside, this whole binary sexuality as a defining personality characteristic irritates me. You might not realize it if you only know me via fandom, but sex, the writing, thinking or having of, doesn't occupy my entire brain or life.

Comments

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Prepare to hear more rambling than you really wanted!

I'm sure there are a variety of reasons for female interest in m/m fiction. For me, there are multiple levels.

First, the shallow. I like boy parts. If one cock is good, two is better. And most of the fanfiction I read or write is about characters that I already find attractive, either physically, intellectually, or emotionally, so the sexual just adds to that. I like the male physique. I think you put your finger on it when you point out the sexual aggression as a turn-on also.

Second, many (although not all, I will admit) of the media fandoms and even book-based fandoms don't contain strong female characters, or if they do, they are not female characters I care to explore in the negative capability way that fanfiction allows. This leaves us with gen-only fic or with slash, even if the slash is subtextual. And seriously, if you look at some tv shows, movies, or books, you can probably find some sort of subtext.

Then there's always the subconscious stuff. When I'm watching or reading porn with two men, there's no I wonder if I could do that, would he like it if I did that, she's got bigger tits and a tighter ass sort of mental commentary and comparison. It's safe from insecurities.

I have been in fandom for, oh, six years, maybe? I started in the Potter world, and have drifted into other fandoms, and when I first found slash I was more willing to read anything, no matter what the topic/content/kink, because it was so novel and different. But as time has gone on, I've sort of found my squicks and kinks and am less likely to read some things that initially I might have given a try just because it was slash. I don't like non-con, I don't like poorly characterized/researched D/s, I don't like true violence, and sometimes I hit the back button. But all in all, I'm happier with slash fanfiction than the proper "romance" or erotic novels I've read.