things that are gay

[sab]

I'm just being a clearinghouse, for a moment, mostly so I only have one LJ link to Memory. Anyway, here's some stuff from the world:

[open-minded Jews in Portland who aren't gay]
[What, no hellfire? I was promised hellfire!]
[Gay mittens]
[B5 ficathon, um, super-gay]
[device of the future! maybe fantastic! In a sort of post-apocalyptic Big Brotheresque way. Or, maybe gay.]

That being said, I have another question. To the righties on my Trusted list, or, rather, the Righties whose opinions I trust:

Do you -- or any conservative-types in fandom you know -- have you, hm. The question is, do you know anyone who's comfortable with slash, writing it/reading it, while not comfortable with homosexuality as a practice in her real life? Someone who could write about Duncan and Methos getting it on, but who'd be squicked if she learned she had a gay friend?

Additionally -- how does this hold over for gay marriage? pene enlightened me on the subject once when, in her more Christian days (G, *g*), she commented that she "believed in" homosexuals ('cause, duh, there they are), but she didn't support pre-marital sex, THEREFORE, the option left to her was to support gay marriage.

Of course, this was before the big gay agenda, perpetuated by the liberal media elite, swept G off her feet with the use of porn and evil temptresses and, um, whiskey, probably, and made G supergay in that insidious way we have of taking otherwise innocent people and gayifying them while they're not looking. Poor unsuspecting pene. *g*

Anyway. I'm wondering how that holds over for conservatives not of the religious bent, wondering -- first, if there IS a set of slash writers who are uncomfortable with homosexuality in the "real world" but not in fiction, then -- why that is, exactly. And just, in general, wondering what people think. Responses from all sides welcomed, please and thank you.

Comments

Anti Gay Slash/femSlash Writers?

[innogen.livejournal.com]

Strange, but hard to say.

Ten years ago Slash was only m/m (f/f was considered amateur) and always seemed to be written by straight married women who worked in libraries (and they had 2.4 kids). (Hee!) Now, it's chic to write femSlash, and Slash is considered a standard in the fanfic community (I guess if *we* are setting the standards--kinda like the Indecency Act of 1996 that said standards and mores are set ~according to the local community~).

Funny how the local community isn't local on the Internet, so everything goes now. The only polite thing to do is to attach the proper warnings to what we write (yeah, I helped write a Slash story with a friend once -- two giggling 24 year olds on spring break, with our laptops, and Babylon 5 boys to play with).

Anyway, now *I* have the degree in Library Science (yeah, figure that! no marriage, no kids) and a good Slash story is really hot once in a while. Do I believe that reading Slash makes you Gay? No. Do I believe that writing Slash makes you Gay? No. But it doesn't preclude the possibility. The reader doesn't need to know about the author; the author doesn't need to know about the reader. As creative writers we explore our fantasies too, and as *Imagineers* we build fantasies and stories for others to explore.

If it's possible you have followed my zigzag logic this far -- I just don't think a writer's business is to comment on politics if clearly contradicting his or her own writing. Writing anti-gay spouts on same-sex marriages, or not tolerating a possible new friend because he/she might be bi or gay--and yet write Slash/femSlash? Huh! A disconnect exists and it's not just between my laptop and the internet; something sure is scrambled.

Before appearing hypocritical--best say nothing at all. Stick to creating and not editorializing. Remember this too, gay means happy, free of burdons, spirit uplifted.

Innogen