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Call me kerfuffle!girl...
Aug. 12th, 2005 10:10 am(ETA: I had this locked originally to filter it to the SG half of my flist -- so for you non-SG-interested folks, move along citizen, just a hedge.)
Okay, so... anyone who's heard me talk about the SG Boston Creation Con that happened last month would doubtless have been treated to a mini-rant in the middle of it, on the subject of fans who think it's okay to stand up in a general Q&A and ask an actor what he thinks about slash. UGH. (Also ETA: I just want to mention the fact that this Q&A had a TON of little kids running around in it, some of them asking rather cute questions. Just to provide more context. For the reasons given below, I still think it's inappropriate in any situation, but *especially* in a situation involving small children -- what exactly do you *WANT* an actor to say about slash? What do you *expect* him to say?)
Well, lo and behold, someone posted her con report to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
metagate, and... it's that person! The one who asked the question! Patting herself on the back for doing so, too.
I wrestled with myself, but I am completely unable to just walk on by and not say anything.
On the one hand, I kind of feel like a puppy-kicker. On the other hand, I feel completely justified, because -- no, it's *NOT* all right, and there is no scenario under which anyone could successfully argue to me that it *is* all right. And if nobody ever says that, then people who missed the Clue Bus in the first place will never have a chance to get on it when it comes back around. And yet... I know it is a personal failing of mine, feeling the need to lecture people. I'm also not really thinking it's something that will *actually* do any good. I'd like to *think* that hitting fans like that with a clue-by-four would result in them actually getting the Clue. But how long have I been in fandom now? Long enough to know how much more likely it is that someone I vehemently disagree with can just go and find the inevitable group of people who agree with *her* and are willing to tell her that the person who says that was uncool is just... bitchy, crazy, whatever. Ehn.
But seriously. The more I think about this, the crazier it makes me. I know that on my flist, I'm probably preaching to the choir (though one never quite knows), but... it has nothing to do with believing in the intrinsic worth of slash. It has EVERYthing to do with... dude. Standing up and saying, "Hi, Mr. Shanks! How do you feel about the fact that I have explicit sexual fantasies about your body, and I write them down and post them on the internet? I speculate in detail about the size and shape of your genitalia, as well as that of your professional colleagues; I try to imagine what you would look like while orgasming. What do you think about that?"
Most people *get*, of course, that fanfic is about the characters. That the speculation is about Daniel, not Michael Shanks. But MS can't help it that it's his body that gets used as a template. He didn't ask for that. What the hell is he *supposed* to think? And that doesn't even broach the additional question of the fantasies being same-gender. Like it or not -- that's what's being implied, when a fan asks an actor about slash. In any other context? We would call that sexual harassment. The context of an actor speaking at a convention doesn't really lessen that. Bottom line -- the actors deserve to be able to go to conventions and *NOT* have total strangers ask them to participate in their personal sexual fantasies. It's not "cute", it's not clever, it's not funny. It's intimate and intrusive, and NOBODY in fandom has the kind of relationship with the actors that would make such an inquiry okay. Oy.
*sigh* I'm going to have to go over there and see if there's been any fallout, though. Oh jesus, please, all I ask is that I don't end up starring on Fandom Wank.
Okay, so... anyone who's heard me talk about the SG Boston Creation Con that happened last month would doubtless have been treated to a mini-rant in the middle of it, on the subject of fans who think it's okay to stand up in a general Q&A and ask an actor what he thinks about slash. UGH. (Also ETA: I just want to mention the fact that this Q&A had a TON of little kids running around in it, some of them asking rather cute questions. Just to provide more context. For the reasons given below, I still think it's inappropriate in any situation, but *especially* in a situation involving small children -- what exactly do you *WANT* an actor to say about slash? What do you *expect* him to say?)
Well, lo and behold, someone posted her con report to
metagate, and... it's that person! The one who asked the question! Patting herself on the back for doing so, too.I wrestled with myself, but I am completely unable to just walk on by and not say anything.
On the one hand, I kind of feel like a puppy-kicker. On the other hand, I feel completely justified, because -- no, it's *NOT* all right, and there is no scenario under which anyone could successfully argue to me that it *is* all right. And if nobody ever says that, then people who missed the Clue Bus in the first place will never have a chance to get on it when it comes back around. And yet... I know it is a personal failing of mine, feeling the need to lecture people. I'm also not really thinking it's something that will *actually* do any good. I'd like to *think* that hitting fans like that with a clue-by-four would result in them actually getting the Clue. But how long have I been in fandom now? Long enough to know how much more likely it is that someone I vehemently disagree with can just go and find the inevitable group of people who agree with *her* and are willing to tell her that the person who says that was uncool is just... bitchy, crazy, whatever. Ehn.
But seriously. The more I think about this, the crazier it makes me. I know that on my flist, I'm probably preaching to the choir (though one never quite knows), but... it has nothing to do with believing in the intrinsic worth of slash. It has EVERYthing to do with... dude. Standing up and saying, "Hi, Mr. Shanks! How do you feel about the fact that I have explicit sexual fantasies about your body, and I write them down and post them on the internet? I speculate in detail about the size and shape of your genitalia, as well as that of your professional colleagues; I try to imagine what you would look like while orgasming. What do you think about that?"
Most people *get*, of course, that fanfic is about the characters. That the speculation is about Daniel, not Michael Shanks. But MS can't help it that it's his body that gets used as a template. He didn't ask for that. What the hell is he *supposed* to think? And that doesn't even broach the additional question of the fantasies being same-gender. Like it or not -- that's what's being implied, when a fan asks an actor about slash. In any other context? We would call that sexual harassment. The context of an actor speaking at a convention doesn't really lessen that. Bottom line -- the actors deserve to be able to go to conventions and *NOT* have total strangers ask them to participate in their personal sexual fantasies. It's not "cute", it's not clever, it's not funny. It's intimate and intrusive, and NOBODY in fandom has the kind of relationship with the actors that would make such an inquiry okay. Oy.
*sigh* I'm going to have to go over there and see if there's been any fallout, though. Oh jesus, please, all I ask is that I don't end up starring on Fandom Wank.
