Simsecret Discussion

[strangetomato]

Man, it's been a while since I've been so involved in a discussion in simsecret (about warnings for gay content, and how this contributes to homophobia vs. it being a legitimate warning for the "genre" of slash). I don't always jump into the fray of these debates, but gender and sexuality are the topics where I can't help but suit up and yell, "Okay, let's play ball!" :P Yes, you could say they are my pet isms, in the sense that they are the ones I am mostly tuned in to.

If anyone wants to toss out their two cents (or more) here, we can continue the chat. Feel free to discuss and debate among yourselves. Just keep it clean, folks.

ETA: After using the sports metaphor above, I ended up with Centerfield by John Fogerty in my head. Argh! It's like I'm stuck at a family wedding back home in The Cove (name of hometownvillage has been changed to protect the guilty). :P

And I've added a music suggestion to hopefully lighten the mood (and because my SO has amassed something of a Big Fat Gay Music Collection).

Comments

[profbutters.livejournal.com]

Thanks for starting this rolling!

I think there's a difference in fanfiction, where there are strong "can't stand slash" AND "can't stand gen" contingents. "Gen," "M/M," and "F/F" are categories. An outright warning, to me, is something like "non-con," or "violence."

The Sims 2 is different. I used to write directly on the Exchange. There were things you had to avoid, such as Naughty Words and Implied Nudity. Same-sex relationships weren't one of them.

It's really interesting this came up, because a fellow writer and I just started a locked "slash" comm for a couple of characters. It started as a joke--aka a "crack pairing"--and actually it's taken on a little life of its own. Why are we calling it slash? I'm not sure, unless it's because it only deals with certain characters, it's almost certainly AU, and might confuse our regular readers.

I've noticed that some people can't distinguish between "slash" and "porn" and that is a problem, too.

In my regular story, I've had several same-gender romance story lines. They're all of the same nougaty sweetness as the rest of my story and I ain't gonna "warn" for them, sorry.

I also really strongly object to the way "homosexual content" automatically kicks a TV or a movie into "adult themes" or "mature audiences" and I don't want to play into that.

Hope this was not too teal deer.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm heading out of town for most of the day (Road trip! Sunny day! Woooohooo!), but I hope someone else will join you in this discussion. I will be back later.

And I happen to raise herds of teal deer around here for fun, so "give 'er bickies." (Yeah, I'm still on this dialect kick. Sorry about that. :P)

ETA: Spoke too soon. We have a flat tire. I'm still heading out, but seems like it'll be decidely less fun. *sigh* Wish me luck.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my understanding of the origins of the term slash is that it came from fanfiction where two canonically straight males were portrayed as being sexuallly interested in each other in some form (Oh hai, Spock and Kirk!).

If we're talking about sims, there usually is no "canon" to go against, unless we're talking about the Maxis sims, and even there there are many characters that could easily be more complex than gay vs. straight, even those that are married to the opposite sex (Oh hai, Jason Cleveland!).

I know people use slash now for all gay relationships, but I dislike this usage. I dislike the term in general, but especially for sim stories, with sim sexuality being so mutable. Why categorize sexuality? I'd like to hear one good reason that doesn't involve making people with homophobic leanings more comfortable. I'm still waiting for it.

You said it well with the "slash" vs. "porn" comment. People might require a warning for sexual themes, and especially NSFW material (like the smut I sometimes pander :P), but this is a completely different issue than homosexual content.

(Sorry for all the editing. I kept messing up the wording, and I always press enter too soon.)