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ahem, THREAD:
for many people of all genders/sexualities, fanfic is way more than smut or something to help get your rocks off.
It can be a way for people to explore their own sexualities or kinks, or to work through trauma, or anxiety, or just to have fun with writing.
for many people of all genders/sexualities, fanfic is way more than smut or something to help get your rocks off.
It can be a way for people to explore their own sexualities or kinks, or to work through trauma, or anxiety, or just to have fun with writing.
i’m of the idea that people should write/read whatever they’re comfortable with - and yes, that includes incest/underage fic even though I personally can’t stand either of those at all.
Specifically on mlm fanfic and fetishising: discussions on this have been going on for decades, since star trek’s kirk/spock in the 60s. It’s a pairing that in fact has been credited for advancing understanding of queerness and fandom as we know it. https://www.themarysue.com/kirk-and-spock-queer-history/
there are many reasons why many women, young women esp, are drawn to mlm fic. one is that for so long, women and girls have been shamed for even expressing that they had sexual desires in the first place.
for many straight girls, who maybe don’t have that much or any sexual experience yet, mlm fic can be a safe space, a way to experience love/sex involving men without all the anxieties and dangers that irl r/ships with men present. Being a girl is fraught and scary, everyone!
for queer girls, same! it can be hard to accept your own queerness but mlm fic is often an easier gateway to opening up those conversations.
Writers are varied - many mlm writers do not solely write mlm. One of my fave fr*r*rd writers also wrote strong poly/straight relationship stories with their wives as equal central characters. seeing diff types of kinks/sexualities represented in FICTION is a good thing!
most women/girls who write mlm do not fetishise gay men. they fetishise a specific pairing(s). know the difference.
I understand that some men/NBs can find it uncomfortable when women go overboard w shipping, and those feelings are perfectly valid.
But the beauty of fanfic/fandom is there’s so much variety. If mlm by straight women bothers you, go find those created by men/NBs instead.
But the beauty of fanfic/fandom is there’s so much variety. If mlm by straight women bothers you, go find those created by men/NBs instead.
Search them out! Support them! But don’t shame or criticise girls and women who find comfort and community in a form so long denied to them.
the other thing is, we almost never see this energy with straight men and boys who watch lesbian porn, which is far more prevalent, depersonalised and harmful in terms of real life consequences.
all that said, that doesn’t mean that shipping mlm can’t be harmful at all e.g. harassing the people being shipped. that’s never cool, and I cringe every time I see one of you do it in F/G’s replies.
Another thing to note: in LGBT publishing, there has been a valid concern that there are way more women writing mlm than there are queer men. if you’re a woman writing mlm fic and is looking to go pro, please bear that in mind and be wary of taking up space that isn’t yours.
And that’s all my thoughts on mlm fics, fandom and fetishising!
It’s a fraught space and we should all learn to understand each other. My main point is: read/write what you like and and don’t bother people who don’t like the same things you do.
It’s a fraught space and we should all learn to understand each other. My main point is: read/write what you like and and don’t bother people who don’t like the same things you do.
