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This specifically concerns the Power Rangers fandom, but the same idea could be applied elsewhere.
There is an awards site called What a Character which does not accept slash stories. I am proposing a boycott of this site because of that policy, along with other sites with similar policies and various fanfiction.net C2 communities that have ‘no slash’ rules, sometimes in more obnoxious language.
At this point I imagine some of you are scratching your heads or sneering, thinking: “It’s only fanfiction. It’s just the Internet. It’s only personal preference. What’s the big deal? Leave them alone.”
It’s only fanfiction.
True, but fanfiction is pretty important to a lot of people. In Power Rangers especially, many young people are involved in the fanfiction community. What kind of message does it send when anti-gay attitudes are expressed and no one seems to react?
It’s just the Internet.
It’s the Internet, but there’s no ‘just’ about it. People all over the world increasingly depend on the Internet for information, form friendships and join communities online, and are influenced by what they see there. Politicians set up websites for their campaigns. Special interest groups set up websites to reach out to people interested in their ideas. So do hate groups. The Internet affects people’s ideas and attitudes, and therefore affects real life.
It’s only personal preference.
Well, yes, to an extent. What a person wants to read or write or put on their website is entirely up to them. However - in my opinion, as soon as they go out to the community and ask others to nominate stories for awards and to vote on those awards, they go beyond personal preference and take on some degree of responsibility to that community. What is included and excluded at that point becomes an attempt to influence what others read and are rewarded for writing.
There’s another side to this, too. When an awards site supposedly recognizing the best fanfiction written for Power Rangers excludes an important segment of that body of fanfiction, it treats gay relationship-themed stories as either non-existent or unworthy because of their content. It also deprives the fans reading and voting on the nominated fiction of a chance to see many fine stories.
There are good ways and bad ways to express personal preference and personal convictions. There’s also a very popular site called the Ars Amatoria Ranger Romance Themes (a challenge and recommendations site) which will not post links to slash stories. While I’m sure the admin of that site does not mean to do harm, calling it ‘Ranger Romance Themes’ and then quietly excluding gay romance implies that gay romance either does not exist or cannot inspire worthwhile fiction. It’s hard to justify a ‘preference’ that arbitrarily bans an entire set of possible romantic relationships simply because they are same-gender - but if the site policy is truly a preference and not based on homophobia, a positive statement like: “This is meant to be a resource for readers looking for m/f pairings,” perhaps with links to slash-oriented equivalents for those who like slash or both, would be preferable to what’s on there now: an exclusionary ‘no slash’ alongside a ban on an adult/minor relationship, which is an insult in itself. As it stands, the site’s message to gay people of ‘you’re not welcome here’ is obvious.
Ask yourselves: what would happen if someone started an archive, recommendations site, or awards site and put up a rule saying, ‘No stories about Black characters’ or ‘No stories mentioning Christianity’? Would they get to hide behind personal preference then? This situation is no different.
What’s the big deal?
Well, it really is a big deal. Many, probably most, gay and bisexual people already deal with years of slights, jokes, and insults directed at homosexuals, years of being told directly and indirectly that homosexuality is sinful or disgusting, years of rarely or never seeing homosexuals portrayed in mainstream media or fiction as normal people with happy love lives. When people are treated as if they don’t exist, as if what they feel isn’t deserving of acknowledgment, as if they don’t belong in decent society, it’s very damaging to self-esteem. Some studies have indicated that rates of suicide and suicide attempts are significantly higher among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teenagers, although there is no conclusive evidence. Certainly the Internet contains plenty of personal accounts of the self-hatred, rejection, and isolation experienced by many gay teenagers and young adults, for anyone open to reading them.
Things are changing, and slash fanfiction is a sign and a part of that change. It's one of the few areas where gay romance is widely accepted. But - as long as websites and communities banning any and all stories about gay and lesbian relationships feel free to openly declare those policies, and more importantly, as long as those bans are tolerated by other fans, there's still a long way to go. Expressions of homophobia need to be dealt with the same way expressions of racism, sexism, or any other kind of bigotry would be. A couple of fan sites and a few communities may not make much of a difference - but progress most often happens one little step at a time.
Leave them alone.
That’s the idea.
I’m not suggesting angry emails or accusations; that would be rude and do no good. I don’t think Angellwings (the admin of What a Character), Vespera (Ars Amatoria), or most of the owners of various C2 communities are evil or even hate-filled. While they impose policies on their websites and communities that promote bigotry and discrimination, I’m sure they do it because of their principles and I can respect that. I don’t want to argue with them about their beliefs or expect them to change their attitudes or their sites’ rules.
But, if your own principles are opposed to discrimination, you have the right to express your own personal preferences. Don’t go to their websites, don’t submit stories or nominations, don’t vote for awards there; if you want to go further don’t read or review the stories associated with them. If you have a story listed or nominated on one of these sites, send an email politely asking to have it removed.
They’re treating gay people as if they’re invisible; let’s make them invisible too.
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Response:
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I read your proposal on the boycott of sites that do not post slash.
While I find your cause noble, I can not support a boycott of those sites
because after looking at them, their relationship section is solely for
canon couples and canon attractions. While slash fanfictions are popular
and can be very written, no slash relationship as ever been a part of the
canon. Another reason I can not support a boycott is I don't like
romantic/relationship fanfictions. Give me a great well written dramatic
piece, a well paced action piece or a mystery that twists and turns. You
have a very noble cause and I do hope all goes well for you. Good luck
with the campaign.
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Thanks for the good wishes. I'm putting this here so I can clear up the point you raise.
The Ranger Romance Themes, which you refer to, is not for canon couples only. While the Ars Amatoria site contains tribute pages for canon romances and attractions, it also contains a large section for non-canon possible couples. More to the point, the Ranger Romance Themes challenge is for ANY pairing, as long as it's not same-sex. Out of nineteen fics linked from the site, fourteen are for non-canon pairings.
Feedback is always appreciated. Have questions or comments? Contact me!
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