On Labeling Slash Fiction

[slumber]

Just, randomly, and I guess this issue's been run to the ground before, but is it dishonest and offensive to place a slash and drama fic under a Drama category if a Slash category is available, even if the fic is mostly Drama?

How many people find it offensive, exactly, considering I never even thought of it before? I mean, I think that generally, the HP fandom has a to-each-his-own philosophy when it comes to things we don't like (except ships, but dude, I thought we've transcended the het-versus-slash debate AGES ago, or is that just because of the people I'm friends with?), but apparently there are people who think differently.

It might just be me, but I think I find it offensive that people think any sort of fic needs to be labeled slash at all, or even just when it isn't the main classification for the fic, or rated higher than PG, especially if it isn't.

Or, I don't know. When there are Slash categories in archive sites, does this automatically mean that everything else is Non-slash? Isn't that a little, I don't know, unfair? If I'd known the archive was Mostly Leaning to Het, I wouldn't have joined because I don't usually write het--why do some people feel the need to be warned for Mostly Slash sites, but then never warn for Mostly Het sites?

Comments

[fallenravie.livejournal.com]

Personally, I find the fact that there's even a need to label things slash at all quite irritating. There's the issue of visibility for your fic, but it honestly annoys me. If a fic is comedy, label it comedy. The pairing makes no difference because we're speaking of content not... sexual orientation. I'm saddened by the fact that even fic-writers, those who claim to be so outside the bounds of society, continue the game of labeling things according to the characters we choose to mold. Maybe it's just me, but I think there are much better ways to categorize things.

[longsunday.livejournal.com]

i think the whole Labelling Slash thing goes back to the tricky issue of homosexuality/hetersexuality as a whole. because, In Life, heterosexual is seen as the default, right? (i'm skimming over this, because eek! tread carefully) so thus in fiction, het is seen as default. hence slash being labelled as such, hence people's really annoying habit of introducing themselves at social gatherings with hello, i'm x. i'm gay when really all you want to know is their name and where they got that sweet sparkly cocktail.

the whole thing is annoying, really. when it stops happening, that's when you know soceity has finally got over the sexuality Issue. :P i wouldn't say i'm offended by it, though - i think that's taking it a bit far, being offended by what people have basically been brought up to assume is the right way of going about things, you know? we should just be sneaky, and stop putting slash warnings on stuff (which i don't anyway) - unless it's like, NC17 or something, because even het warns when there's porn. XD

so. um. i didn't ramble. *cough*

[creativeslumber.livejournal.com]

Bleh the labels, but I guess somehow I can't contest the default sexuality in HP. As much as slash is evident in HPland, het is too, but I think we can't really choose which is more dominant. I just wish I could not be taken by surprise anymore when people go OMG YOU DIDN'T PUT THIS IN SLASH BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE ALL THE EVIL FICS GOOOOOO, even though I did give the ship.

But actually, I'm pretty pleased with HP fandom. It's the farthest I've seen a fandom be unbiased in het and slash.

[spinadrift.livejournal.com]

Generally, I label things as slash or saffic just because I don't want to get the "eww ur gross" type of responses. That way, if somebody thinks homosexuality is an abberation or whatever (though my experiences in fandom have shown that 95% of people are pretty open-minded), they have an ideaof what's involved and they can either steer clear or get a "you read the warning, now piss off".

I think the main reason for labelling things for anything is that it lets sensitive readers know if there's "questionable" material inside -- and to some people, slash and saffic are definitely questionable, or they just don't enjoy reading it. That doesn't really bother me, mostly, because as long as they stick to their narrow-minded little worlds I'm happy to be completely ghey in mine.

(And you know, I was just thinking last night of all the weird double-standards there are for het and slash -- namely, how people get rabid and weird if you say you don't like reading saffic or slash and accuse you of being a homophobe, whereas if you say you dislike het, there are legions of people just waiting to leap in and agree with you. And, like you said, the way that slash needs to be labelled but het doesn't. Little things like that irritate me to no end, because everything in fandom is down to personal taste so all bases should ideally be covered.)

[thethirdbar.livejournal.com]

You are so wise. *In awe of your wiseosity*