So, slashers be debatin'! I have several m/m otps, but I identify primarily as a (queer, female) ladycentric fan. My original reactionary position was to vigorously defend het, but the truth is I like femslash just as much. And... that's actually all I have to say about that, because five years ago I had & expressed so much vitriol on the topic, and it took so long for me to get into a relatively healthy headspace about it, that I basically don't ever wish to rehash any of it unless truly new things are being said. Which, while I appreciate this and this and this, they are not.

Which is not to say that I'm not still furious, but my fundamental approach to this issue has changed. Before it filters down to slashers ignoring female characters, there is a fandom structure that enables that. Before fandom structures are constructed, there is a media structure that presents, by and large, stories about men. And when there are women, they tend to be surrounded by men (TOS, Star Wars, Veronica Mars, The Office, 30 Rock, Fringe, and many more). And when there are multiple major women, they tend to interact more with dudes than each other (various Star Treks, the works of Sorkin, large chunks of the Jossverse, the first half of Battlestar Galactica, much of How I Met Your Mother, the most recent season of Mad Men).

Which is also not to say that these stories - I love or have loved every one listed - are bad. Or that they are unfeminist - some are, some aren't. (I would be happy to discuss that.) Or that shows which do feature women don't perpetuate harm in other ways. (That too.) It is only to say: I am watching.

So I try to write interesting fic about women. I founded a community that draws attention to women in a male-dominated franchise, and hope to encourage fans used to writing and reading about men to devote some time to women; hope to impress upon them that there is an audience. More and more I find myself refusing to engage with media that I think will mistreat women. More and more I find myself actively trying to "vote with my dollars" in regard to cinema and buying DVDs and watching TV on sites where it will be counted. And more and more I find myself seeking out the stories that are not just about the woman in the sea of males, but the ones with strong female relationships*.

Because it's what I can do.

Because there IS an audience (the kind that both rejects what is harmful and embraces what will give us room to grow).

Because I want the world to know that.


*currently: Big Love, Make It or Break It, The Vampire Diaries, Skins, Community, Parks and Recreation, Legend of the Seeker.

recently: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

foreverly: Xena: Warrior Princess. I didn't realize how gaping a hole this was in my fictional life until I rewatched XWP this summer and found that not only is the show very much a six-season love story between two women, but most of the secondary relationships and driving storylines are between women too. All of the Amazons, particularly Ephiny, Velasca, and Amarice. Lilia. Cyrene. Callisto. Hope. Cleopatra. Lao Ma. Aphrodite. Alti. Najara. Athena (who totally has a girlfriend, btw). Eve. The Valkyries. Even Xena's horse, Argo, is (after some early gender confusion) a girl. It's like every show you've ever seen where men drive all or most of the action and it seems perfectly natural UNTIL YOU REALIZE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.