Homosexuality in Fanfiction

Homosexuality in fanfiction is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I don’t mean the ongoing, never-ending battle between those who do and those who don’t support slash writing. I mean, I am a slash writer and reader, but that’s not the point. Well, it does lead to the point I suppose. But what this blog is about is the treatment of homosexuality and homosexual relationships in fanfiction. The fanfiction in question is only Mibba stuff because…well, just because.

I understand that a gay romantic relationship would pose a few problems in society as it is. I understand that it would be hard for couples to quickly get acceptance from their friends and family. And I understand that it’s sad to have to fight for the right to be who you are. It must be difficult. I suppose it’s not always difficult. There obviously must be some people in the world who just know themselves and feel comfortable. There obviously must be people who would accept their friends or relatives no matter what their orientation was. But the fact remains, right now, it’s a fight in society. And I get it.

I’ve noticed this reflected quite a bit in the fanfiction on Mibba. I wouldn’t know about original fiction because I haven’t read a lot of original slash. Actually, I’ve never read any original slash. So lately, I’ve noticed the way slash is handled on Mibba. It’s interesting. The main plot of the story mainly revolves around the characters’ acceptance of being gay. The main characters, their friends, their parents. It’s pretty much the author singing that Avenue Q song. The main character sees someone in a bar, or suddenly sees their band mate without a shirt on. It explodes. The character sits and wonders if the object of his affections is gay as well. The reader learns the character’s entire history, about how he never really liked girls in high school, how he’d only ever had one boyfriend and it was a secret. I mean, that’s not the only example, but that’s a pretty common one. The object of affection, the other main character, also turns out to be gay. He has either already coped with this revelation or finds out through his love interest and struggles to find an identity. You know how it goes.

I didn’t realize that I and a lot of other authors had ignored this aspect completely. In all of my slash stories, the characters just happen to be gay. No one cares that Frank is sleeping with Gerard. No one cares that Tre still loves Billie after all these years. They’re famous and they just happen to be gay. No biggie. In one story that a friend is helping me with, Frank has a crush on Gerard and Gerard has a crush on Frank (hahaha let’s all laugh at my lame plotline). They’re all in high school. Ray notices Frank’s feelings. But the conflict is that Gerard does not like Frank. The conflict has nothing to do with Frank’s sexuality. The conflict is that Mikey is jealous of Gerard getting attention from Frank. It doesn’t matter that the love triangle involves three males; the plot is the love triangle!

When a dude goes into a bar and sees an attractive girl, he doesn’t waste energy wondering whether or not she’s straight. He might feel intimidated, nervous, anxious, whatever. But he doesn’t care about her sexuality, unless of course, he asks her out and she replies that she is a lesbian.

At this point, I cannot tell if this is a strength or weakness in my writing. Perhaps I do not fully understand. After all, it’s ridiculous to assume that just because a man is an attractive and talented member of Green Day, he likes men. But it’s equally ridiculous to spend three precious chapters outlining the nature of his sexual orientation. I guess what I’m trying to say is…I wish that more slash authors would focus on the relationship between two human beings rather than try and fill in gaps that come about simply because they are two men.