![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sekritomgThere was some arguing on Tumblr and you know me, I love arguing. It's a long thread, or whatever, so start here and read back. A lot of people there have covered all the points I would make really well, but ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
formerdinosaur mentioned that she is sick of seeing the conversation about bottoming and characters who are depicted as bottoming. She's right, it's an old discussion that keeps coming back, over and over again. So quickly, I jotted down a few points that came to mind on the topic, some of which are only loosely related:
It’s been done before. I got into this fandom on Christmas Eve 2007. That is six years ago. Six years. Part of me at all times is like, what the fuck, how did this go on for so long? Another part of me is just like, wow, it’s amazing that I’ve been in this fandom for six years and people are still arguing over the same stuff, namely the top-bottom dynamic between Stan and Kyle. I have heard this conversation so many times. It’s not in any sense the fault of people who keep starting this argument that they don’t realize it’s been had before, but it has. It’s good to acknowledge that this fandom has been around for a while and ask around to see what kinds of responses you get. Many of us have been here for a while, watching the same topics get rehashed over and over again. I would be happy to discuss almost anything, and I’m sure most people would be, too.
Just because something is mainstream doesn’t make it bad. It’s perfectly natural to want to make a trope your own by inverting it or to get sick of the mainstream way things seem to be done. But something being pervasive doesn’t make it wrong. Clichés are often cliché because they reflect some amount of truth. I think if Kyle is so frequently written as a bottom, you might ask why it’s so popular. People have before, but I don’t know that there’s any good answer, and that means the conversation remains relevant. Anyway, taste is personal, but something being cliché or well-tread or done-to-death doesn’t make it bad or wrong in and of itself.
Doing something just to be different isn’t worth much. We’re dealing with fan fiction. Moreover, we’re dealing with fiction. Novelty and rebellion can be qualities of excellent and revolutionary fiction, but there are so many other aspects of writing that are arguably more essential to the creation of a good piece of writing. It’s fine to pursue inversions and subversions of perceived tropes, but you’d better have something else going on in your story or it’s going to be pretty boring and unmemorable.
Characterization is subjective. Within reason, I mean, let me come up with something. … Okay, I think it’s pretty clear that Kyle’s parents aren’t crazy homophobes who’d kick him out of the house for being gay, yet I’ve read that a lot. If I see that, I consider it out-of-character. On the other hand, I’m willing to accept that Kyle’s parents have a range of possible reactions to his coming out, because even in real life people are unpredictable, and viewed somewhat differently by everyone they know. On this show we’re dealing with 17 years of sometimes inconsistent ‘canon.’ So maybe you and I see the same traits in Kyle and ascribe different readings to him based on these similar observations.
Gender roles can be restrictive and conforming to them can make us miserable, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s admirable to think that gender roles are bad, but, listen, they’re not always bad. Not on their own. What’s bad is forcing people to conform to your gender expectations, individually or systemically. Gender roles are one tool people have for defining themselves, and so long as people use them as needed, and not as coerced by a patriarchal society, they’re not inherently harmful. Moreover, you can argue that gender roles are bad and forcing people to conform to them is bad, but that doesn’t mean gender roles don’t exist and a character on South Park won’t identify with some kind of gender expression in a fan fiction.
Some gay men are effeminate. You know what, some men conform to whatever harmful stereotypes we collectively have about gay men. Not all gay men! And a lot of the ones who do are not pervasively butch, or effeminate. Most people are an amalgamation of traits. In some senses, playing out extreme gender roles can be a response to or a subversion of restrictive stereotypes. From one standpoint, effeminacy calls into question what defines manliness. It can be viewed in that way as an act of rebellion, as an effeminate gay man can force those who do believe in conforming to strict gender dichotomies to reassess what is male. Quentin Crisp used his effeminacy as armor, as it forced people to confront his difference. (ETA: I had a line here about post-1980s butch aesthetics as a response to AIDS and it disappeared. Hello, where'd it go?) It’s not like the gay community isn’t accutely aware of and in many cases ready to embrace gender roles.
But, look, when you say you are not a fan of gay men in fan fiction conforming to gender roles, you probably mean you are not into reading about femmey men. Some might argue that condemning effeminacy and valuing it to be of lower status than butchness is a kind of sexism, for it sees traditionally female roles as lesser than male ones. This isn’t a new point. People have been making this point in SP fan fic for a long, long time, alongside the people who have been arguing that SP fan fic is sexist and Wendy is devalued by Stan/Kyle shippers who hate her. And that Bebe isn’t a slut. And that Cartman is fat so stop writing and drawing skinny!Cartman. If you are going to make these gripes, consider constructing them around actual evidence from the show and/or fandom so that alongside your passion there is some actual (meta)textual substance to digest. Remember when we called this shit “meta”? Me neither.
In conclusion, fiction tells truths. People write fiction because it’s escapist and amusing, but we also enjoy it for its truths. The fact is that there are some femmey gay men who like to bottom, and that doesn’t make them weak or girly. And even if it does, so what? Weakness isn’t always a fault. To call girliness an inferior quality is to be sexist. I genuinely believe that everyone in this fandom has their heart in the right place, and that we all love these characters and at least tolerate the show. The thing that makes anything in life interesting, but fandom especially, is a multiplicity of readings, ideas, and ways of expressing truths. Some of these truths are universal and some are personal. An author writing a story with bitchy Kyle wanting to bottom and having some femmey traits is what some of us want to read because it reflects some aspect of how we see Kyle and how we value ourselves in relation to gender roles. There are also a number of fics where Stan bottoms, and while I don’t really see him that way it doesn’t mean there’s no value in that presentation. It’s just something different.
In fandom, the best way to get what you want is to write it yourself. This advice is cliché, but it’s cliché because it’s true. If you write enough of it or you write it well enough or you just make friends who want you to be happy and stick around, others will follow. If you’re frustrated that no one’s writing enough of what you want to see, the best way to start a conversation about it is to openly ask why. None of this is new or groundbreaking, but that doesn’t make it any less legitimate.
formerdinosaur mentioned that she is sick of seeing the conversation about bottoming and characters who are depicted as bottoming. She's right, it's an old discussion that keeps coming back, over and over again. So quickly, I jotted down a few points that came to mind on the topic, some of which are only loosely related:It’s been done before. I got into this fandom on Christmas Eve 2007. That is six years ago. Six years. Part of me at all times is like, what the fuck, how did this go on for so long? Another part of me is just like, wow, it’s amazing that I’ve been in this fandom for six years and people are still arguing over the same stuff, namely the top-bottom dynamic between Stan and Kyle. I have heard this conversation so many times. It’s not in any sense the fault of people who keep starting this argument that they don’t realize it’s been had before, but it has. It’s good to acknowledge that this fandom has been around for a while and ask around to see what kinds of responses you get. Many of us have been here for a while, watching the same topics get rehashed over and over again. I would be happy to discuss almost anything, and I’m sure most people would be, too.
Just because something is mainstream doesn’t make it bad. It’s perfectly natural to want to make a trope your own by inverting it or to get sick of the mainstream way things seem to be done. But something being pervasive doesn’t make it wrong. Clichés are often cliché because they reflect some amount of truth. I think if Kyle is so frequently written as a bottom, you might ask why it’s so popular. People have before, but I don’t know that there’s any good answer, and that means the conversation remains relevant. Anyway, taste is personal, but something being cliché or well-tread or done-to-death doesn’t make it bad or wrong in and of itself.
Doing something just to be different isn’t worth much. We’re dealing with fan fiction. Moreover, we’re dealing with fiction. Novelty and rebellion can be qualities of excellent and revolutionary fiction, but there are so many other aspects of writing that are arguably more essential to the creation of a good piece of writing. It’s fine to pursue inversions and subversions of perceived tropes, but you’d better have something else going on in your story or it’s going to be pretty boring and unmemorable.
Characterization is subjective. Within reason, I mean, let me come up with something. … Okay, I think it’s pretty clear that Kyle’s parents aren’t crazy homophobes who’d kick him out of the house for being gay, yet I’ve read that a lot. If I see that, I consider it out-of-character. On the other hand, I’m willing to accept that Kyle’s parents have a range of possible reactions to his coming out, because even in real life people are unpredictable, and viewed somewhat differently by everyone they know. On this show we’re dealing with 17 years of sometimes inconsistent ‘canon.’ So maybe you and I see the same traits in Kyle and ascribe different readings to him based on these similar observations.
Gender roles can be restrictive and conforming to them can make us miserable, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s admirable to think that gender roles are bad, but, listen, they’re not always bad. Not on their own. What’s bad is forcing people to conform to your gender expectations, individually or systemically. Gender roles are one tool people have for defining themselves, and so long as people use them as needed, and not as coerced by a patriarchal society, they’re not inherently harmful. Moreover, you can argue that gender roles are bad and forcing people to conform to them is bad, but that doesn’t mean gender roles don’t exist and a character on South Park won’t identify with some kind of gender expression in a fan fiction.
Some gay men are effeminate. You know what, some men conform to whatever harmful stereotypes we collectively have about gay men. Not all gay men! And a lot of the ones who do are not pervasively butch, or effeminate. Most people are an amalgamation of traits. In some senses, playing out extreme gender roles can be a response to or a subversion of restrictive stereotypes. From one standpoint, effeminacy calls into question what defines manliness. It can be viewed in that way as an act of rebellion, as an effeminate gay man can force those who do believe in conforming to strict gender dichotomies to reassess what is male. Quentin Crisp used his effeminacy as armor, as it forced people to confront his difference. (ETA: I had a line here about post-1980s butch aesthetics as a response to AIDS and it disappeared. Hello, where'd it go?) It’s not like the gay community isn’t accutely aware of and in many cases ready to embrace gender roles.
But, look, when you say you are not a fan of gay men in fan fiction conforming to gender roles, you probably mean you are not into reading about femmey men. Some might argue that condemning effeminacy and valuing it to be of lower status than butchness is a kind of sexism, for it sees traditionally female roles as lesser than male ones. This isn’t a new point. People have been making this point in SP fan fic for a long, long time, alongside the people who have been arguing that SP fan fic is sexist and Wendy is devalued by Stan/Kyle shippers who hate her. And that Bebe isn’t a slut. And that Cartman is fat so stop writing and drawing skinny!Cartman. If you are going to make these gripes, consider constructing them around actual evidence from the show and/or fandom so that alongside your passion there is some actual (meta)textual substance to digest. Remember when we called this shit “meta”? Me neither.
In conclusion, fiction tells truths. People write fiction because it’s escapist and amusing, but we also enjoy it for its truths. The fact is that there are some femmey gay men who like to bottom, and that doesn’t make them weak or girly. And even if it does, so what? Weakness isn’t always a fault. To call girliness an inferior quality is to be sexist. I genuinely believe that everyone in this fandom has their heart in the right place, and that we all love these characters and at least tolerate the show. The thing that makes anything in life interesting, but fandom especially, is a multiplicity of readings, ideas, and ways of expressing truths. Some of these truths are universal and some are personal. An author writing a story with bitchy Kyle wanting to bottom and having some femmey traits is what some of us want to read because it reflects some aspect of how we see Kyle and how we value ourselves in relation to gender roles. There are also a number of fics where Stan bottoms, and while I don’t really see him that way it doesn’t mean there’s no value in that presentation. It’s just something different.
In fandom, the best way to get what you want is to write it yourself. This advice is cliché, but it’s cliché because it’s true. If you write enough of it or you write it well enough or you just make friends who want you to be happy and stick around, others will follow. If you’re frustrated that no one’s writing enough of what you want to see, the best way to start a conversation about it is to openly ask why. None of this is new or groundbreaking, but that doesn’t make it any less legitimate.
New Project
Date: 2016-10-31 14:33 (UTC)http://asianshemales.replyme.pw/?personal.anaya
shamale shaemle video ts dating chicks with dicks free shemaleporn.com
Unshackle galleries
Date: 2016-10-31 20:53 (UTC)http://getamateurs.adultnet.in/?describe.alaina
the virgin suicide how do they ls models nude download rheumatoid pain asian ladyboy slut
Pictures from venereal networks
Date: 2016-10-31 21:23 (UTC)http://asslick.photo.erolove.in/?post.paige
vida guerra sucking cock alexis texas lesbian free product key windows xp 2 black vintage porn rape free full length porn avi download
Renewed install
Date: 2016-11-01 02:00 (UTC)http://men.sexblog.pw/?page-winston
gay shirts abraham lincoln gay gay adoption laws gay scandal gay shows
Pictures from venereal networks
Date: 2016-11-01 12:10 (UTC)http://euro.dating.hotblog.top/?profile.dasia
plastic incontinence pants geil chatten only women lesbian dating free crossdresser dating site rich man dating service
Mature galleries
Date: 2016-11-01 22:46 (UTC)http://blackgay.net.erolove.in/?page.blaze
gay partners gay top pro gay marriage gay love stories gay chatroom
Delivered grown-up galleries
Date: 2016-11-01 22:47 (UTC)http://teenbbw.yopoint.in/?leaf.odalys
hot movies erotic java games erotic resorts free erotic novel erotic dancer
Latest plat
Date: 2016-11-02 03:35 (UTC)free rpg games for android phones mobile web browsers for android learn android app development step by step apps to download albums sexy wallpapers full hd
http://bsdm.apps.android.purplesphere.in/?stage.kailey
download phorno download sex play in online games download sexy android game download free temple run games
Adult placement
Date: 2016-11-02 07:23 (UTC)http://arab.sexblog.pw/?jaquelin
erotic torrents erotic online novels writing erotic literature most erotic movies sex online
Pictures from venereal networks
Date: 2016-11-02 23:28 (UTC)erotic sketch erotic mp4 erotic poster erotic portraits most erotic films
http://pornstars.erolove.in/?nadia
hollywood erotic balkan erotic epic erotic plasticity sextoy erotic experience
Loose matured galleries
Date: 2016-11-02 23:57 (UTC)http://single.dating.eblog.space/?post.dania
arab dating sites best dating sites for asian all asian dating sites no strings attached edinburgh chrisdtian vegan dating
Mature galleries
Date: 2016-11-03 02:36 (UTC)infant girl clothes grandma old clothing stores durban
http://sissyabuse.blogporn.in/?blog.reagan
introducing marxism oxford islam old men sex tube the baysitters kissing crossdressers amateur old ladies pussy pump beautician supplies
Mature galleries
Date: 2016-11-04 01:14 (UTC)http://bbwdating.erolove.in/?profile.eva
free chatting room free online date site uk milf dating find gay sugar daddy mate 1 dateing
Callow Job
Date: 2016-11-04 05:19 (UTC)http://arab.adultnet.in/?pic-elyssa
guy dasilva austin powers international man mystery megaupload free download vieo sex slutload titanic actress boobs
Sexual pictures
Date: 2016-11-04 08:54 (UTC)http://kitty.party.yopoint.in/?entry.anabel
porn dvds biggest free fat women sex porn pissed spits slapped porn tube sexy amateur porn young porn ilgal trailers
Recent spot
Date: 2016-11-04 21:43 (UTC)http://rivera.femdom.twiclub.in/?gain.tianna
erotic webcomics erotic photosoots erotic online novels mature erotic writings
Social pictures
Date: 2016-11-04 23:36 (UTC)http://futanari.blogporn.in/?private.abby
shemall pictures free videos pron.com shimale movie thai ladyboys s hemale sex
Loose matured galleries
Date: 2016-11-06 03:58 (UTC)erotic hypnosis download erotic phrases erotic s erotic cosplay free prono xxx movie
http://girlfriend.net.erolove.in/?norma
erotic phrases arabic erotic videos pormo.com erotic womens erotic vampire books
Latest plat
Date: 2016-11-06 04:08 (UTC)http://tits.net.erolove.in/?pic-veronica
bra boys 1 link domina mom szex oklahoma natural gas milky way cake nude chanel pics fanstasy factory
Free galleries
Date: 2016-11-06 21:43 (UTC)http://jessica.casual.blogporn.in/?entry.nicolette
online dating for hiv positive top hookup apps save for money free dating greece online nigeria dating site
Communal pictures
Date: 2016-11-07 00:36 (UTC)http://lesbianmilf.xblog.in/?tweet.amya
free pakistani sex websites videos indian bhabhi urdu sex story julianne barberie nude pics substitutes for aspirin face mask
My brand-new website
Date: 2016-11-07 11:41 (UTC)http://asses.sexblog.pw/?kaiya
hotsex erotic book free prono xxx movie erotic dancing seks
Mod Poke out
Date: 2016-11-08 02:42 (UTC)http://asian.erolove.in/?front-julianne
daily erotic picdump erotic horror movies meaning of erotic erotic funny
My brand-new website
Date: 2016-11-08 10:19 (UTC)http://blackgay.net.erolove.in/?info.domenic
san diego gay gay magazine gay parenting gay gran canaria free local gay chat
Adult placement
Date: 2016-11-09 04:04 (UTC)http://futanari.replyme.pw/?page.aleah
sex free movies free shaemle video shemail sex clip tgirls free video oorn