[ on the squick factor ]

[winterlive]

after lengthy discussion with my friend fodian on the subject, i felt compelled to edit my previous post. to short it up for you, i find many things objectionable, offensive and unsexy, but the only ones i can understand suspending outright are the ones that are illegal. i do not feel qualified to condemn anybody for what gets them off, and i wouldn't want to try - it's not my job to police other people, only myself. policing others and interpreting our varying rights and freedoms is a job that belongs to the government.

now. that said, i would like to briefly discuss my stance on abuse fic in general.



i find that fandom has a big fascination with abuse. rape, child abuse, bestiality and torture get a lot of play around here, and as i said in conversation with traveller tonight, while i don't share that kink, it's one i think i understand.

by and large, when fandom writes these subjects, one is meant to sympathize and identify with the victim. the image i posted previously is a great example: harry is the sole focus of the picture. he is the brightest color, he's front and center, and his emotion is the one we're meant to be feeling - blush, tears. by contrast, snape is the same color as the background and his body is less a person and more an oppressive presence. most of his face is outside the frame. we aren't intended to identify with him; hell, it's hard to even tell who he is.

abusers are widely acknowledged to get off on the power. now of course fandom's aware that there are healthy ways to get off on power - hence the prevalence of dom/sub fic. but in abuse stories, the focus is almost always on the victim - helpless, powerless, ashamed and miserable.

women in the last few decades have been repeatedly informed that they are not supposed to feel any of those things. we're supposed to be feminists, we're supposed to be empowered and fight for our beliefs and be proud. and yet women are hugely victimized in north america all the time.

i think it's small wonder that women wind up sexualizing those feelings - indeed, i imagine that doing so can even lead to a feeling of empowerment, taking ownership of those feelings for one's own pleasure. i can understand it, and while i don't share it as a kink, i certainly can't condemn people for it any more than i would condemn somebody for getting off on the opposite. there are lots of healthy ways to explore that whole aspect of one's sexuality, and one of those is absolutely to deal with it in a fictional environment like fandom.

i don't have to like it to see its value, at least in that regard.



and now, to take this all from the other point of view.

i'm the sort who gets off on power, i make no bones about it. i have written a LOT of dom/sub fic in my time, i own a flogger and i have used it on everybody who's ever seen it. most of the draw of that, psychologically speaking, is the responsibility - caring for somebody who's totally under your control, who trusts you to see that they get what they need, having that kind of trust placed in you, and being able to satisfy them.

so perhaps those of you who like abusefic can now see how, when i view that picture, my instinct is to identify with snape. he's the one with the power, he's the one i default to. and then i look at the person i'm supposed to be getting off on dominating, on caring for, on being responsible for, and i'm literally nauseated. it is my kink completely perverted. it is everything wrong with my world, it is a horrible view of what happens to people like me when they are sick, awful people, and it makes me feel like one of them. i hate that feeling, and so images like this, to me, are revolting.



if nothing else, i must concede that ponderosa has accomplished what a lot of artists strive for: getting people talking and thinking. thoughts? comments? agree/disagree?

Comments

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. I was responding to what I thought was a query for where the gov't had shot first and ask questions later, period. (Which of course could go on forever. *g*)

[fodian.livejournal.com]

Considering you live in Texas? *g*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Hey, I resemble that remark! :D And we now have a saying in Texas: At least we're not Florida or Utah. Hahaha.

(And I'm of the Ann Richards/Molly Ivins Texan mindset. We exist, we've just been out-voted. =P)

[cityphonelines.livejournal.com]

Stoney? ILU. For serious.

*puts on sekrit Tecksass decoder ring*