on tragic queerness in sff (with tweets) · fozmeadows
in which I have some rant feels about tragic queerness in sff
Or, you know, read some non-tragic queer sff. Lesbian corporal in the king’s army? Check. Fairy tale queer ending to Beauty and the Beast? Yup. Asexual alchemist running a wizard school? Sure thing. And HarperCollins is about to get a queer pirate prince bamf (they don’t know it yet).
It’s out there, guys. You just have to look deeper.
We shouldn’t have to “look deeper”. That is the actual point.
I’m not saying the books you’re referencing aren’t good or important; they are. I’m saying that, right now, at this point in time, if you want a plethora of queer narratives constructed across a range of genres and themes, then your best, most easily accessible resource is fanfic, not just because it’s free, but because you don’t have to dig down to find what you’re looking for. It’s just there.
Right. Point taken. But as a queer person who is writing these actual books, in the mainstream market, trying to make a difference and be heard, some of it IS looking deeper. You, as readers and consumers of all sorts of media need to go out and make noise about the things out that you feel represent YOU, that doesn’t fridge the queer character or lady hero. Whether it’s on television or it’s the Hugos. It’s easy to get a book on the Hugo list. It’s the voting that matters.
If it’s mainstream rep you’re looking for, support it where you find it. And it doesn’t take dollars to do so. Ask for free copies of books. Go out and write reviews. Take the time to watch television shows you appreciate live. And write reviews.
Word of mouth is important.
That said, I wouldn’t be volunteering for the Org if I didn’t know fic (and fanworks of all kind) are extremely and culturally important.
Right. But speaking also as a queer person who is writing these actual books in the mainstream market - I have one coming out in August! - recommending fanfic as a writing resource isn’t mutually exclusive with supporting professional novels. What I’m talking about specifically in the context of the original post is an easily accessible way to get a handle on queer narratives as normative, because what the mainstream market emphatically doesn’t need is more queer tragedies written by well-intentioned straight people who genuinely hadn’t considered that might be an issue.
Like. I don’t know if you’re using ‘you’ in the plural or the singular here, but… this is pretty much what I do? I seek out and promote the kinds of narratives I want to see more of across multiple platforms and different forms of media. I’ve been on the Hugo ballot for yelling about exactly this kind of thing! Believe me, I am all on board with the idea of promoting and supporting diversity in mainstream narratives.
But fanfic is important, too. And what it offers right now, in a volume and variety unrivalled by the mainstream, is a plurality of readily-accessed queer stories. I’m not saying “abandon mainstream queer narratives because fanfic is better and easier to find”; I’m saying “learn from fanfic how to write more and better mainstream queer narratives so that they become easier to find”. And, y’know, just enjoy some fanfic, because maybe if that aspect of fandom was given more literary credit instead of just being dismissed as skeevy, badly-written porn, mainstream audiences wouldn’t be so quick to associate queer-normative stories with something we all laugh at.
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A topic near and dear to my heart. If I may cut in for a second – with dozens of indie publishers out there, it can be...
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