HIGHLA-L Digest - 3 Oct 2002 to 4 Oct 2002 (#2002-169)
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Fri, 4 Oct 2002 22:00:01 -0400
There is one message totalling 111 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Well & truly a slash thing now
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Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2002 00:31:27 -0700
From: Pat Lawson <plawson@webleyweb.com>
Subject: Re: Well & truly a slash thing now
I asked:
> > Would you consider it "outing" yourself to admit in a non-HL forum that you
> > love a show where people are regularly beheaded?
Rob replied:
>I have no problem admitting that I'm a "Highlander" fan. <snip>
>Admitting that my favorite movie involves the trials of being an Immortal
>and a battle for supremacy among them isn't anything earth-shattering.
I agree, but not everyone feels that way. A few months back I told
someone of my love for Highlander only to have them react with
disgust. They find the violence & beheadings of HL as obscene as you find
slash. I'm sure they wondered why I "outed" myself by admitting to a love
of HL.
My point, in case I haven't already beat it death, is that one man's
"outing" is another's "no big deal".
>Saying you like reading and/or writing stories about various hobbits, Ron
>& Harry, or a couple of Jedis having sex is, imho, inappropriate in an
>open and public forum, just the same as any other open declarations of
>sexuality. ("And I should care because...?").
You're equating a reading preference with declarations of sexuality?
> > >(Envision someone holding up a copy of <choices not limited to Playboy,
> > >Playgirl, Playdude, Swank, Hustler> at a news stand and declaring publicly
> > >that they like <any combination of physical attributes or activities>).
> >
> > I'd use the rl equivalent of the delete key. I'd walk away. I also do
> > that when accosted by religious types declaring their beliefs, which I find
> > equally offensive.
>
>You can unhear something by walking away?
I could always wash out my ears with clove oil. ;-p
No, of course I couldn't unhear something. That's what's nice about
email. When the subject line says "slash" you can avoid being offended.
>It's the compulsion to publicly declare sexuality (including preferences
>for sexual reading materials), that I find inappropriate. Several more
>people have declared their like/support (onlist) of slash since my last
>post. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that the only people to "out"
>themselves are slashers? I think it's a weird phenomenon, to say the least.
Perhaps I'm confused. It seems to me a question of definition. Those who
declare a dislike for slash aren't "outing" themselves. Wait a
minute. You've just publicly declared some of your preferences too. We
all know the Rob is in a het relationship & dislikes slash. ("And I should
care because...?").
>For that matter, the Internet itself isn't age-restricted; there's just
>the assumption that parents should restrict its access to their children,
>and that's become the de-facto standard.
The Internet is an electronic extension of the real world. Parents should
restrict & monitor their children online just as they would in front of the
tv or radio, in the bookstore, or anywhere else. Yes, I know some parents
don't parent. That's a whole different discussion.
>There was a mature 14 year old female onlist, who's all grown up now and
>in college. Imagine the scenario of a slash discussion like we've had
>here, face-to-face, in public with the "wrong" people around (Police,
>Child Protective Services, those FBI Internet guys that hunt for
>predators). An adult with an underage girl - or boy. What circumstances is
>it OK in again?
Do you think a 14 year old girl is unaware of homosexuality?
In all this discussion about slash & slashers, I can only recall one person
using graphic, explicit language. That person only posted twice in this
thread, and was someone who dislikes slash. It wasn't the
slashers. We've talked about why & who & when. I've seen more explicit
comments on other, G rated, lists where fans drool over the
chacters/actors.
>Then again, there was a 17-18 year old male bunny here that could set any
>discussion of age, maturity, and appropriateness on its ear. (::sings
>Anya's "Bunnies" song from OMTWF, BTVS to himself::).
Ah yes. Sometimes I miss the dear boy.
Wait a minute. You watch Buffy & yet object to the slash
discussion? Willow & Tara? Buffy & Spike bring the house down around
them? (OMTWF was great, wasn't it?)
>-Rob (sometimes martyr of the ancient, surviving male Geezers)
Don't tell Nina you're a martyr. You know how she is about victims.
Pat
(It's time for us to hang ten, because, 'Serf's Up!" -- LNS)
(pun intentional)
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End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 3 Oct 2002 to 4 Oct 2002 (#2002-169)
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