Fly-by rec

[briarwood]

A fascinating discussion of bisexuality (or the lack of it) in slash fiction.

Personally, I've always written Jim and Blair as bi. Sam Winchester, too. I'm not sure about the other SPN boys. I wonder, though, if that comes across. I mean, I don't as a rule have characters declare their sexuality. Maybe y'all don't notice they're not technically gay?

A weird thought for me to start the day on.

Comments

[mab-browne.livejournal.com]

My default position for TS is a cheerfully bisexual Blair and an openly gay or closetedly gay Jim. It just suits my vision of the characters. Unless it doesn't suit my story...

It's true that no-one wanders around saying 'Hi, I'm Mab and I'm straight/gay/lesbian/TV/TS' but I do see where the OP is coming from. In a PWP, what does it matter, but a medium-long story or canon based first time, it might be worth considering the existence of all those canon women.

I wonder if the lack of bi-ness which Logophilos perceives also ties into the fairly obvious misogyny that creeps into some slash. 'I'm in ur canon, screwing up ur slashy OTP'.So instead of the guys being bi, the woman is so often a bitch or a psychonutter, and when the guys fall into bed together they've never had sex this fulfilling before :-(. There's rather a lot of that in TS, especially earlier stories.

Plus, there's the pov of the OP's therapist, which seems to be quite common. I watch one gay issues comm, and there's sometimes comment indicating some members of the gay community to be fairly ambivalent about bisexuality, as well. A 'bisexuality is for people who can't make up their minds' idea, and we're very much a culture for our dualities and all or nothing assumptions, and we don't like the grey areas.

/rambling on. Bet you're sorry you posted that link and comment now. :-)

[morgan32.livejournal.com]

My default position for TS is a cheerfully bisexual Blair and an openly gay or closetedly gay Jim.

I'm with you on Blair. I tend to think of Jim as bi, too, though, because if he's gay, where does Carolyn fit in? Not to mention all the other canon BOTWs. Jim is unusually self-aware for a man, which supports the notion that he's questioned his sexuality but it also gives me a problem with the idea that Carolyn was a last-ditch try to be straight or something. Okay, they didn't have a great marriage, but even so...

there's sometimes comment indicating some members of the gay community to be fairly ambivalent about bisexuality, as well

Yes, that's very true. If you're bi in the gay community, a lot of people assume you don't really belong there. Bloody unfair. And there are a lot of silly and hurtful prejudices about bisexual people. Like the presumption of promiscuity.

Bet you're sorry you posted that link and comment now. :-)

Nope. Not sorry at all :-)