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[frogfriend]

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Re: wank containment area

[(Anonymous)]

The thing about representation is, for some reason, a lot of people interpret it as a duty to portray things you're not personally interested in, that aren't relevant to you, with the unspoken belief that the poor charity cases needing that representation are unable to make their own, which is why it doesn't exist, the poor dears. When often, it's that a few rich straight white men at the top won't fund it.

Sometimes f/f is representation and it's also self-indulgent idfic. It's not that I don't lap up f/f from men or from straight women at times, or that I have a problem with them creating it, and there is an argument to be made for making your fiction reflect reality in all of reality's diversity, but there is a certain realness in stories about, by, and for wlw, and that's its own exciting, powerful thing that doesn't require representation-as-charity.

By the same token, I know plenty of wlw create things not about wlw--myself included!--and that's fine. You don't have a duty to Save the World. You're not "on" all the time. When you do it, it's because you want to, not because people are counting on you. Your existence is important, your happiness is important. It's just that being able to tell our stories is sometimes part of that happiness, that's "doing it for the representation" but it sure isn't "vegetables."

Re: wank containment area

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

The thing about representation is, for some reason, a lot of people interpret it as a duty to portray things you're not personally interested in, that aren't relevant to you

I think that's a really, really good point. Even as an older fan, seeing Rey pick up the lightsabre or Holtzmann kicking ass in Ghostbusters or Lorraine in Atomic Blonde, or a lot of other recent shows/movies that have had women in central roles, really meant something and felt amazing. And it sure was not a "guess I need to eat this broccoli now" feeling. I was surprised at how powerful and meaningful "hell yes that's a woman onscreen doing that" was.

And Black Panther was also a really joyous kickass example of representation, where whole black families went to see it AND it was also an amazing film. (And had plenty of women to boot!)

Re: wank containment area

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, absolutely. Black Panther is a great example. Representation in entertainment is important, absolutely, but to be good representation it should also be good media, good entertainment!

Whereas the concept of "vegetables" implies a joyless chore, and by extension seems to imply that these things CAN'T be enjoyable and entertaining.

Re: wank containment area

[(Anonymous)]

Whereas the concept of "vegetables" implies a joyless chore, and by extension seems to imply that these things CAN'T be enjoyable and entertaining.

EXACTLY that, yeah. Something good for you, but flavourless and not enjoyable. And I think that comes from taking the basic cultural default -- white, male, straight -- as a given, so anything outside that, whether it's a female Ghostbusters reboot or Mad Max with Furiosa as the lead or Black Panther, is unnatural and you have to force it, maybe.