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POLL TIME!
There are a lot of interesting discussions going around the Internets right now about narrative and character choices and what, if anything, it reveals about the author. Many of them have made me think (always a good, if dangerous, thing) and now I have questions for you, oh Internets.
Is it possible to write a narrative that contains characters who are *ist (racist, sexist, misogynist, homophic, transphobic, fat-phobic), and wherein the fic structure isn't designed to provide either cosmic retribution of an after-school special teaching moment, and not have the fic be inherently *ist itself?
If the fic is *ist, to what extent is the author perpetuating the *ism on the world?
To use an example from my own work (which is the only way I can think to explain what I mean, without putting anyone else on the carpet), I wrote a Merchant of Venice fic (yes, Shakespearean even!), wherein Antonio and Bassanio basically have sex in front of a mirror. The fic contains this conversation:
"Dear Bassanio, do you have no trust for me? My heart, my home, my life… all yours for the taking."
Bassanio's voice hitched. "What we do is a violation of God's law."
"Aye."
"We damn our souls."
"Aye," Antonio breathed.
At no point afterward did I have the characters address the homophobic nature of that conversation. At no point did I ever bring religion into the story again. At no point did I include any hint that I - as the author - have a knee-jerk reaction when Christians (which is the faith embraced by these two characters) start preaching about how homosexual acts are sins.
So, tell me Internets, was that homophobic? Does the fic perpetuate homophobia? Does it therefore exist as proof of perhaps my own unexamined homophobia?
Or does the fact that I told this story, about two white men fucking each other, to the exclusion of exploration of the themes of the play involving anti-semitism, classism, sexism, and racism - of which the source material is rank - mean that I somehow embraced those *isms in my own story, and therefore perpetuated them by virtue of ignoring them?
To what degree am I, as the author, guilty of the sins of the characters?
(I am aware that this question may seem extremely combative and I honestly do not mean it that way. I am simply asking for opinions. I do not promise to agree with any of you, however! But, the thought-process is provoking introspection and I would like to engage in a dialogue. I will do my best to keep my ego out of it, I promise.)
Is it possible to write a narrative that contains characters who are *ist (racist, sexist, misogynist, homophic, transphobic, fat-phobic), and wherein the fic structure isn't designed to provide either cosmic retribution of an after-school special teaching moment, and not have the fic be inherently *ist itself?
If the fic is *ist, to what extent is the author perpetuating the *ism on the world?
To use an example from my own work (which is the only way I can think to explain what I mean, without putting anyone else on the carpet), I wrote a Merchant of Venice fic (yes, Shakespearean even!), wherein Antonio and Bassanio basically have sex in front of a mirror. The fic contains this conversation:
"Dear Bassanio, do you have no trust for me? My heart, my home, my life… all yours for the taking."
Bassanio's voice hitched. "What we do is a violation of God's law."
"Aye."
"We damn our souls."
"Aye," Antonio breathed.
At no point afterward did I have the characters address the homophobic nature of that conversation. At no point did I ever bring religion into the story again. At no point did I include any hint that I - as the author - have a knee-jerk reaction when Christians (which is the faith embraced by these two characters) start preaching about how homosexual acts are sins.
So, tell me Internets, was that homophobic? Does the fic perpetuate homophobia? Does it therefore exist as proof of perhaps my own unexamined homophobia?
Or does the fact that I told this story, about two white men fucking each other, to the exclusion of exploration of the themes of the play involving anti-semitism, classism, sexism, and racism - of which the source material is rank - mean that I somehow embraced those *isms in my own story, and therefore perpetuated them by virtue of ignoring them?
To what degree am I, as the author, guilty of the sins of the characters?
(I am aware that this question may seem extremely combative and I honestly do not mean it that way. I am simply asking for opinions. I do not promise to agree with any of you, however! But, the thought-process is provoking introspection and I would like to engage in a dialogue. I will do my best to keep my ego out of it, I promise.)
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