subtext in fantexts

[hope]

I think it's one of the potential drawbacks of slash that its very existence to an extent denies the possibility of homoerotic subtext in gen stories.

And yeah, okay, I know all you SPN readers out there will be "wtf! in gen stories they sleep in the same bed and give each other baths ALL THE TIME!" but, okay - frequently I also notice stories posted with notes like "subtexty wincest" or "pre-slash" or "you can read this as slash if you want" or "hints of slash".

In other words. SUBTEXT. Slash's existence potentially excises homoerotic subtext from non-slash stories: because as soon as there's subtext, frequently authors feel they have to re-classify. Which means a whole lot of things, most on the side of the audience reception to the story.

More than a few of the gen stories I really, really love - in this fandom and other fandoms - have strong subtext. That is just subtext. Juicy, homoerotic subtext. Which is satisfying in its own right; something completely other than slash. If I'm looking for slash to read, I won't be satisfied by something that's just subtext. And if I'm reading a gen story about a same-sex partnership, I'd be disappointed - even unsatisfied - if it was strikingly lacking in subtext.

Interestingly problematic division there, I reckon.

Interesting in terms of SPN specifically too; the text itself has such a strong subtext and text of emotional and physical intimacy; a queer reading of it is quite easy. It's fascinating watching people classify their stories as slash or non-slash when they re-create or even emphasise just a little the intimacy that occurs on the show itself.

Comments

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

I know it's been (yikes!) nearly a year since this was posted, but I found it an interesting question. As a het and gen writer, I find myself playing with some of the issues you discuss here, minus the queering. I do write fic about interaction between female and male characters which isn't explicitly romantic or sexual, but could be seen (and usually is by me as I'm writing it) as having that potential. As one of the commentators said, I label it quite arbitrarily: Character name1, Character name 2 CN1/CN2 implied maybe. I'm not sure if that's aimed at the shippers or just my own issues with the header system. But yes, dealing with subtext in fanfic, when so much of fanfic is about making subtext text (and like another commentator also said, it isn't always about homoeroticism/queer reading) is tricky water to navigate.