Discussion prompt

[amaresu]

I'm going to attempt to post these on a regular basis. Either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly based on how much activity there is. Discussion prompts will be taken randomly from the mini-meta prompt posts.



Genderswapping AUs, etc. Genderswapping has a reputation of being a way to "avoid the gay" in male-dominated fandoms, by switching one character's gender to allow for a romance. Is there good lesbian genderswap out there?

Comments

[sophia_gratia]

I'm noticing this increasing tension in fandom between the position that we 'must preserve the gay', i.e., gay male relationships, and a desire to see more women represented in media and in fandom. The controversy over Lucy Liu as a female Watson is case in point. I'm pretty much always going to fall on the side of wanting to see more women represented – but I also share your view that if there are already female characters in a given canon, who are almost certainly underrepresented in fandom, why would one want to ignore them in favor of genderswapping a (probably already very well-represented) male character?

And thanks for that link! *bookmarks*

[summerstorm]

The controversy over Lucy Liu being cast as Watson is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, and possibly also the most depressing, because keeping Watson male doesn't preserve gay anything. There are so many complaints about it from BBC Sherlock fans*, who apparently do not realize that their Sherlock and Watson are, in fact, not gay? The show plays it up and denies it in the same breath, it's such horrible baiting. So if the options are, and let's be real, these are the options here, 1) a m/m friendship with homoerotic undertones that never go anywhere and b) a m/f(oc) friendship, with or without UST, I'll choose 2 every time, and side-eye any outrage at the idea. /sore topic

* Coincidentally, the latest story that made me go, "no, fuck you," was a girl!Lestrade fic—which I would have been fine with except for the fact that it was undertagged and from the metadata and summary you would have thought it was a Sally Donovan fic. (Thankfully knew about fic beforehand, was not disappointed, only vaguely annoyed.) And oh how I would have loved to read an account of the entire series from her POV. I get that Sally Donovan is "hard to like" (because she's antagonistic toward Sherlock but not the antagonist, who of course will get all the love even if he's boring as dirt, so long as he stays white and male) but come on.

This comment is so unpleasant, sorry about that.

[sophia_gratia]

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. And also: anyone who believes that representations of male homosocial bonds are somehow under threat is straight-up delusional. What would really be radical would be a portrayal of a male and female colleague in leading roles who are intimate friends, and not trapped in a manipulative will-they-or-won't-they semiromantic narrative. And why can't we imagine the possibility of queer figures (whether canonical or in fandom/fanon) without necessary recourse to the erotics of male homosociality? THAT is what we should be asking for. (Warehouse 13 has, incidentally, come close to this in the characters of Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer, and Myka's relationship with H.G. Wells – I especially appreciated Joanne Kelly's recent remarks at SDCC to the effect that default-hetero-UST-plots are, basically, boring, and there's more interesting stuff to be done with what she calls 'fluid' sexuality.)

And as far as I'm concerned, no need to apologize for unpleasantness. I fly my own Humorless Feminist banner high and with pride.

... This has gotten a bit away from the topic of the original post. So I shall offer a rec by way of recompense. I'm not sure if it counts as genderswap exactly, but this very lovely Twelfth Doctor/Original Companion story, with its wonderfully rendered lady-Doctor, is extremely satisfying: Loyalties {ao3} | TigerDragon and TiaNadiezja | ~2,800 words | G.

[levitsa]

My only real fee-fee with regards to female Watson in Elementary is that they didn't maintain the veteran detail, from what I know (which is admittedly old info), which is a major part of the character for me. I feel that we don't have enough media about female veterans, especially in leading roles. Neither here nor there, though, just a matter of my personal interests & personal investment in women & military culture.