First Amendment and all that stuff....
Aug. 6th, 2006 02:10 amx-posted from my lj, but it's f-locked over there
*sigh*
here's the deal. as a rule, i don't read Wincest. i've read... three. and two of those? i skipped over the really squicky scene(s). and i don't write it, either. so what am i doing posting on this particular subject? the principal of the thing, and that people really should pay closer attention to what they read.
i'm not going to name names, anonimity is safe here. i've had (at least) two people on my flist (that i know of, anyway) get busted on, ragged on, insulted, nasty comments left in their various ljs because they wrote wincest, and it was properly tagged as such.
here's the deal. proper reading skills are required to read the phrase "Pairing: Sam/Dean"... or whatever your pairing may be. there's also the phrase "Rating: Adult." these are the kind of fics i just scroll right on by, don't stop, just keep going. that's the point of this information in the header. (i'm sure many many people skip over my "gen" or "Dean/OFC; NC-17" fics.)
i don't even read it; so why would i take the time to read through a fic, and then comment, "that's sick!" or "ewww!! they're doing what????" and while i believe there are some things that should not be written by sane, healthy adults, i'm not being forced to read it.
to quote one of my favourite sayings, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" (Voltaire, it's in my sidebar at my lj)
your LJ counts as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of opinions, and freedom of thought. and as well it should be.
any kinds of fic is allowed to be posted here, as long as it has the proper header.
*sigh*
here's the deal. as a rule, i don't read Wincest. i've read... three. and two of those? i skipped over the really squicky scene(s). and i don't write it, either. so what am i doing posting on this particular subject? the principal of the thing, and that people really should pay closer attention to what they read.
i'm not going to name names, anonimity is safe here. i've had (at least) two people on my flist (that i know of, anyway) get busted on, ragged on, insulted, nasty comments left in their various ljs because they wrote wincest, and it was properly tagged as such.
here's the deal. proper reading skills are required to read the phrase "Pairing: Sam/Dean"... or whatever your pairing may be. there's also the phrase "Rating: Adult." these are the kind of fics i just scroll right on by, don't stop, just keep going. that's the point of this information in the header. (i'm sure many many people skip over my "gen" or "Dean/OFC; NC-17" fics.)
i don't even read it; so why would i take the time to read through a fic, and then comment, "that's sick!" or "ewww!! they're doing what????" and while i believe there are some things that should not be written by sane, healthy adults, i'm not being forced to read it.
to quote one of my favourite sayings, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" (Voltaire, it's in my sidebar at my lj)
your LJ counts as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of opinions, and freedom of thought. and as well it should be.
any kinds of fic is allowed to be posted here, as long as it has the proper header.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 08:41 pm (UTC)You drop a dime on the floor, it rolls in a spiral, then twirls to a standstill.
What are the odds that could happen the same way again? Millions, maybe trillions, to one. And yet it happened as naturally as if there were no odds against it. Every event in our lives happens as if there were no odds against it, which means our lives have operational definitions-- definitions that work for a certain series of circumstances and conditions.
What I'm saying is just because someone ships Wincest or something so trivial does not mean that said person will become a criminal. There is no formula for concocting a criminal/felon.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 08:42 pm (UTC)Research with convicted drug offenders has shown that 99% of them have drunk milk in the past as well. It doesn’t naturally follow.
It's a bit like saying Hockey players have a higher incidence of spousal abuse then baseball players, because Hockey is a violent sport, when, in fact, the opposite is true.
I am not saying that incest is a good thing. I'm not saying doesn’t ruin (and even end) lives. I know of lives that have been both ruined and ended because of incest. I don't read it incest fics in general. It's my choice not to read it. I have read a few, and in fact, have read at least one of the fictions in question. It was well written. That said it was an ugly, brutal fic that in NO way romanticized what was going on.
You made the choice honest to yourself by withdrawing from communities that allow incest and underage porn (but have you remember that any sex under the age of 18 would be included in this - so no High school fics). I will continue to make the choice appropriate to me (not to click on a story that says it is a Wincest fic).
My question to you is this. Should we also disallow stories involving murder? Or serial killing? Should Law and Order (and CSI and NCIS) be taken off the air? Should WB have not shown The Benders?
no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 09:10 pm (UTC)Does not talking about it/ not thinking about it make you feel better? If it does then don’t read. As I said, you’ve made that choice that honors the life you lead. But I still don’t believe that putting an end to Wincest would make things significantly better in the world. And I have to admit that the equating Wincest with child porn and child abuse still confuses me, most Wincest I’ve seen takes place when both “boys” are adults, admittedly Dean does have a place in Sam’s mind as a partial parent (I would even go to the extent to say that Dean is Sam’s “beloved parent” just as Sam is John’s “Beloved son”) and therefore has some power and control over the situation, but in the end he’s still a brother, and Sam can (and has) simply walked away. As far as I can tell that is where the similarity to abuse stops.
I honestly don’t want you to feel like I’m attacking you here. I feel from your earlier responses that you are feeling attacked, and I think the whole point of this community in particular is that people be free to express their opinions. I hope that, someday, your pain lessens. I will keep you in my prayers, such as they are.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2006-08-09 02:27 pm (UTC)Nothing to do with the discussion, per se, but not in the UK it wouldn't. Our law is 16.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-09 07:14 pm (UTC)the age that a person can consent to sex in the US depends on the state you live in (my state age of consent is 16) but I think if you rape someone uder the age of 18 it cound't as child abuse (even if the age of consent is 14 or 16 or whatever)... the laws in the US are often odd like that.
(no subject)
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From:Here via metafandom
Date: 2006-08-09 12:41 am (UTC)I certainly see where you're coming from, but incest in fanfic is very often different from incest in real life. I'm not arguing from a moral stand point. The danger and cruelty of incest in real life is largely the huge power imbalance. Fanfic featuring two siblings close in age who have a relationship that can otherwise be seen as totally healthy doesn't have this problem.
Then, there's the breach of trust, taking a family relationship and twisting it into something hurtful. Once again, in fic with siblings close in age who both want the same thing, this doesn't quite apply.
It's perfectly reasonable that you see too much real life damage to be able to accept or enjoy fantasy-- I wouldn't tell a survivor of a shoot out that she should have to watch movies wih lots of violence-- however, no one likes being told that their taste in fiction is a sign that they're sick people in real life.
And, I should add that I've read incest stories, and even one story with child sex, and I have no more desire to sleep with my family (ew) or children (Dear god no. I'm uncomfortable at the thought of being in a relationship with anyone younger that me at all) than before.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 09:21 pm (UTC)That's what you do in a debate. That's what you're doing. It's a little stick-up-the-ass of you to assume that you're definitely in the right here. I'm not just going to cower down to your ignorant way of viewing this in a black and white way.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 09:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-08-07 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-08 05:43 pm (UTC)I, myself, was molested by my own father at age sixteen. It's something I still haven't gotten over. Something that I don't think I ever will get over. Although I've always been bisexual, started recognizing at age thirteen that I was attracted to girls, I've leaned far more towards the lesbian side ever since then because the thought of being touched by a man like that makes me panic. And anyone touching me, even a hand on the shoulder, without me initializing it, freaks me out.
I know it can destroy lives.
However... I read sibling incest. My Harry Potter OTP is Sirius/Regulus. I'm a fan of Magenta/Riff Raff in Rocky Horror. And Kozue/Miki in Utena is beautifully tragic to me. I don't read parent/child, or even parental figure of any sort/child. I look at the warnings and pass over them. That's what the warnings are there for. There isn't any sense in upsetting myself by reading something that will just bring back memories I'd rather push to the back of my mind.
No, sibling-cest does not bring back these memories. Because, nineteen times out of twenty, the incest is consensual. Both parties agree to it. In a way, that's healing for me, to think that for some people it is a choice and not something forced upon them. This probably makes sense only to myself. It doesn't mean that I want to have sex with a member of my family, consensually. It just means that I like reading these pairings, because for whatever reason, they touch me.