Interesting post about fandoms in general.

[mintygreen]

I thought this was an interesting post about fandoms in general when it comes to slash ships:

guard-of-rivendell.tumblr.com/post/43180363820/in-light-of-whats-currently-happening-i-felt-the-need

[pitbulllady]

Really interesting indeed. I, as most of y'all know, LOATHE "slash" for the sake of making everyone and everything gay in a fandom and assuming that if two individual characters of the same gender so much as speak to each other or spend more than two minutes in the same room, they must be totally gay and are lusting after one another, and anyone who does not believe that or WANT that to happen is a "homophobe" and a "hater". I'm already seeing this on Tumblr: "Randowski". If you don't know what means, it's the growing Randall/Mike slash based on the fact that they appear to be freshmen roommates and possibly friends(or at least on speaking terms)in MU, which to too many people has to mean that there's a gay romance involved. To see a GAY gentleman express the exact same concerns that I have, and state that even HE has been accused of being homophobic because he stood up for his belief that two male characters in some fandom were indeed just good friends really bolsters what I believe. It's one thing if a couple is gay in canon. I don't have a problem with it. I can't find either of them attractive in the same way that I'd find a hetero male character attractive however, because logically I understand what being gay means, so even a fictional character who would not find females sexually attractive would not have the same appeal to me that a male character who WOULD be attracted to females would have. An openly gay character, while I would be able to feel affection/admiration for them, would not be a "turn-on", in other words. That's why I don't go around actually trying to see homosexual relationships in EVERY interaction between characters, especially not to the point where I refuse to believe it's possible for characters(regardless of gender) to actually be just FRIENDS, IF they have any actual relationship of any kind. One of the things that has annoyed me to no end about the Megamind fandom is the enormous support for a Wayne Scott x Bernard pairing, which fans refer to as "WayBer". Now, if you have followed that movie or fandom at all, Wayne Scott is the adopted Earth name of "Metroman", and Bernard is the irascible, snarky, anti-social museum curator(?) whom Roxanne encounters at the Metroman Museum, whose identity is literally stolen by Megamind, and who actually appears in the movie as HIMSELF for a total of what? 20 seconds? At no point in the movie are he and Wayne Scott even seen together. Neither mentions the other, and in fact, there's no evidence that Wayne knows Bernard even exists. The only connection is that one is employed at a museum which was built to honor the other(I mean, it's a JOB, people, and even snarky guys with bad hair have to pay bills)...and yet, so many in the fandom conclude from that they those two must be totally in love/lust with each other and are boffin' each other at every given opportunity! Most Megamind fanfics have at least some mention of Wayne/Bernard, even the ones that aren't specifically about them. It's just established "fanon" that those two characters who never even appear in the same scene or talk to/about each other have to be gay lovers...I mean, WTF, people? But I've had to stay out of any discussion of that(or Megamind/Wayne, which is almost as common)because I know I'd be branded as a hateful homophobic prude if I so much as questioned the logic of those pairings.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

*rubs temple* I expected the innocence of the cupcakes scene with Wazowski and Randall to be taken this way. As somebody told a person involved in this, ironically enough...it seems to be a "life rule" that ANYTHING made, no matter innocent, will be made...well... (that)-ographic-like.

I just, yes, hate when something innocent and GOOD just gets SO misinterpreted just to get a sensual pleasure out of it. I mean can guys/gals be friends without somebody taking the low road and say "hey, they're hot for each other".
I mean with Sullivan and Randall...there is obviously NO WAY they'd "get together". And there's no evidence to suggest that either. Sure, you want Sullivan and Wazowski together, at least you can say "hey they're roommates". But THAT is just like the above. They're FRIENDS.

I have little against people who want to be with somebody of the same sex. I say "little" because there's always a small portion of people (no matter relationship or whatever) that ruins things for that relationship set or other sets. (essentially people who give the relationship a bad reputation)
But fandom ships...like Pitbulllady said, if it's canon, solidly proved with evidence, then that's something else. Otherwise, it's like nobody can even be friends anymore without being labeled.

[mintygreen]

I think I'm somewhere in the middle on all of it.

As in, I don't care if people want to put 2 characters together even if there's no actual evidence that they are gay. If some fans like that, then okay, it's fine.

At the same time though, I don't like it when those fans think everyone who doesn't like that pairing must be homophobic.

Even if you aren't a fan of ANY same sex pairings, it doesn't make you homophobic. Some people just get NOTHING out of those kinds of pairings, it doesn't mean they hate gay people.

If some people want to see more than friendship between Mike and Randall though, that's up to them and they are free to like the pairing and make fanarts and write fanfics. I don't dislike that they make them...although at the same time if anyone says that me not thinking the pairing is canon makes me a homphobe, that's crazy.

I actually do sometimes like some of the pairing fanarts though, simply for the fact of liking it as good art.....and if the character that I like looks hot in the fanart I'm still going to like it for that fact, even if I don't think he's gay and even if I'm not a supporter of the pairing.

When people don't like it though, they shouldn't be labeled as a homphobe.

Feb 22, 2013 23:02:26 GMT -5 RandallBoggs said:

I mean with Sullivan and Randall...there is obviously NO WAY they'd "get together". And there's no evidence to suggest that either.

Well whenever 2 characters are rivals, there are people who will think it's hot and kinky to see them do something sexy together. I mean look at Draco and Harry in Harry Potter....the same thing happens in that case even though we know they aren't in canon because they actually both get married to females and have kids.

However, I can still respect that some people want them to be together or whatever. If fans like that, it's okay.....it's just that they shouldn't think it's homophobic for someone to NOT agree with the pairing.

I'm not a fan of Randall x Sulley but I can accept that some people like it and I still think Randall looks sexy in some of the fanarts I've seen of it, even if I'd rather see him with a girl or something.

Feb 22, 2013 22:43:26 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

One of the things that has annoyed me to no end about the Megamind fandom is the enormous support for a Wayne Scott x Bernard pairing, which fans refer to as "WayBer". Now, if you have followed that movie or fandom at all, Wayne Scott is the adopted Earth name of "Metroman", and Bernard is the irascible, snarky, anti-social museum curator(?) whom Roxanne encounters at the Metroman Museum, whose identity is literally stolen by Megamind, and who actually appears in the movie as HIMSELF for a total of what? 20 seconds? At no point in the movie are he and Wayne Scott even seen together. Neither mentions the other, and in fact, there's no evidence that Wayne knows Bernard even exists. The only connection is that one is employed at a museum which was built to honor the other(I mean, it's a JOB, people, and even snarky guys with bad hair have to pay bills)...and yet, so many in the fandom conclude from that they those two must be totally in love/lust with each other and are boffin' each other at every given opportunity! Most Megamind fanfics have at least some mention of Wayne/Bernard, even the ones that aren't specifically about them. It's just established "fanon" that those two characters who never even appear in the same scene or talk to/about each other have to be gay lovers...I mean, WTF, people? But I've had to stay out of any discussion of that(or Megamind/Wayne, which is almost as common)because I know I'd be branded as a hateful homophobic prude if I so much as questioned the logic of those pairings.

pitbulllady

I like Megamind....but I've never really involved myself in the fandom involving that movie. So I didn't know about this.

There are a lot of pairings where people put 2 characters together and there is no canon evidence to support the pairing....so essentially it really is a 'crack pairing' as they say. It's still okay for people to like it though and find it hot/sexy.

I think you guys on this forum base stuff on facts and don't like stuff that derives from that, which is fine, it doesn't make you guys homophobic.

I think part of the problem though is that in most series/movies....there never are canon gay/lesbian characters. It's pretty much something that NEVER happens. So I think people that like those kinds of relationships really need to be given one that is completely canon at some point. I do feel bad that society hasn't really accepted gays enough to make gay/lesbian characters obvious in much of anything yet. That might be part of why a lot of people grasp at straws to try to find 2 characters of the same sex and put them together and then label it as canon.

I don't mind the pairings....I just wish people wouldn't label it as canon and then say people are homophobic if they aren't actually into that pairing.

Feb 22, 2013 23:02:26 GMT -5 RandallBoggs said:

*rubs temple* I expected the innocence of the cupcakes scene with Wazowski and Randall to be taken this way. As somebody told a person involved in this, ironically enough...it seems to be a "life rule" that ANYTHING made, no matter innocent, will be made...well... (that)-ographic-like.

I bet if I was a character in a movie and another girl in the class asked me if she could borrow a pencil from me and I let her borrow one.....some fans would be like "OMG they love each other...look at the love....they must be hot for each other."

It does sound weird, yeah, when you think about it that way.

It's definitely not the way I interpret character relationships.....it's just that.....I'm okay with it if that kind of thing is something other fans like. I just don't like it when the 2 sides(people who support it and people who don't) end up getting into fights about this stuff.

For the record....a while back in another forum, a few people actually started shipping ME with a character that I like(Deidara from Naruto). They felt that I really understood him, and therefore a few people claimed that their favourite pairing for him was actually me with him. It was flattering, indeed.....but at the same time it would have creeped me out if people actually started drawing fanarts of me with him and fanfics about me with him without my consent. Despite liking the character, I would feel really really weird if one day I was scrolling around and found some kind of graphic fanart of myself with him that no one asked if they could draw first. I also made it clear that although it was flattering that some people liked me x him....it doesn't mean that I have anymore claim to him than any of his other fangirls/fanboys. I used to run a fanclub for him a number of years ago and I always put it out there that we're like his harem.....because that was honestly just the most fair way to make everyone who liked him feel equal.

There are people who pair themselves with a character that they fancy....I actually think a lot of us do it. I can admit that I do it with characters that I like although for the most part I keep that stuff in my head. I don't start writing fanfics about myself with the character or anything. I don't mind people who do that though....as long as they don't start claiming things like "No one else can have him/her." and taking it all so seriously that it's like they aren't going to try to actually find a real person to date. Then I would actually just be really worried about them.