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Not exactly. It would be a bit dodgy if you wrote smut about your next-door neigbour's 80-year-old granny then left it somewhere where she or her ancerstors might find it. But writing one-handed reading material about famous people just isn't the same. When someone makes an effort to become famous, they are putting themselves in the public eye.. not their true selves, though. Like every single human being on this planet, famous people have a public image of themselves that they present to the world. Yup, even the ones who make every effort to suggest that they don't do public relations and swear that this really is the real them. As a matter of fact, the maintained image of "yep, I'm a real human, I'm honest, normal etc. etc." is another sort of public image. But unlike your average John Q. Public down the street, who has his public face on to reassure his boss, mates and family that he's not into getting dominated by the next-door neighbour's granny, your average J. Random Rockstar has made his/her public image to entertain us, the adoring fans. Rather like a character made by a cartoonist or writer, in fact. (And remember that many authors admit that their characters are a version of themselves.) And here's the part relevant to slash - many of these personas are intended to be sexually attractive. Shocking, isn't it? What with those tight clothes, smouldering expressions reeking of barely repressed sexuality, suggestive stances and motions, unnaturally exposed love affairs... honestly, you'd never have guessed these guys were announcing to the world with a loudspeaker "I am virile! I am all man/all woman! I am fertile!". Uh.. sure you would. These people are actively encouraging us to think of them as sexually available. That bold stare or coy glance at the camera is directed at us, intended to make us feel that they are looking at the viewer directly and with desire. Some of them even do it in an almost disturbingly blatant way. They are encouraging us to have erotic fantasies about them, and it's their own fault if our erotic fantasies aren't the same as theirs... have you ever seen "Only straight women between the ages of 16-40 are allowed to be inspired by this picture, and only if the result of that inspiration is a fantasy of heterosexual sex in the missionary position - with the lights off." in the small print under a poster? They present themselves as fantasy sexual partners, but do not suggest what we should do with them.. because as any sane human knows, there is a great big line between fantasy and reality. Namely, fantasy doesn't really happen. Think about it.. that greasy fat bloke you saw on the train the other day could be imagining that he's anally reaming you right now, but you aren't feeling anything sitting here at your computer. That's because it's not real. Whatever the said fugly is thinking cannot have any effect on you unless you allow it to. And believe me, rolling in millons of moolah in your very own private jet on the way to your estate in Majorca is a bloody good payoff for having a few fag hags thinking about your buddies fucking your sweet virgin arse. After all, you rob us blind via exorbidant CDs, tacky t-shirts and boring autobiographies .. so think of it as a fair deal. Oh yes.. and people who nick MP3s are not allowed to write real person slash. Not. Finally, a more abstract, but still quite possibly relevant point. When someone writes a story involving someone real, they are making what is essentially a fictional character. Yes, a character very (veryveryvery) much based on the real thing, but still your own interpretation of them. My opinion is that authors should be more creative with this.. putting your characters in different times, renaming them, tweaking physical apperance to your idea of perfecton, alter their circumstances and so on. Then you've got the excuse of saying 'based on so-and-so, but not entirely'... -- Links 
Wikipedia: Slash Fiction Fanfic Symposium: Essays On Rps Fanfic Symposium: A Christian Perspective on Slash Fiction YPP: "Slash fiction grows on Internet underground" -- ::BACK:: |