on the subject of changing sexualities, and how queering a straight person isn’t the same as making a straight person queer.
Here’s how it’s not: straight people do not suffer through this in real life. Straight people are not told their heterosexuality is just a phase. They’re not told that their sexuality isn’t valid. They are represented. They are accepted. No one tries to cure them or change them. They don’t have to live in denial of their sexuality for fear of being disowned, assaulted, or killed.
These things DO happen to queer people. Because of that, the act of turning a queer character straight carries MUCH more weight than doing the opposite. I’m not saying it’s unforgivable, because these are fictional people who can’t be hurt by our actions, but there’s a history of real, actual oppression behind making queer characters straight that just isn’t there when straight characters are made queer.
Context is important and your treatment of issues in fiction can reflect your thoughts on those issues in real life. People who are sensitive about queer characters being made straight have every reason to be, given the history of queer erasure; straight people who do it are basically telling queer people they can’t play in their own sandbox anymore.
ironicorgasm asked: SO HOW 'BOUT DAT BLATANT TRANSPHOBIA O' HIS
It’s pretty blatant!
The funny thing is, at first I felt like it was unfair to call him transphobic, when really he was more just rampantly cissexist. They’re pretty much two sides of the same shitty coin, but I feel like there’s a difference between being ignorant and ciscentric and actively deriding trans people.
Then I got in an argument with him where he, among other things, purposely misgendered me to offend me and said that having a vagina makes you female, so I’ve rethought my stance on that.
Anonymous asked: Ugh, his reaction to the fic... was pretty disgusting TBH.
Yeah, it’s honestly just sort of shocking. I don’t really understand how you can be that personally offended that someone is going to write a pairing that you don’t like. It’s not your fanfic and they don’t owe you anything and they never made you read it.
The way he seems to feel entitled to tell other people how to interact with fandom is really at the root of everything, like I’ve said before, and that exchange with Elemental (who I think may actually be a girl, but I don’t know them so I don’t know for sure) shows it off nicely. The second he even suspected the author might be writing something he didn’t like, he became openly hostile and had to explain exactly why this was a terrible, wrong thing and shitty writing, instead of just saying he didn’t want to read it and moving on.
Anonymous asked: You are doing a Good Thing here.
Thank you, I’m glad you think so.
I do want to say that I am aware it’s pretty petty, and that any criticisms leveled against the whole concept of the blog are probably legitimate. There’s no real need to have one and it’s giving time to someone who frankly doesn’t deserve it. But it’s fun and I also think that pointing out exactly how insidiously nasty some of these ideas are is worthwhile. None of the things Vex says are really unique, but they’ve been staying stubbornly around for about as long as there’s been slash fiction to complain about.
Anonymous asked: what was the fic vex left a review on threatening to stab the author
The fic is Not What We Planned On, by Elemental. Here’s Vex’s review; the threatening comment is the second one he makes.
Anonymous asked: this is good and you should feel good.
Thank you! Honestly, it really does make me feel good when people follow or even just reblog or like my posts. The whole reason the blog exists is to point out why things like this are nasty and offensive and hurtful, so it makes me feel good when people agree.
Anonymous asked: i think that vex is trying to report your blog...
Is there a way to know if you’ve been reported or do I just have to wait to see if it gets shut down or if he starts saying something about it?
Because no offense, anon, but I’d rather know for certain than get worked up over someone whose name I don’t know telling me that. I’m sure you’re not lying, but I also don’t have any way of knowing for sure.
