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[moonbeamsfanfic]

Question: Why don't we have a "pre-het" category?

I mean, if in a story two male (or two female) characters flirt and show a clear undertone of sexual or romantic attraction, the story is not listed as being Gen. It's called pre-slash, because while there is no overt kissing or sex, the inference is obvious that two same sex characters either wish to or will get together non-platonically at some point after the fic.

So how come stories in which two heterosexual characters flirt/exhibit desire but don't actually kiss 'on-screen' are still considered Gen?

Why aren't they pre-het?

Why is there that unconscious inference that the presence of heterosexual relationships don't violate General fiction's standard clause of "no sex or romance" but inferred homosexual relationships do?

ETA Underlying Question: What makes a story Gen?

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This meta question is brought to you by a reader who's had to stop reading far too many so-called "gen" fics because of unexpected pushing of a disliked het 'ship. (Even if nothing physically happens, the constant presence of the unwanted 'ship hovering over every action and character development never fails to completely ruin an otherwise fine story. It's very disappointing, actually.)

Please, if you have any insight into this, please comment! I'm honestly curious to know why this situation exists, and why it's considered acceptable by... well, pretty much everyone. I don't think I've ever seen this question raised before, in any fandom. I'm not ashamed to admit this puzzles me.

Thank you,
Moon.

ETA: Just in case, please note that my replies to your comments are NOT arguments -- just further questions. I'm simply, honestly, curious about this issue. I just want to know. Please, feel free to say anything you think or feel! The more input, the better the discussion! Thank you!

Comments

[moonbeamsfanfic.livejournal.com]

As for the whole gen thing, I think there is a mix up sometimes about what 'Gen' means. For instance, I consider 'gen' a rating and not genre, and if a story has a pairing (either het or slash) I put it under my character/pairing line.

I think this is might be the big underlying issue right here. Because I have always seen Gen as a genre -- and you have to agree, at least, that most major fic archives also tend to use Gen, Het, and Slash as categories to organise their fics. A "G" rating, for example, means no bad words, violence, or romance included. But a fic categorised as Gen will very often contain a great deal of violence, sometimes some very bad words, and (being the reason for today's meta question) the possibility of a subtextual het pairing.

So then, what defines a Gen story? Would a nice action/adventure hurt/comfort canonical/AU fic focusing on the plot and suspense instead of character relationships be Gen? Most of us would probably happily say yes, if only because the presence of a relationship (either het or slash) is simply NOT the point of the fic.

But what a character-driven piece in which developing that sexual or romantic attraction is the main theme and purpose of the fic, with any action or plot just being used as a device to achieve it, but the story ends before the relationship can be realised on-screen? Does that count as a gen story too? Because to me, it's not. It might be rated G, but it's about the pairing so ought to be categorised as such.

So then, what makes a fic Gen? Heck, for that matter, what makes one pre-slash or (if it existed) pre-het? Where's does the distinction become important?

[magic-8ball.livejournal.com]

Lots of great points already made, but I'll add my two cents'...

I agree with others who've written that Gen should probably be considered a category rather than a genre (which really should be restricted to mystery, sci-fi, action/adventure, etc.), but I'd add a couple of points. I totally agree that slash and pre-slash are likely often labeled that way because of the continuing taboo regarding those categories in many circles/fandoms, and I think it's totally appropriate to warn readers who might get skeeved (and thus avoid having to waste 10 seconds reading an unnecessary flame from someone who felt offended at the lack of a warning). However, there is no such stigma attached to het and pre-het stories in our culture. Furthermore, since the vast majority of canon pairings are, in fact, he, it would totally make sense for an author to think it appropriate t label a story featuring a canon pairing as Gen, even if the "plot" was merly a device to focus on the pairing. (And as an aside, it's worthwhile to pay a bit of attention to the fandom itself. Many fandoms focus largely on the characters, while others focus strongly on plots. So writing a fic where the plot exists primarily o drive character interaction may, in fact, be a completely appropriate structure for a Gen label in that particular fandom.

In my own view, I label something as Gen if it tends to follow the canon treatment of characters. So if I have a pairing, and it's canon, I'm likely to us e a Gen label. I can't imagine I would ever label something specifically as Het. Then again, I don't know that I've ever written non-canon or slash pairings... so I can't say my input is all that useful at all.