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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

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

This is a good answer to my above question actually, but has one draw back. Most shows (or other fandom canon) have pairings -- often quite explicit ones -- that a lot of fans don't like reading about. What about them? Are they left to just cross their fingers and take a chance every time they pick a story to read?*


But isn't that the nature of all fiction, not just fanfic? There is sense of entitlement, among fanfiction's readership that can be a bit silly sometimes, and I'm not just talking about the whole slash/het/gen issue. Some readers get very uppity if they don't like a way a relationship or character is portrayed, and while a person is entitled to dislike a particular pairing/ characterisation, I think that the readers being vocally 'offended' by it is another thing, and demands that the writer warn people about every single thing can get a bit wearying.

Genre, for me, are words like action/adventure/romance. I've added slash because people expect it, but I'm not comfortable with it. From my point of view, a rating and/or pairing should be enough.

Also, I'm also uncomfortable with rating something N17 just because it had a sex scene on it. For me, N17 is only justified by extreme violence and rape, not a love scene, but I suspect I'm being influenced by how things are rated, cinematically, here. Similarly. I wouldn't rate an action/adventure with violence as 'Gen', I'd rate it as PG!