Musing on a specfic kink...

[neotoma]

sueworld2003 has an interesting post on slave-fic in Buffyfic that I found through metafandom.

I don't read much in Buffy anymore, but I have noticed slave-fics as a cross-fandom thing -- TPM fans, I'm looking at you -- and have even tried to write my own fic on the subject ('twas terrible, by the way). There was even a slash archive, Boys in Chains, dedicated to slave-fics, once upon a time.

I think, given that I've mostly seen stories focused on male characters as slaves, that it is a way to force a male character into vulnerability. The character is pushed into a position that is usually female -- someone valued only for their body (or sexuality) and not as a person in their own right. Watching how the character deals with such a reversal of the normal power structure, if done well (or at least in ways that hit your bullet-proof kinks) can be really enjoyable.

But why is it that most of the stories focus on men as slaves? I think it's because most fanfic writers are women, while they are writing about something most of them have to deal with in their daily lives, namely women having less power in general in social dynamics, it's easier to approach it through the eyes of the Other -- through a male character. The male character isn't going to be treated badly because he's a man, he's going to be treated badly because he's a *slave*, while a female character could be treated badly simply because she's a woman. It's a bit safer to look at something awful if you aren't imagine yourself in exactly that scenario.

Or maybe we just like to imagine attractive men in handcuffs...

Comments

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

That's a really good point. I think some of it is the whole "ooo, pretty men in handcuffs in chains", but the rest of it may be low-key epxloring a fantasy that would be degrading to a woman herself, because slavery is like double degradation. I don't mind slave-fic when done well, but it's a fine line, because I'm not into the BDSM scene, a lot of people mix the two. I prefer the power-playing deal, and naturally, remain extremely picky about it.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I think that often reflects a lot about what individual authors assume about their place as women in our culture.

It's quite depressing sometimes, especially when the primary character is degraded and comes to love it or accept it as something he *deserves*.