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

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

You know, I once upon a time wrote a whole essay about the phenomenon of mutism in TPM fic -- specifically looking at several stories in which Obi-Wan was deprived of speech, and making some pretentious point about feminism and the silencing of women and yadda yadda. I wonder where that essay is?

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Really? I'd love to see it. Especially since I can think of at least three stories where Obi-Wan is mute and one where Qui-Gon is...

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

That was part of the essay: the fact that Obi is usually the mute one.

I'll see if I can find it...

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, Obi-Wan is usually the one getting tortured, no matter how the writer chooses to hurt him. It's got something to do with him being the younger, shorter one.