Somebody stop me!

[emmagrant01]

Before I hurt myself.

But seriously, I have a question. It appears that most people who participate in slash fandoms are politically liberal (or left-wing, if you prefer that term). I realize that means many different things in different countries, of course, but when I cruise my f-list, I see lots of people who support gay marriage, who oppose the war in Iraq, who oppose the Bush administration in the US, and so on. It could just be a product of who happens to be on my f-list, but I'm not sure.

So are slashers, in general, more liberal than the average person on the street? Why or why not?

If you're not liberal and are a slasher, do you feel like a minority? Do you find it difficult to express your views?

ETA: The terms "liberal" and "conservative" mean different things to different people and aren't even opposites -- it's possible to be a liberal conservative, for example. I would love to hear what the word "liberal" means to you if you're applying it to yourself, or even if you don't.

I'm also curious to hear from people who don't support gay rights and believe homosexuality is immoral, yet who read and/or write slash. I know you're out there! I'd love to hear what you think!

Comments

[kat99999.livejournal.com]

Fore warning - I probably will stop making sense about a quarter of the way through this, and I may not actually have a point. *giggle* But I was just drawn to this question <3

I think what it is, with slashers being more liberal, is not so much that slashers become liberal people, but liberal people become slashers. I don't think anybody who wasn't in support of gay rights would really deeply emerge themselves in the slash fandom, and really the people who have Livejournals are quite involved with this community, or are hoping to be. So it sort of follows that you would see that sort of support driven towards homosexuality, and therefore I think it extends to most minority groups and the support of those also.

I think people in the slash fandom are very much on the side of Free Choice and the right to make your own decisions, and that falls in with being anti-war and, really, anti-Bush. Because from what I've heard about George Bush (being English I don't know as much as I might otherwise, heh), he is so anti-choice, with regard to abortion and war and marriage rights, that he is really not the appealing choice to a liberal person. At least, that's why I dislike him so much, along with his complete one sidedness. I think this fandom tries to be very much about taking on different views and opinions, and people here want to learn. Which is ironic, because alot of the arguments that seem to happen derive from not accepting different views and opinions, and so it all gets a bit confusing.

*smirk* Man, I'm so itching to write some sort of essay. Roll on, uni, before I start analysing QAF or the HP fandom on my journal! *giggle* I don't suppose any of that made sense ;) ;) ;)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

is not so much that slashers become liberal people, but liberal people become slashers.

Yeah, that's what I've often thought. If you were against gay rights, thought homosexuality was a sin, etc., why would you be interested in reading/writing slash in the first place? that said, I do know there are people who believe homosexuality is a sin and who read and write slash anyway. There's more on that in some comments above.

I've also heard people say that they used to be fairly homophobic, and one day stumbled across slash fanfic. It squicked them, but for some reason, they found it intriguing and read it. Over time, they changed their minds completely and became supporters of gay rights in RL. Clearly, this is a really complicated issue.

Man, I'm so itching to write some sort of essay.

*grins* Go for it! Thanks for contributing your thoughts!