Just when I thought "mpreg fanfic" (a fictional TV or movie character impregnating another fictional male TV or movie character) couldn’t be topped, along comes "Real People Slash"…fanfic in which two real people have fictional sex with one another like, say, Mr. T and Corbin Bernson. What kind of person writes this "Real People Slash?" Look no further than Robin Reid. Here’s how she describes herself in her bio at JACK, an e-zine dedicated to homoerotic fiction by fanfic writers:
Robin Anne Reid was born in Idaho and left as soon as she could. She became a science fiction fan as soon as she learned to read, a J.R.R. Tolkien fan at age ten, a Star Trek fan at age thirteen, and a Harlan Ellison, Joanna Russ and New Wave SF fan at age fourteen. She is currently active in LotR LiveJournal fandom, writing both Real People Slash and Fictional People Slash. She has been addicted to writing sestinas for some years and always assigns them in her poetry classes. She teaches creative writing, contemporary women writers, and critical theory as well as Tolkien and Popular Culture classes. The internet provides her main social life since she currently lives and works in rural northeast Texas, living with twelve cats, three dogs, all more or less happily co-existing with cows, coyotes, skunks, and oppossums.
Somehow, I’m not surprised that a person who writes "Real People Slash" lives with twelve cats and considers the Internet "her main social life," are you? Now imagine what the people who read Real People Slash must be like. Horrifying, isn’t it?
It’s only a matter of time now before we get "Real People M-Preg Slash Fanfic." I, for one, can’t wait to read about Justin Timberlake carrying Brad Pitt’s love child.
UPDATE: The folks at "I Speak My Mind" blog discovered this hilarious piece posted anonymously at Fandom Jam… Check it out on the jump:
hmmm…should RPS fall under the same category as other fanfiction. The author should get permission from the copyright holder, in those cases, the poor fuck they’re writing their stories about…
Dear (fill in name of famous actor):
I’d like to write fictional stories of you having sex with other actors from the movies you are in. Such stories will be written without regard to your actual sexual orientation or concern for your marital status.
Would that be all right with you? Please indicate permission by emailing me at YouShouldProbablyHaveARestrainingOrderOutAgainstMe at BizarroSexualFantasies.com
By the way. I plan to post these stories all over the internet, but I will be sure to put up a disclaimer that they are outright lies.
I hope that meets with your approval. I want you to know that I am a really great fan of yours and have complete respect for who you are and what you do. Telling lies about your life and your sexual proclivities is my way of expressing that respect.
Sincerely,
VeryMuchNeedsALife Smith
YUCK YUCK YUCK! I need a giant sponge to scrub my psyche after the image conjured by your Mr. T / Corbin Berson line. 😉
Hmmm Mr T / Corbin is small potatoes in the RPS world – there was some Bush / Blair stuff out there at one point…
“It’s only a matter of time now before we get “Real People M-Preg Fanfic.” I, for one, can’t wait to read about Justin Timberlake carrying Brad Pitt’s love child.”
You don’t go out much do you? Exist already.
By the way, going a bit off topic, about Mpreg and real people, did you know that some of the very young (at least, I really, really hope so) actually believe that male humans CAN have babies? I think at this point, it stops being a problem with fanfiction…
That’s pretty stange alright. She’s right about one thing: that sort of topic wouldn’t fly in Idaho, yet there’s an Ellora’s Cave author from here. “Kit” something. May have something to do with the strict social atmosphere?
“mpeg fanfic”
I couldn’t really get beyond this. I don’t understand. Forgive the naive question, but you mean, like, Cosmo Kramer impregnates George Costanza? I think -anyone- can understand the appeal of hot sweaty Cosmo/George sex, but male impregnation?
Human variety continues to amaze me.
Try to get up to date some time, Lee. RPS mpreg has existed for years already.
Can’t say that I’m able to understand it, but then there’s all sorts of people in this world. Some even like to read “Diagnosis Murder” tie-ins….
kete
I’m not much of a fanfic reader, although I’ve always taken a casual interest in the community which surrounds it. As a bystander, I’ve come to suspect that the appeal behind mpreg is the whole relationship-bonding thing which comes with having a baby. (Biological wackiness aside.)
Heck, a lot of slash writers give male characters female qualities anyway. There seems to be a trend for treating homosexual couples like stereotypical hetrosexual ones, so mpreg just seems to be an extention of that.
There was a Bill Gates/Steve Jobs slashfic SERIES that flew around the web a while back. I was told it was well written for the genre, but I’m proud to say I did not click on that one.
Thanks for the reply, S. Whelp. V. interesting. Of course, as the father of a new baby, I’ve gotta say that ‘bonding’ isn’t the first thing to spring to mind at the whole pregnancy, childbirth, and raising an infant thing, but still … interesting. Male pregnancy as a buddy-bonding technique. Mr. Mom meets Lethal Weapon.
Jesus, Lee, where do you FIND this stuff?
I don’t know why mpreg surprises you so much. There was this movie a few years back called Junior in which Arnold became pregnant, or maybe I’m the only one to remember that movie.
Heck, HBO and Showtime have TV shows that are about slash for that matter. It’s part of the larger culture, not just the gutters of the net.
Mark
…but then there’s all sorts of people in this world. Some even like to read “Diagnosis Murder” tie-ins….
Somehow it seems that “Diagnosis Murder” is a bit more… mainstream?
Heck, HBO and Showtime have TV shows that are about slash for that matter.
Really? About slash? Or just about homosexuality? Because I think there’s a bit of a difference here. I don’t know which shows you’re referring to, so this may be simple ignorance on my part (always a possibility).
Man, she is a keeper! Is her number listed in that bio?
JDC
Ain’t a helluva lot to do in northeast rural Texas, and I doubt your hobby is something you’d want to bring up with your neighbors after church.
This is actually based on a true story.
Hey, Lynn! There’s the go ahead we need to collaborate on that Keith Richards vampire story.
Of course, the Stones might sue us for slander, demanding proof that Keith has risen from the grave at times other than a gig or a recording session.
I can’t help but think that all this attention being paid to fanfic is just giving it free publicity.
And now I’m really going to put my foot in my mouth by adding my two pence (ha ha.)
I’ve noticed that a fair bit of ink and space is being devoted to the subject here; it started out as a simple statement of opinion and very reasoned, cogent arguments about why you don’t agree with fanfic. I may not have agreed with you, but I certainly could understand your viewpoint; your initial posts on the subject gave me food for thought and a deeper understanding of the “furore over fanfic”.
But this last post seems to me to be treading dangerously close to the edge of vituperishness. I didn’t see any reasoned discourse or logical argument in it, I saw you picking out something you felt was absurd (quite appropriately) and then veering into something uncomfortably close to a personal attack. Posting the author’s bio and then tarring everyone who might read fanfic with the “moron” brush is not what I’ve come to expect from this blog, so it took me a little by surprise. You’re entitled to your opinion and your dislike of fanfic, it just disturbs me to see the progressively-more-bitter form your arguments against it are becoming. Maybe it’s time to step back and take a deep breath?
I’m not saying, or implying, that everyone who reads fanfic is a moron.
What I am saying, is that anyone who reads Real People Slash “fanfic” is, like Robin, probably someone who lives with 12 cats and substitutes surfing the Internet for a social life (What do you know, sometimes the cliche is the reality).
Personally, I find the idea of writing or reading Real People Slash idiotic, juvenile, and more than a little bizarre…and incredibly insensitive to the feelings of “the real people” involved in the “fic” who might not appreciate being cast in this, um, light.
If you’re worried about people being offended, I’d be more concerned about the “Real People” unwillingly portrayed in the slash fic than the disturbed individuals who are writing and reading the crap.
Mr. T gets drilled by The Dentist… wasn’t that a Monk episode?
Seriously, this has to be a violation of the Right of Publicity/Privacy and/or defamation, doesn’t it?
Seriously, this has to be a violation of the Right of Publicity/Privacy and/or defamation, doesn’t it?
I could be wrong – but I think you’ll find that most of the mainstream archives won’t touch this sort of fic with a bargepole because of the issues mentioned above.
This is a difficult one for me, because as far as RPS goes, part of me agrees with you.
I can’t see why anyone would write fanfiction about real people, and if they must why they can’t see that doing so has the potential to cause immense hurt if not to the person to their friends and family.
Fictional people, on the other hand are fair game. They are not real, they have no feelings to be hurt and no family who may be upset. The argument you make against conventional fanfiction strikes me as a matter of business – if writers really thought they were losing sales because of fanfiction, we would have had very many more court cases about it.
But ask any lawyer who’s ever dealt with a libel case – they are not about income, they are not normally about business, they are about feelings, and those can’t be argued away: people in the UK occasionally go bankrupt pursuing libel cases. And I understand from my (UK) lawyer friends that putting a disclaimer up stating that the story is fiction may in fact make the situation worse, not better – not only is the writer publishing lies, she states outright they are lies. Way to go, people.
Needless to say, these views have made me unpopular in some fannish circles, but I can live with that.
The tone of your post though…it strikes me you’re straying very close to, “Look at the funny monkeys in the cages, daddy. Aren’t they funny?” I found that unattractive when my nephews were five and at nine, they’ve grown out of it.
I can’t remember a single argument from a writer that says fanfic is wrong because somebody’s losing sales. In my experience, that’s a straw man trotted out by fanfic proponents.
they are about feelings, and those can’t be argued away
I’d say that’s true for most copyright violation, especially when the copyright holder is an individual, not a team or company. It is also about business, but I’d venture that most novelists are bothered by fanfic as much because of feelings as career considerations.
If you’re worried about people being offended, I’d be more concerned about the “Real People” unwillingly portrayed in the slash fic than the disturbed individuals who are writing and reading the crap.
The point of my comment wasn’t offense. Some people are offended by fan or slash fic, others are not. I simply meant to point out that you’ve spent a lot of blog space on this issue and you seem to be getting very, very angry; it surprised me to see the change from your usual sometimes-acerbic-but-generally-restrained posts.
Part of the reason why I read your blog is because you generally are a “class act” who stays away from personal attack; however, you seem to be getting so angry at fan and slash fic that you seem to be straying into that territory. Which is why I suggested the deep breath. It’s not the fanficcers’ feelings I’m worried about.
Keith: I can’t remember a single argument from a writer that says fanfic is wrong because somebody’s losing sales. In my experience, that’s a straw man trotted out by fanfic proponents.
But, you see, to me that would be the only argument which would really hold water: when you write for money, that is a business – your writing is your ‘product’ in the same way as widget factory’s product is widgets. If something someone else does affects your income from your business then you have reason to complain, the same as if someone has stolen your patent design for widgets, made them cheaply in Taiwan and undercut your sales. (If you just can’t sell your product because your product is overpriced/not very good and the market is full of widgets/novels, well, that’s your lookout.)
It is also about business, but I’d venture that most novelists are bothered by fanfic as much because of feelings as career considerations.
I’ve never heard the argument, though, that the managing director of a widget factory in any way “identifies” with his widgets and therefore his right to make a profit should be protected on the grounds of sympathy for the producer. I admit, the situation with patent and with copyright aren’t exactly analogous, (though IANAL) but they aren’t dissimilar: the purpose of copyright is to protect the income of the original writer, not his feelings.
I also think that if you are identifying very closely with your work, it may be time to step back a little. It strikes me as similar to the concerns that Lee has about fans – if I’m paraphrasing him correctly – that their concern with the not-real has become too all-consuming. If you are a writer (professional or amateur) your concern with the not-real is likely to be greater than if you are (for example) a railway engineer or a policeman (or an actuary) but you and your work are still separate.
I’ve certainly encountered actors whose concern for one role (usually the one which made them famous) eclipses all subsequent roles and for whom the line between that role and themselves was worryingly blurred, but at least they have the discipline of earning a living to stop it going too far. Fan writers and fen in general likewise have to engage in outside pursuits if the gas bill and the mortgage are to be paid. But if a professional, paid, writer identifies himself too closely with his work where would he stop?
More straw men, Rommel. I write because it’s what I do. I sell it because I can.
In what way is this a ‘straw man’ argument?
You’re making lots of inaccurate assumptions and then arguing with them. That’s a straw man.
We don’t merely make widgets, no matter what you think.
It’s silly to compare an artistic creation to a widget. Writing (or music or sculpture) might be a product, but it’s not just a product.
Only a person who has never created something of their own wouldn’t understand that.
“It’s silly to compare an artistic creation to a widget. Writing (or music or sculpture) might be a product, but it’s not just a product.”
True, but I do think that P.M. Rommel has a good point in there. Fanfiction can’t, by definition, hurt those who publish books, or work on TV shows, or make movies. It can’t. It does not have that capacity. I’ve also found the “Oh, but I feel bad.” arguments to always ring a little hollow. There was someone who said having fanfic made on her work was similar to being raped (I’m too lazy to look up the exact quote right now). Knowing someone who actually was raped, that’s a joke, and not a very funny one.
Considering that fanfic cannot hurt the authors or owners of a particular franchise, I find the amount of vitriol poured out over it rather amusing. Especially given that there are artists out there who do have genuine copyright infringement damages to worry about that don’t make nearly the stink about that as some professional authors do about fanfic.
For example, John Williams is someone I’m sure everyone has heard about, and “Star Wars” is probably one of his more famous themes. In any given football season, I’d estimate that somewhere between 100 to 1000 marching bands play some version of that song in their shows. I’d also guess that most of them have not paid for the music that they’re using. Their directors probably arranged it on their own (it’s not that difficult to do, after all). A good few of these bands record their show tunes and put them on CDs to sell to their fans in order to raise money for their music programs. These directors and schools are not only using copyrighted materials, but they are making money off of it and not paying royalties to the copyright owners. And this practice is not unusual at all. John Williams loses an actual tangible dollar figure on these pieces per year.
Somehow, I find the “oh, but I feel bad when people misinterpret my books” argument to be a little silly when I remember this fact.
But who are you to tell someone else how they should feel?
Again, I think this is obvious to anyone who has ever created anything unique of their own.
Okay, then replace “raped” (which I agree with you about) with “violated.” It is a violation. If you think it’s silly that someone who spends years creating a personal, artistic work feels violated when someone else misuses it, that’s your shortcoming as a human being.
To set your misunderstanding of music copyright straight…
I don’t know who owns the STAR WARS publishing rights, but that entity (whether Williams, Lucasfilm, or whoever else) does make money on those marching band performances.
– If the marching band uses sheet music, a copyright holder is paid by the sheet music publisher.
– If the marching band is televised, a copyright holder is paid by a performing rights organization such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC.
However, you are correct that Williams (or whoever) is being cheated when a band director makes a CD of Darth Vader’s Theme and sells it without permission.
As someone who has been a musician for a little over nine years, your run-down on music copyright laws was unnecessary…although it was well-intended, so I will take it in the spirit in which it was offered.
The reason I gave the example I did is because many, many, many bands do not buy sheet music. Arranging your own music, is—as I said—not really all that hard, and I can think of three computer programs off the top of my head (one of which has a free trial available that does not shut you down after thirty days) that can be used to write and print one’s own, readable, music. Why shell out $100 for a show and music to go with it when you can just make it yourself? And the making and selling of band CDs is very easy these days and very common.
My point is not that feeling bad is invalid. But “I feel hurt” is a sort of fall-back argument I see people going to a lot when they are unable to give a tangible example of how one practice or another has actually caused them real trouble. And given that there are people who do have tangible losses due to copyright infringement, it puts “I feel bad” into perspective.
Fanfiction can not take food from your table, money from your bank account, sleep from your nights, or fans from your fandoms. It can not confuse people as to what you actually did and did not write (yes, I’ve heard that argument used before). It can turn people onto your work that were previously unaware/uninterested, it can make people read books or watch shows more closely and with more thoughtfulness, and it can keep a group of fans active and interested during a dry spell in which a writer is not publishing. The fic that crops up on here couldn’t do that (RPS is crazed), but there are good fanfictions out there. Given that the number of negative things fanfiction can do seems to be limited to loss of warm fuzzies for a few authors, and the positives extend to getting the authors and copyright holders more money and causing other authors to be immensely flattered, it’s hard for me to see fanfic as bad.
More on Robin the Real People Slash Writer, from her blog (http://www.livejournal.com/users/ithiliana/391101.html)
:
“In regard to the “attacks” on the blogs: hell, I’m nearly 50, and have spent much of my life having men and some male-identified women tell me that I am a bitch, a communist, a marxist, a liberal (it was the fifties/sixties, it was Idaho, where everybody used to wet their pants about communist attack), or otherwise “unnatural.” Why? I did not want to get married. I don’t like children. I like reading and cats. I’m well used to people thinking that I must be a miserable, fat, sex-starved, old maid who “sublimates” everything into the cats. Although I’m baffled at the accusation of fatness, even if it is true. What these guys have against fat women is beyond me. Maybe one sat on them in 3rd grade?”
Of course she’s fat, too! You’re right, Lee, sometimes the cliche IS the reality.
I followed Frakman’s link. Frakman missed the best part!!
Robin writes “Real People Slash” and sees nothing wrong with depicting real people, without their consent, having homosexual relations. But she’s outraged that Lee referred people to the bio she publicly posted on JACK herself!! In fact, she sees it as an Invasion of Her Privacy!! No joke!! Here’s what she says:
“Luckily I’m a great big girl with tenure and academic freedom and publication credit of my own, and I do not think anything that they are putting on the internet about me is going to cause me problems. I’m pretty much “out” in major ways on my campus mostly through the medium of my academic writing. My department hired me, tenured me, and supports Academic Freedom, bless their collective hearts.
However, I want to state that in principle what Lee and Paul Ziggy and Co. are doing is invasion of privacy and harassment, simple and clear.”
Keith: You’re making lots of inaccurate assumptions and then arguing with them. That’s a straw man.
I had a feeling we were arguing from a misunderstanding: that’s not a classical straw man argument. A ‘straw man’ argument is where one party posits a particular position and then trots out a series of arguments intended to cut those down.
I didn’t do that.
I explained that there is one argument that writers could make that, suitably backed up with evidence of loss of earnings directly ascribable to that cause, I’d accept as a good reason to object to fanfiction. I don’t at any stage attempt to claim that that I don’t accept it or that it won’t stand up.
We don’t merely make widgets, no matter what you think.
Where did I say that you did? I’m sorry, but what part of the concept of ‘analogy’ is causing you difficulties?
David Montgomery: Writing (or music or sculpture) might be a product, but it’s not just a product.
I’m curious. If it’s not ‘just’ a product, what else is it?
I’m not saying, or implying, that everyone who reads fanfic is a moron.
But you are saying we’re disturbed and have no friends. Hmm … I can see how this is moving away from petty character attack, indeed.
I was going to do the dumb thing and try and engage further, but I’ll leave it at that. There’s obviously no smart way to answer that type of post.
Alice, let’s say you’re right, and as long as there’s some benefit to the copyright holder, anyone should be able to use anyone else’s intellectual property however they want.
How about if we make that the law, and then a tobacco company uses your music to sell cigarettes to children?
Hey, it keeps people interested in you between CDs, right? And it doesn’t take any money out of your pocket.
Yes, there are some silly extrapolations we could make, because it’s a nonsensical scenario–and if you’re more interested in sparring than learning, you can find entertainment value in shredding it.
But it’s also a pretty decent parallel of what you’re suggesting, which is that as long as there is no financial harm to the author, other people should be able to do whatever they want with that person’s writing.
I think anyone who attempts a life as an artist would be hypocritical to deny others control over their art.
Hypocrisy 101
Robin Reid writes Real People Slash fanfic — fictional stories about real people having homosexual sex (like, say Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio) and posts it on the Internet. She doesn’t think it might be offensive or embarrassing to the
I’ve been reading about real person slash for years-while waiting to pay for my groceries.
According to the rag headlines this summer, Tom Cruise was having an affair with Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20) and brainwashed Katie/Kate Holmes (soon to be Cruise) into marrying him to hide the scandal.
I wonder how many tabloid ‘journalists’ started by writing Spock/Kirk fic?
Hmm, I don’t know. While I do agree that Real Person slash is a bit questionable (to say the very least), I don’t think that it’s necessary to post the person’s bio and make personal attacks based on the fact that she has 12 cats and lives for the internet. Sadly, more and more people have become internet dependent over the years; sometimes it seems that I’m the only person without a blog. My point is, though I agree with you completely that Real Person slash is somewhat depraved, emphasizing that fact by slandering a person and posting their odd bio is in somewhat poor taste.
I think it’s even a little more sad that you felt you needed to write an expose on it.
A person’s interests and what the feel like writing.
I personally don’t read real person slash @.o because I don’t find actors interesting enough in general– which is why I read fanfics about the characters the play… etc..
Anyway, I like reading about gay sex, are you gonna write an expose on me next??
And since she’s not making any money off of it she’s allowed to you and names she wants in her stories… which is all they are.
Hi. I just wanted to say that I read real person slash and I love it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, really. Some actors, such as Sir Ian McKellen and Karl Urban, have given their express permission for people to write about them. What’s wrong with writing fantasies about people you find attractive? Writers aren’t actually insinuating anything about the celebrities, they only want to write stories with characters based on them. It hurts no one.
Peace,
-M.L. Nelson
You are a sicko, ML. Plain and simple.
I read slash. Actually, I was searching for some when I happened upon this site. I am continually suprised by the obliviousness people have towards slash…and the disgust. I’m an avid Harry Potter slasher (I’m hoping Harry and Draco get together in book 7 ^ ^), and though this doesn’t fall under the category of real people slash, there are often crossovers with the actors in the Harry Potter films. Alan Rickman/Jason Isaacs for instance, and I read those too. Then there are random slash fics between band members. Gackt (a huge rock star in Japan) is often paired with the members of his band and most commonly with his best friend You. I wasn’t aware that so many people were unaware of this internet subculture…and if you looked into it, you’d find that Mpreg fics and RPS are the least of anyones worries.
I realize that this was posted some time ago, but I just recently came across it via a google search. I feel the need to post and clear up several misconceptions and erroneous statements. I should preface by saying that I am a writer of both fanfic and original fic and am a law student. I don’t live in an online world, but have a family and commitments outside of the internet. I take classes, I participate in religious observances( However I shall not disclose my religion it’s non of your business), and I am involved with PTO at my son’s school, I am a Mensa member, and have an active and very real social life.
Firstly, RPF or Real Person Fiction is legal in the united states as it falls with in the boundaries of parody. It is not true that no reputable archives will touch it. It is in fact simply a matter of preference and understanding one’s audience. However, I find it appalling that RPS that is Real Person Slash was singled out and not RPH or RPFS those being Real Person Het(heterosexual) or Real Person FemmeSlash(lesbian sex). What of RP Gen? RPF is written almost always out of love and respect for a well known figure. Most people who write it, adore the person they write about. And not in a creepy stalker kind of way, though you get your fair share or MarySue’s and MartyStu’s. Those if you don’t know, are when the author inserts a fictional character based on themselves and makes them perfect and wonderful and everyone loves them… usually perpetrated by the pre and early teen set.
Saying that anything in fiction, fiction being the key term you seem incapable of grasping, is impossible is not only ridiculous but it makes you sound rather uneducated. After all, the point of fiction is that it is not true. Otherwise it would non-fiction. MPreg should be the least of your worries, Americans are so quick to freak when something seems off. Are you aware that in Japan, such fan creations are not only anticipated, but expected?
To further address FPF, that is Fictional Person Fiction, or all fanfiction not already addressed with RPF, you should know that it also falls under parody. Many authors have issues with it, though I find them ridiculous. And yes, saying they are hurt is completely inane. If you create something that you then share with the public, whether it be a written work or something visual or musical, you open it to interpretation. Just because you don’t like what they interpret, doesn’t mean you can say they are wrong.
Enlightened individuals like Joss Whedon and George Lucas, understand that fanfiction keeps the fans interested and active. It lets them explore all the many permutations that could exist but never get used in the official story line.
Fanfiction writers never pose their work as official, never affect the revenue of a work or the status of a celebrity, make no money and only desire to write about those which they feel a passion for. Some amazing writers started as fanfiction writers. Even some of those professional ones you seem so desperate to protect from getting their feelings hurt. The major difference that is failed to be seen, is that the reason this is harmless, is that no writer is saying these things happened. Unlike a factually presented news story, these are clearly fictional tales. No one is saying that anyone is actually sleeping with anyone else. Or even friends with anyone else.
To address her dislike of you “publicly” posting who she was and where from on here, how many of the people that read this then went and sent her harassing or threatening comments or mail? We value our privacy. All of us you included. She posted who she was on a community of like minded individuals. Of which, you are not. Did you ask her permission to use her as an example? No. So how are you any better then you claim she is? Especially when what she is doing causes no damage but what you did can cause a great deal of harm!?
The answer is simple, bigots are always going to be bigots and they will always think they are right no matter what the circumstances. That you could judge anyone for this is truly despicable. Ignorance is such a disgusting thing, and posting about a subject you neither understand nor have bothered to fully research is the height of arrogant ignorance. As are most of the commenters. Research before you attack something you don’t understand and know nothing about!
To be completely honest, I see nothing wrong with RPS.. the people who are written about in such stories aren’t losing money over them, and are you all really so self-centered that you’d think actors would worry about what YOU write? Seriously, They. Don’t. Care.
Some of them actually find it amusing, case in point AFI. There is a website, http://www.afislash.com/index.php that some of the members of AFI are known to show up at. But that’s beside the point, I know, since AFI’s sort of stand-alone in that aspect.
Anyways, as a writer of fanfiction and, very rarely, of RPS, I feel I must defend my fellow authors/readers. Fanfiction is not mainstream, if you didn’t notice.. the tabloids aren’t going to concern themselves with something so utterly unimportant as a story about Christian Bale and Trent Reznor getting it on in a made-up hotel room, or Liv Tyler and Angelina Jolie falling in love. It’s not gonna happen, and all that the tabloids would get out of writing about such things is lawsuits.
You wrote “To be completely honest, I see nothing wrong with RPS.. the people who are written about in such stories aren’t losing money over them”
It’s not always about MONEY. It’s also a matter of courtesy, respect, privacy, and common decency. These aren’t fictional characters, these are real people with feelings, families and friends. Would you write RPS about your family and friends and post it on the net? No, because you would be ashamed to do so and you wouldn’t want to hurt them. Show actors the same courtesy.
Hmm….how many (male) teenagers wank off to fantasies of Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie or Britney Spears?
THAT’s involving real people into your fantasies too. And I doubt that Ms. Jolie would be pleased to know that pimple-faced Mattie Jones (age 16) just came all over a picture of her that he nicked from one of his sister’s fashion magazines…
Yet Mattie Jones’ kind of fantasy seems to be socially acceptable.
You might say that there’s a difference between Mattie Jones and Ms. Reid since her fiction is posted on a public space like the internet. But if you browse the ‘net long enough, you will find Mattie Jones’ type of fantasies there too (maybe even including some nice photo-manips).
At least most RPS revolves about romance, feelings and people evolving as a couple (probably because most slash is written by women) and it clearly states in the disclaimer that it is just a fantasy.
Mattie Jones on the other hand is in it mainly ’cause he wants to get off and because he wants to bolster his non-existent self-esteem by telling himself (and his d00dz) that he’s the kind of stud who could score with a star.
May he who has never wanked off to the fantasy of a movie-star or famous singer throw the first stone.
I want to say firstly that people are really taking the idea of “fanfic” (which I adore to write and read) out of it’s elemenet—no matter what kind of fic it is, whether it be real life, slash, humor, incest, etc….is all just for fun. It is not used for profit, but only as a medium for fans to get even more out of the show/movie, etc than the original material allowed. I personally believe if someone is not making a profit off of it, then it should be totally legal and allowed to be put in an UNOFFICIAL online archive.
I am a writer and used to be an avid writer of fanfiction for various TV characters, I still occaisionally write a fanfic here and there and HAVE written “actor fics”, but always try to stay true to their real life personas. As long as I don’t spread them “all over the internet” and share them only with a few people in a fandom, I don’t see anything wrong with it. There is no way to prove that the actor I am writing about is even that person because who could prove that I’m just not writing about another “Rob Reiner”?
I am a heavy believer in the notion that as long as someone is not profiting from something that they create (aka intellectual property)…and yes, even actor fics are intellectual creation by the author of the fic, not the actor. The concepts/personas belong to no one and therefore are free game.
Starting out, fanfic writing was something I did on a personal level and did not post it on the internet, with the exception of sharing them amongst a very small group of fans.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised that a person who writes “Real People Slash” lives with twelve cats and considers the Internet “her main social life,” are you? Now imagine what the people who read Real People Slash must be like. Horrifying, isn’t it?”
You know what I find horrifying? The fact that you took the time to personally pick some random girl you probably don’t even know and then proceed to go on a rant about how you think she’s such a horrible person for reading and writing about Real Person Slash or fanfiction in general when you don’t even know who she is. She doesn’t personally effect your life in anyway shape or form!
I personally agree with Julez! “May he who has never wanked off to the fantasy of a movie-star or famous singer throw the first stone.”
‘a decent person’ wrote: “These aren’t fictional characters, these are real people with feelings, families and friends. Would you write RPS about your family and friends and post it on the net? No, because you would be ashamed to do so and you wouldn’t want to hurt them.”
First of all, ignorance is bliss. I doubt most actors and actresses are aware of the RPS stories written about them. It’s not like we write a disgusting story including the actors and then publish it into a world-renown book. Not writing a story out of courtesy for a actor(who will probably never read the fiction anyway) is like holding a hospital door open for someone who’s 10 miles down the road.
And yes, me and my friends do have a tendency to write ourselves in a fictional story and sometimes we get a little femslashy in our “fiction”. You see, we have a sense of humor and we know that the things we write are out of pure entertainment, if not a pure mockery. It’s not like we run around promoting our fictional stories as the real deal.
And I’ve written a few RPS in my life. I’m not a 30 year old internet kook with 20 cats rummaging my apartment. I’m merely a normal teenage girl who, as Julez points out, have a tendency to write out my fantasies and post them online(for others’ enjoyment).
And I assure you, an actor whom I write RPS about will not need a restraining order on me. I’m capable of maintaining myself in front of an actor… despite the fact that I may or may not have written a fictional story on them.
This entire article is just a judgmental misinterpretation of RPS writers. Unlike RPS, this article is intentionally insulting.