I too come from a very geeky community of RL friends, many of whom are even more enthusiastic about slash than I am! In fact, I think almost all the girls I know are slash readers, and some are slash writers. Of the boys, some are more comfortable with it than others. One or two claim not to understand the appeal, but no-one actually has a problem with it. If they don't get it, they just humour us when we talk about it. No-one I know is homophobic.
I think attitudes are a lot more accepting among younger people, and I have never met a group of people more open about their own deviant or bizarre sexual practices than geeks! Everyone is incredibly open and accepting of pretty much anything.
However, I do notice that attitudes change with interest and age. In my experience, young non-geeks are very accepting of homosexuality but a little bemused by fandom and slash. Older people who are accepting of homosexuality might be a bit more vehement or hostile about the idea of slash, and then when you go older still, you run into the homophobes. This of course is a huge generalisation, but it is a trend I've noticed.
As for gay men, I don't think they should be any more offended by the idea of slash fiction than straight women should be offended by straight porn, or lesbians by lesbian porn. As a bisexual girl, I'm not offended by the idea that some guys like lesbian porn, so I don't think gay men should have a problem with slash.
It does occur to me though that if more men knew that girls enjoy gay porn just like guys enjoy lesbian porn, maybe they'd be more accepting of gay men. Just a theory.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-04-02 09:46 pm (UTC)I think attitudes are a lot more accepting among younger people, and I have never met a group of people more open about their own deviant or bizarre sexual practices than geeks! Everyone is incredibly open and accepting of pretty much anything.
However, I do notice that attitudes change with interest and age. In my experience, young non-geeks are very accepting of homosexuality but a little bemused by fandom and slash. Older people who are accepting of homosexuality might be a bit more vehement or hostile about the idea of slash, and then when you go older still, you run into the homophobes. This of course is a huge generalisation, but it is a trend I've noticed.
As for gay men, I don't think they should be any more offended by the idea of slash fiction than straight women should be offended by straight porn, or lesbians by lesbian porn. As a bisexual girl, I'm not offended by the idea that some guys like lesbian porn, so I don't think gay men should have a problem with slash.
It does occur to me though that if more men knew that girls enjoy gay porn just like guys enjoy lesbian porn, maybe they'd be more accepting of gay men. Just a theory.