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Written by Jen Parker
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Wednesday, 10 January 2007 |
 | No, I'm not talking about hip hop. I'm talking about the bad rap that we fangirls get. I bet you've experienced this: The conclusion-jumping ("you like Cloud? You like Sephiroth? YOU SLASH THEM DON'T YOU?"). The groans of fanboys whenever you say something about a BL manga. The assumption that you're just some 12-year-old ball of OMGSQUEE who thinks that yaoi is THEKINKIESTTHINGEVARLOLOL!!! |
So let's talk about the bad reputation fangirls get, why it happens, and how to fight it. That's right...it's MANIFESTO TIME.
{mos_sb_discuss:20}
From the Urban Dictionary:
"1. A fangirl who is obsessed with yaoi
2. The female equivalent of the male unbathed fanboy"
...Say what? I don't know about you, but I bathe pretty regularly.
I used to be in denial that I was a yaoi fangirl. Sometimes I still am. After all, I'm not a teenager, I don't slash EVERYone, I don't flip out over the smallest hint of boy/boy love, and there are even yaoi titles I don't like. So how could I possible be a "yaoi fangirl"?
I'm coming to realize, though, that I'm letting other peoples' assumptions about what being a "yaoi fangirl" means. All it really means is this: I like yaoi. Not all of it, not everything about it. Just in general.
Occasionally, though, it's hard to blame others-- especially fanboys --for having such perceptions. If I take a glance at the Yaoi and yaoi_daily_cafe communities on LJ, the aarinfantasy or DMP forums, or a dozen other yaoi-related communities...well, let's just say it's not hard to find the abundant misspellings and exclamation points, the slash icons, the squeeing, the capitals, etc. A lot of yaoi fangirls don't present themselves especially intelligently...to put it politely. ;)
Articles like the one posted by the Village Voice about Yaoi Con don't help either. If one's entire experience of yaoi is Yaoi Con, it WILL seem like we're all just a bunch of crazed horny psychos-- never mind that Yaoi Con is the culmination of all the fangirlish energy that can't be expended on the Internet.
I dunno about you, but I resent being frequently classified as some kind of 12-year-old moron. I'm a 22-year-old college-educated woman who has more than just manga on her bookshelves. So the question is: how do we fight this perception? Here are a few of my ideas:
- One exclamation point and/or question mark is plenty.
- Quit it with the goddamn alternate caps and all-caps. That's not what the shift key is there for.
- Check your spelling.
- Note that adding a "z" to a noun is not the appropriate way of making it plural in the English language.
- Be aware that MOST slash pairings are unrealistic (though of course, not all). Do I like the idea of Al bending Ed over a table? Yes. Do I think it should/could be canon? Er, no.
- Think before you speak(/type), and don't speak(/type) if you don't really have something to say (especially if you're only trying to pad your postcount).
There are a lot of really intelligent fangirls out there. I know-- I talk to you all the time! So let's show those dorky dumbass fanboys what it's all about! </double-standard like whoa!> ;) |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 November 2007 )
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