(no subject)

[bubosquared]

I'm really, really bored. And nicfitting. And randomly lusting after Sean Bean. I'm pretty sure the latter could be a way to cancel out the former, but so far no joy.

Comments

Re:

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

Well, what do you have that you want to talk about about underaged slashers so far? I mean, I was one myself, but so where you, but I'm sure you have a totally different take on it than I did since where you lived you were technically of age, just not to the slash world, and where I lived I wasn't.

Have you talked much about shounen ai/yaoi and how Japan seems to market male same-sex relationships to younger teenage girls? I have no idea why this is, but I've noticed it. I think it's sort of strange, but considering the way many young American girls write slash, and who they write it about, you get that same uke/seme feel to it, that makes me wonder if that's actually a common thing for younger girls to fantasize about. Particularly because I've noticed that as I've gotten older, I've gotten more and more distanced from slash. I no longer write primarily slash, nor do I read specifically slash, nor see slash everywhere I go quite as much as I did when I was younger.

Do you think the recent influx of anime&manga into our culture is what's driving the age of slashers younger and younger, or do you think that's the internet's doing?

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely bring up the Manga/Anime thing, that's something I hadn't thought of (and a good point, as well).

So far, I'm mainly concentrating on "These are the facts, now how should we deal with 'em?" questions, such as "Which standard do we use?" (Over 18? Over 21? Over 16? Over legal age in the country where the reader resides? Where the writer resides?) and also whether people still use age statements on lists and/or web sites, and why (legal reasons, do they actually believe teenagers shouldn't read about sex, etc).

The panel will be an hour long, and shared with molly, who will take care of the "underaged characters" part of the equation, so I'm trying not to run out of time. :)

Re:

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

Well, I've never put up an age-specific disclaimer on my fiction site, at first because I thought it would be hilarious to have a disclaimer that said I couldn't read what I was writing, but now because I think it's retarded to say that at a specific age, everyone is mature and ready to deal with things.

I'm 20, and I have friends older than me who are far less experienced and who are kinda nervous about the whole sex thing in general, and I have friends who are younger than me who are far more sexually active. It's just something that happens, but I think saying "you're 18, now you're mature enough to deal with everything" is bullshit, because some people have already been mature enough, and some people aren't yet.

I do have a "maturity warning" that says, "look, there's some nc-17 fic on this page of both a heterosexual and homosexual nature. If you can't deal with it, go away." which sums up my opinion of the matter without bringing the reader's age into it.

I think with most mailing lists, it's more a matter of not getting in trouble than it is a matter of believing that teenagers shouldn't read about sex. At least in my experience.

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Well, I've never put up an age-specific disclaimer on my fiction site, at first because I thought it would be hilarious to have a disclaimer that said I couldn't read what I was writing, but now because I think it's retarded to say that at a specific age, everyone is mature and ready to deal with things.

That's always been most of my reasons not to as for age statements on my lists, too. I mean, I was barely eighteen myself when I started RareSlash, and the whole idea of asking for age statements just seemed like a surefire way to ensure I would always be the youngest on the list, and no. Plus, I really resented the specific-age rule, because it's stupid and annoying and seems to ignore the fact that hello, no all of us live in the USA. (I have issues with the US-centric way a lot of fandom still thinks. Though i must say, it's improved since my early days.)

I'm 20, and I have friends older than me who are far less experienced and who are kinda nervous about the whole sex thing in general, and I have friends who are younger than me who are far more sexually active.

Which is the other reason why I think age statements are a bit silly. I mean, nothing I've seen in fandom so far comes even close to de Sade, which I (legally!) read at the "tender" age of fourteen. Hell, most discussions and stories in fandom pale compared to the discussions that went on at my lunch table when I was 15-16, and I don't think my school had an exceptionally high concentration of perverts. All teenagers are pervs, I'm pretty sure it's in the handbook.

I think with most mailing lists, it's more a matter of not getting in trouble than it is a matter of believing that teenagers shouldn't read about sex.

Most, yes, although a) I've seen some exceptions, and those people really took it to paranoid lengths that amazed me, and b) I still have my doubts about the potential for trouble (and the ability of age statements to hold back said trouble), especially these days. But that's me, though that might be something to bring up in the panel.