Ampersand!

[kerravonsen]

I am spreading a meme. So there. alara_r wrote in this post about the "&" fic as opposed to the "/" fic -- where "/" is used to show the "pairing" of the story (whether that be a slash pairing or a het pairing). Wheras an ampersand fic is about (deep but) platonic relationships. Blake & Avon. Jim & Blair. Jack & Daniel (and indeed, Jack & Daniel & Carter & Tea'lc). It's a more positive term than "noromo" and less confusing than "gen" (because "gen" has about four or five different meanings already, depending on who you're talking to). It's more specific too -- I mean, you might write a PG-13 Jack/Carter Jack & Daniel story -- and while that's "gen" by one of the definitions, by other definitions it isn't. And it certainly isn't "noromo"!

I mean, what is it with all this "pairings" stuff anyway? I just saw a fanfic meme on my friendslist recently which had questions in it like "What's your favourite pairing?" -- as if fanfic was defined by pairings! How can I answer that question -- I don't have a favourite pairing, but I have some favourite ampersands? (Jim & Blair, Jack & Daniel, Avon & Blake, Avon & Vila...). It was friendships that drew many of us into those fandoms in the first place! Are we forgetting that?

Actually, I have a theory... (oh dear, the song from the Buffy musical just wafted into my head)
This emphasis on pairings could have arisen partly from the practice of many archives and ficlists of requiring or requesting that people say what pairings occur in the story. Or maybe that's just a symptom, not a cause, considering that I just remembered another major archive which just requested that people list what characters appear in the story, not the pairings. Both requests have been done in order to aid the readers in search of stories about their favourite characters. So why the emphasis of pairings over characters?

Not that I want to put down pairings per se (though that does seem like such a... non-romantic word...). I like romance (as distinct from lust-at-first-sight). I've never liked the term "noromo" because I don't want to exclude romance from my fics where it fits. I just want friendship and platonic deep friendship to be recognised on equal terms, is all. So let us use an equal term: ampersand.

Comments

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Taking time out from irritating paperwork to say that I agree with the idea in principle, but not necessarily about the punctuation mark itself. Ampersand is a great word but irritating to try and write (and yes I do sometimes go places without my Portable Word Processing Device. Plus I've sort of got used to using hyphens for platonic relationships between specific characters: makes it easy to write eg X/Y-Z.

But otherwise I'm all for encouraging the idea that there's more to fanfic than pairings and plenty of relationships that aren't about romance and/or sex.

Then again I'm not big on the way a lot of fen view ratings either. I can easily write a 15 or 18 classified story (going by BBFC rules anyway) that has no sex in it or a U or PG story that's all about a romantic relationship.

So go on, convince me why '&' is better than '-'

Gina

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I just want friendship and platonic deep friendship to be recognised on equal terms, is all.

I totally agree, and once said on a mailing list that it was devalued when people assumed that all closeness and affection had to have a sexual or romantic basis. I then got accused of being anti-pairing, which I'm not--I just think that friendship can be as powerful as what is usually called 'love' in English. Part of it is due to our society though. I've even had people assume there was more between me and friends who happen to be male, and holding hands with a friend of the same gender is accepted in other cultures but not ours.

I'm finally writing my big PGP, which has at least one pairing, possibly more later, but a lot of friendships--whether acknowledged as such or not.

Random thought...

[tptigger.livejournal.com]

...(and then I'm hitting the manage friends page, honest...) Could it be the general emphasis on finding romance in our culture in general? (I swear, if one more relative asks me if I have a boyfriend...) It's simply spilling out into fanfic.

But I agree, there seems to be an emphasis on romance over close friendships, which I sometimes find... frustrating. To say the least.

Re: Random thought...

[kerravonsen]

Could it be the general emphasis on finding romance in our culture in general?

(Tonto voice) Our culture, white man?

Though of course, the contention that there is more emphasis on romance/dating in US culture than other western cultures is probably moot, since online fandom is probably US-dominated, especially for fandoms around US shows (such as Stargate, which is one of the culprits in the above marginalizing of friendship).

It's also hard to find good SF shows where there are cannonical friendships as distinct from cannonical pairings. You have a chance of this in ensemble shows (such as Stargage) except that people then run around pairing everybody up! (Jack/Sam is cannonical, but I really don't see any evidence for Daniel/Janet, for example). Then you get the shows with partners, but if it is a male-female partnership, nobody ever lets them stay friends... It's like they said in "When Harry Met Sally": "Men and women can't be friends." (grumble)

I think I find it doubly frustrating because the kind of romances I like are where the two become friends first, and then realize they love each other. Guess that means I don't believe in love at first sight.

Re: Random thought...

[tptigger.livejournal.com]

(Tonto voice) Our culture, white man?

::headsdesk:: My bad. Can I plead exhaustion? :)

I take it the dating service thing hasn't gotten as out of control in Aus? (OK, I admit it, I don't have the chance to watch enough Australian TV...)

Dating (was Re: Random thought...)

[kerravonsen]

I take it the dating service thing hasn't gotten as out of control in Aus?

I don't know about that -- I don't watch much TV myself! But the thing that totally boggled me when I encountered it when visiting the US was the attitude that all male-female interaction was in terms of dating -- even interaction between eight-year-olds! What happened was that an eight-year-old boy doing something with an eight-year-old female friend was referred to as "a date", seemingly seriously. I just find that incredible. And not particularly healthy. Perhaps it was an isolated incident, but it sure stuck in my mind.

[crazymadjo.livejournal.com]

Wandered over from mommie_geeks page. I really identify with this frustration and also shy away from "/", only I tend to use "'n" for some reason. "Jack 'n Daniel". Same diff.

The way I see it, especially in Stargate fandom, is that you've got some fans who were attracted to the friendships in the show (the team in general, or a couple members of the team in particular) and another group that really only light up when romance comes into play. I'm sure there's plenty who love a bit of both, but the general polarization of the two halves is like nothing I've ever seen in any other fandom.

Oh, and according to one survey, evidentially my "ideal Stargate pairing" is Daniel/Rock. Ooooo-kay. *g*

Squeee!

[crazymadjo.livejournal.com]

Oh, and may I just add "squeee!" over your Avon & Cally icon? First B7 icon I've seen on LJ.

Re: Squeee!

[kerravonsen]

Take a look at my friendslist, and you'll see quite a few more. And of course then there's the b7_rpg.