and on another subject, but related to queer fetishization

[rm]

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/07/backlash-shmacklash-thats-torchwood-creator-russell-t-davies-reaction-to-the-outcry-over-the-death-of-gareth-david-lloyds.html#

I know many people in fandom are pissed about this interview.

But you know what? I fucking love it, because what I do think he's taking aim at in the thing about "go watch Supernatural" and the paragraph that follows on from there, I think he's talking about the fetishizaton of gay characters by parts of the audience and some of the nasty pop-psychology out there from people who really haven't walked even an inch in anyone's big gay shoes. Now sure, those people aren't all of fandom, and no one likes to be lumped in with clueless people they really disagree with, but so it goes.

For me, it's hat tip to RTD time. I don't always agree with his writing choices or his thoughts on writing, but I largely loved CoE, and am writing both Ianto is dead and Ianto isn't dead stuff, and think his remarks on this theme are right fucking on.

(and for the record, I don't think Ianto was fridged either. Jack's ongoing lovers are going to die, and, while he works for Torchwood, probably young and violently. If we expect to see omnisexual Jack having relationships with men, we have to expect those men to meet nasty ends in service to the dilemma of Jack's existence).

(and for the additional record, we can disagree and respect each other, because this is, among other things, about how we care about stories, and that's fucking lovely)

Comments

[songspinner9.livejournal.com]

He may be abrasive, but he's right. Some of the fussing and wailing and accusations were clearly people who had their own lens they look through - and that's all they see. RTD wrote characters who were NOT just one thing, not just gay or lesbian, not seen just as the man or woman (or alien), not just as good or bad. That's why I like watching. And it's the writers' show, not the fans. We can write what fanfic we want to, and that's fine, but Ianto was fated to die from the start (I love that Gareth keeps pointing out that the writers had Ianto die and changed their mind more than once!). Jack is never going to have someone who lives as long as he does, not even, ironically, the Doctor.