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

[kaffy_r]

Thanks for linking to the interview. The more I read about, and from, this guy, the more he makes me grin.

He's half Coyote, I think, at least when it comes to interviews. Maybe that's the best way to think of him, (not Loki, mind; just Coyote); that makes it easier, and maybe more advisable, to listen to the feel of the words and not the words themselves. If that makes any sense.

Just a couple of other things:

Firstly, I got no feeling of disrespect for the fans from RTD as I read his words. They were far more reflective, for me, of that complicated twist of feelings that siblings have for each other.

Secondly, earlier today I happened to jump briefly to a different post about the RTD interview. The writer hated the interview, and repeatedly employed a particular slang term in the post, using it as a description of RTD and of RTD's writing and the interview in general. The term is specifically, rudely, anatomical and refers only to female genitalia. Now I may be overly sensitive, but my first thought was "Hey there, poster-person! Do you dislike women so much that you can think of using no other word than this as your idea of utmost opprobrium? Congratulations on tangling the gender/sexuality/self-identification threads even more than they'd been already in this here already confused discussion! Care to muddy some water, too?"

Thirdly, WORD. I forgot to say this earlier about your words.