YouKnowDamnWell

I think it’s time we had a talk about female versions of originally male characters in fanfic.
          	
          	It’s not that every writer is deliberately being homophobic, but the choice is often shaped by heteronormative bias, and that’s why it feels off.
          	
          	If you’re making a male character female specifically so you can ship them with a man, whether in-universe or a crossover, that’s weird. If the dynamic already works, then what exactly is the point of changing their sex?
          	
          	Especially in fanfiction, where you have unlimited options. If you want a self-insert or a female character in that role, you could write an OC who went through similar experiences, do a twin or sibling AU, or create a new character with the same vibe.
          	
          	There are so many ways to achieve the same thing without removing queerness from a dynamic that already works.
          	
          	That’s really the issue. It’s not genderbending on its own, it’s when it’s used to default a dynamic back to straight when it didn’t need to be.
          	
          	And it’s noticeable too. I’ve got a whole list of ships I liked where it’s genuinely hard to find versions that aren’t genderbent in this exact way.

YouKnowDamnWell

I think it’s time we had a talk about female versions of originally male characters in fanfic.
          
          It’s not that every writer is deliberately being homophobic, but the choice is often shaped by heteronormative bias, and that’s why it feels off.
          
          If you’re making a male character female specifically so you can ship them with a man, whether in-universe or a crossover, that’s weird. If the dynamic already works, then what exactly is the point of changing their sex?
          
          Especially in fanfiction, where you have unlimited options. If you want a self-insert or a female character in that role, you could write an OC who went through similar experiences, do a twin or sibling AU, or create a new character with the same vibe.
          
          There are so many ways to achieve the same thing without removing queerness from a dynamic that already works.
          
          That’s really the issue. It’s not genderbending on its own, it’s when it’s used to default a dynamic back to straight when it didn’t need to be.
          
          And it’s noticeable too. I’ve got a whole list of ships I liked where it’s genuinely hard to find versions that aren’t genderbent in this exact way.

harleyQuinnfan17

Hiii! I just want to say thank you. 
          
          Thank you for giving my story ( Angel with a shotgun ) a chance, I know it’s a little messy and a little over the place, I had no clue where the story was heading. 
          
          I appreciate the comments you have left !

YouKnowDamnWell

Just wanted to hop in here rq  and say that y’all Cole Walter girlies have the self respect of Sakura Haruno and impossibly low standards. Especially considering the fact that how Alex is, is literally what y’all say y’all are looking for in your s/o. But apparently Alex being protective and jealous (and rightfully so) is an “ick”. Cole is quite literally the reddest of flags and a few random nice gestures to try and make the audience empathize and sympathize with his character isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be) changing that. It’s okay to like characters who aren’t great people without making excuses for them or trying to make them seem like a better person than they are. And also Jackie ain’t off the hook either because she trifling fr but that’s for another time.

YouKnowDamnWell

I also find it weird how there’s so many Cole fanfics when Jackie literally chose him, leaving Alex (the better brother fr) open. There’s like 6 Alex ones, maybe 1 Danny one, no Nathan ones, a couple Lee ones, and quite a few Isaac ones.
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