This will sound really strange but...

[katikat]

... when a male character in a fic is raped by another male character, there are no other pairings (het or slash) and the rape itself is a part of the plot (if you take it away, the story is completely gen)...

Is such a story still gen or slash? I'm not talking about the warnings or the necessity of making people aware of the story's content. What I'm getting at is the genre.

I would call it gen because there is no homosexual relationship. Just like I wouldn't call a story het only because a female character was raped... But that's just me.

Comments

[sharona1x2.livejournal.com]

I think it's still called slash because the author wants to make sure people know it's got a homosexual encounter in it. I agree with what you're saying. It could probably be labeled as gen, with a warning of homosexual rape.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

That's what I don't get. When the author labels this story slash... In my opinion, it sounds way too much like homosexual rape isn't equal to heterosexual rape. It sound like homosexual rape is equal to homosexual relationship and that kind of... irks me X(

[suzvoy.livejournal.com]

Gen, with a rape warning.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Heh, thought so too :P I really hate it when authors label rape stories as slash :(

[suzvoy.livejournal.com]

To my understanding, slash is about a m/m *relationship*, whether it's just sex or something more romantic. Rape is not a relationship.

:)

[dinofly.livejournal.com]

Like if there is no other pairing or generally there is no other pairing when there is rape?

When reality comes so much into fiction, is there still gender needed? Gen sounds fine to me, as you said, het or slash or whatever else depends on the pairing.

One question trough, what does count as pairing? When in a story is one sex scene and one of the partners dies shortly afterwards (gender not specified) and the other one moves to another partner (gender not specified).... what is pairing and what is promiscuity?

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Hm, I think that the relationship that's most important for the story decides if the story is slash or not. If it's just a story about Sam and Dean killing ghosts and it's just mentioned that "Dean returned late after getting lucky...", I would call it gen because Dean's ships with women are not important here. But if the story itself would be about Dean's promiscuity, then it would be het.

Err, confused yet? :P

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

The romantic pairing (whether it's unrequited, abusive, or fluffy) of the story is what gets labeled. If the story is about the victim's romantic relationship with the raper, then it would be slash. If the story is about the victim who has no romantic relationship with the raper, then it's a gen story or, better labeled, rapefic.

Yaoi manga is a good example of a 'slash' story that involves rape. Usually, the rape precedes/initiates a romantic relationship. The key is the romantic part. Also, romance does not have to = hearts and flowers. If the story is from the victim's pov and he loves the rapist, it's romantic. If the story is from the rapist's pov and he loves the victim, it's romantic. However, if the story's from the victim's pov and he doesn't love the rapist or will develop feelings for him, or vice versa with the pov, then it's rapefic.

I hope that makes sense. :)

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Heh, I think the same. I mean, I always choose the genre according to the main pairing. Thank you, thank you :D