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viewsRelease Your Inner Fangirl
By NiceBuddhistGrrrl, Saturday, July 17, 2010, 4 commentsI recently wrote about how the Twilight series will lead to interesting sexual fetishes among its adolescent fans. Susan Boswell commented that, besides all the closeted BDSM, Twilight manages to tap into nearly every fangirl fantasy. There's the bad boy, the forbidden love, the perfect guy who picks lil ole you out of a crowd, etc. And that's a lot of why the series is so successful: it taps into fan fantasy. Hell, it's like fanfiction, and it hits a certain spot.
Now, that's not what I hope my writing turns out like, but damn if it isn't compelling. I'd love my writing to be so compelling. No matter what kind of art you make, don't you want it to be at least a little irresistible? Even if you don't, or you don't make any kind of art, let's take a minute to tap into what gets you hooked. You can sprinkle a little of what does it for you in your work, undoubtedly tapping into collective fantasies that appeal to others.
Or you can just explore the question of what people dream of, and why. So often the image of "sexy" is a limited picture of female attractiveness, scantily clad, waiting to be looked at--and no image of what she wants, except to be gazed at. If a cisgendered femme woman with a very specific kind of beauty isn't what you desire, or not the ONLY thing you desire, well, where's that represented? What other archetypes appeal? We talked about it a little with celebrity crush week. Now let's talk about character or fictional pairing crushes.
What shows or series do you keep coming back to time and again, not for the art, but because it gets you sighing? Who was your gushing school-days character crush? What love stories did/do you cheer for to an almost embarrassing degree? What was it about them? Let your nerd out here.
I admit that kept-apart-by-society was a major theme in my early fangirl days. For one thing, I romanticized all same-sex love stories that involved melodramatic homophobia. Now I find that annoying, because why can't we just have a love story where everybody's out and available?
One thing that hasn't changed is that I cheer for smart girls being appreciated (I am a huge "Buffy" fan and I over-identified with Willow more than you can image). If there's a sardonic character dead-panning for love, I root for them over the "perfect" character. Actually, in general I don't cheer for the perfect love interest, but for the freaks, the nerds. And I love a little bit of trouble, a little moral ambiguity, much more than a flawless character. I like obstacles in a fictional love story, but if characters keep being kept apart beyond what seems possible, or keep breaking up and reuniting, I just get annoyed.
That's just me. What about you? If you write, do your character crushes inform stories and characters you create?
Cross-posted with Creating a Creative Life.
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4 Comments
Thanks for the reference
Thanks for the reference NBG...Oh dear God, I must be really deperate...I am having difficulty coming up with any crushes, at least fictional. Maybe that is why the Twilight got me... it hooked me when I wasn't looking! LOL Usually, I pretty much hate all romantic fiction. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I usually find it corny and cheesy and a waste of my time. I will say in the Pillars of the Earth, which had the plot of a love story running through it, I cheered for the main female chracter... was her name Lucy??? The setting was in the 1100's or so, England. Lucy went through everything, from losing her "position" in society, to becoming a less than nothing... then building up a business to survive , conquering the evil villains who tortured her and sought to destry her, and ended up with her soul mate, a really nice, younger I might add, sensitive, artistic man, a carver of the ornamental stonework on a cathedral. And a creative, talented designer. And there were a few, sensitely written love scenes...although that wasn't a big part of the book. Now that I think of it, some parts of that story have some similarities to the Twilight saga. And maybe my own life, although I am no lady, no wench , and certainly not a mousy schoolgirl! LOL
But you know, it is hard to think of many other stories that appeal to me in terms of fantasy. In most of them, the male is a buffoon, or jockish- overly testosteroned, very few of the male leads do much for me, in terms of the way their characters are written... Hollywood, in particular really doesn't do much in terms of "sensitive male roles." Although if they come up with one, that LOVES to wash dishes, that might be a big turn on! Ha! thanks for the gushy and thought-provoking blog.
Exactly!
I think you hit it on the head, Susan. Guys in mainstream media are so often unattractive characters, so when a male character is sensitive, genuinely funny, romantic, whatever, well, fangirl mania! There's actually this awesome joke book series called "Porn for Women," which is just photos of attractive guys washing dishes, vacuuming, saying things like, "I can't tell you what to do, but I love to listen," etc. It's fantastic!
hehehehe. I am laughing my
hehehehe. I am laughing my head off with that one...
It could also go under the "fantasy" section, cause it ain't gonna happen!!
I was never really the
I was never really the fangirl type. I didn't go gaga over New Kids on the Block, like the rest of my elementary school friends. The only thing I was into was Beverly Hills 90210. Outwardly I could profess to be in love with Brandon and Dylan, and I was, but I was also in love with Brenda and the other brunette girl (tiffany something or other). I have a thing for brunettes.
I do love a good vampire story. (I have never read twilight) Often fantasize about being bitten by one, feel life slip away, in the middle of sex.
Which brings me to the topic I guess I truely am a fan of. I love reading stories with strange sexual encounters. I read a lot of Dean Koontz as a kid. Usually there was a strange sexual fantasy or encounter to be found. If I were to write the sexual fantasies I've come up with over the years, I'd do so under a pseudonym. I don't think the pta would look at me the same if they knew what went on in my mind at night ;)
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