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noracharles"Gen fic" can mean many different things. Some people use it to mean G-rated fic, that is, fic suitable for general audiences, but most people use it to mean fic which is not about a romantic or sexual relationship.
A gen fic can be very relationship focused, and some friendshippy or smarmy fic is easily confused with het or slash. A gen fic can be about plots other than relationships, and it can be plot free. Often gen fics mention relationships and sex, and the possibility of them, sexual and emotional attraction, and there can even be explicit sexual and romantic content. What makes it gen is that the sex and romance is not the point or focus of the fic. Sometimes gen fics even erase any trace of sexuality.
Very often gen fics take heterosexuality for granted, sometimes to such a degree that I would call it het rather than gen. Even if the flirtation between Mulder and Scully is very much canon, if that flirtation and how it influences their behavior while they investigate the monster of the week is an important plot point, then your story is no longer gen in my opinion. I understand that people use the term in different ways, of course.
And sometimes gen fics acknowledge homosexuality, and the possibility of same sex attraction and flirting. These gen fics are like rare and precious jewels. Relentless heteronormativity can get very wearing in the long run, and it's just so relaxing to read an interesting fic with interesting characters which doesn't constantly subtly imply that I don't exist or am invisible.
I usually prefer shippy fic, and when I'm in the mood for gen I turn to pro novels. I love well-written and plotty gen fic, I've just learned that it's a gamble, and usually I'm not in the mood to take the risk of being squicked or feeling alienated by the rampant hettery.
That's where pre-slash comes in. Pre-slash is gen fic with character interaction on an emotional level and/or UST which admits of the possibility of queers existing. Sometimes it's well-written (yay!) and/or plotty (yay!) and it portrays queers doing activities other than having sex/thinking about having sex, hurray!
It's kind of amazing; every day, I do things which would be extremely boring for other people to watch: I water my plants, while being queer! I go for long walks in the woods and look for squirrels, while being queer! I sit by the computer and read, while being queer! I grocery shop, while being queer! It's almost like being queer isn't something I do exclusively while having sex and for the purpose of entertaining straight people not of my gender.
It would be nice if the very hetty gen fic were labeled pre-het, but I can certainly live with it just being called gen. I am grateful to everyone who labels their pre-slash as "pre-slash" or "slash-friendly gen" or otherwise indicates that it is not marginalizing queers. Thank you!
And to my acquaintance who complained about pre-slash because it was a tease, unfulfilling and misleading labeling; who repeatedly "forgot" that I am queer to the point of replying to "I can write a femslash sex scene" with "gah, I couldn't either, I'd be scared to! O_o"; who had fun discussing my sex life with men in graphic detail but always quickly found another subject when I so much as mentioned women; who expressed disgust and disinterest in reading about gay men who were not sexually appealing to her; who expressed disgust and horror at the idea of reading a fic with an f/f pairing when the fic was not even about the relationship - this rant's for you. I am completely weirded out that I never realized what a homophobe you are, just kept making mental excuses for when you "accidentally worded something poorly"; I'm even more weirded out that you probably don't even know you're homophobic yourself.
Here's a link for you, which explains how you can be a phobe and not know it: Color Blind or Just Plain Blind?
A gen fic can be very relationship focused, and some friendshippy or smarmy fic is easily confused with het or slash. A gen fic can be about plots other than relationships, and it can be plot free. Often gen fics mention relationships and sex, and the possibility of them, sexual and emotional attraction, and there can even be explicit sexual and romantic content. What makes it gen is that the sex and romance is not the point or focus of the fic. Sometimes gen fics even erase any trace of sexuality.
Very often gen fics take heterosexuality for granted, sometimes to such a degree that I would call it het rather than gen. Even if the flirtation between Mulder and Scully is very much canon, if that flirtation and how it influences their behavior while they investigate the monster of the week is an important plot point, then your story is no longer gen in my opinion. I understand that people use the term in different ways, of course.
And sometimes gen fics acknowledge homosexuality, and the possibility of same sex attraction and flirting. These gen fics are like rare and precious jewels. Relentless heteronormativity can get very wearing in the long run, and it's just so relaxing to read an interesting fic with interesting characters which doesn't constantly subtly imply that I don't exist or am invisible.
I usually prefer shippy fic, and when I'm in the mood for gen I turn to pro novels. I love well-written and plotty gen fic, I've just learned that it's a gamble, and usually I'm not in the mood to take the risk of being squicked or feeling alienated by the rampant hettery.
That's where pre-slash comes in. Pre-slash is gen fic with character interaction on an emotional level and/or UST which admits of the possibility of queers existing. Sometimes it's well-written (yay!) and/or plotty (yay!) and it portrays queers doing activities other than having sex/thinking about having sex, hurray!
It's kind of amazing; every day, I do things which would be extremely boring for other people to watch: I water my plants, while being queer! I go for long walks in the woods and look for squirrels, while being queer! I sit by the computer and read, while being queer! I grocery shop, while being queer! It's almost like being queer isn't something I do exclusively while having sex and for the purpose of entertaining straight people not of my gender.
It would be nice if the very hetty gen fic were labeled pre-het, but I can certainly live with it just being called gen. I am grateful to everyone who labels their pre-slash as "pre-slash" or "slash-friendly gen" or otherwise indicates that it is not marginalizing queers. Thank you!
And to my acquaintance who complained about pre-slash because it was a tease, unfulfilling and misleading labeling; who repeatedly "forgot" that I am queer to the point of replying to "I can write a femslash sex scene" with "gah, I couldn't either, I'd be scared to! O_o"; who had fun discussing my sex life with men in graphic detail but always quickly found another subject when I so much as mentioned women; who expressed disgust and disinterest in reading about gay men who were not sexually appealing to her; who expressed disgust and horror at the idea of reading a fic with an f/f pairing when the fic was not even about the relationship - this rant's for you. I am completely weirded out that I never realized what a homophobe you are, just kept making mental excuses for when you "accidentally worded something poorly"; I'm even more weirded out that you probably don't even know you're homophobic yourself.
Here's a link for you, which explains how you can be a phobe and not know it: Color Blind or Just Plain Blind?