Shipper tendencies

[gategrrl]

Can someone explain to me why there's such a compelling need to sexualize and Romantic-ize characters? I've been there myself, but I seem to have gone past that as a "serious" endeavor. I'll *play* with characters and their sexuality -- but the *need* to pair them up romantically just isn't a priority, and it seems so unnecessary, and somewhat Mary Sueish, especially if it's certain types of het and slash writing.

It's not so much the sexualizing -- that I get, it's fun to imagine your favorite characters whupping it up with the whipped cream and cherries, and get down and dirty and sweaty. But at the same time, what I'm puzzled more about is the need to Harlequinnize decent characters who already have complex, nonsexual relationships with each other, that get totally boring when they DO get together.

Anyone?

Comments

[nialla]

I sorta think what she is trying to say is that why do we necessarily have to ship? Every show, every movie, every book (it seems) has this compulsion to take great character chemistry and translate that into something sexual.

Turn that question around and ask this, "Why not?" The romance genre may be derided, but it outsells every other genre -- and those genres often include romantic elements too. Romance, and the inherent thoughts of sex even if it's not detailed on the page or screen, are mainstays of storytelling.

What compells us to do this? Can we have something that doesn't ship (or slash) and still enjoy that same chemistry?

I have a split mentality regarding ship/slash/gen. I prefer to watch gen onscreen, because if TPTB try to show unresolved sexual tension, they have to drag it out for ages and when they finally do resolve it, I don't care anymore. But I can also discuss shippy/slashy moments with ease, and enjoy fic with those elements. Though I tend to read mostly slash, and I think that has something to do with the fact that it's not something that will happen on the show. Gen and ship can, so I'm not as interesting in them.