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

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the pause in communication, had to go to bed. ;)

I don't know about that. Certainly some shippers are into projection but I don't know how commonplace it is - there's got to be room to argue that this is a case of people projecting into a woman who has some sparkage with Daniel...

Or could it just be that there's more *onscreen* chemistry between Daniel and Vala than there ever was between Carter and Sir and people are reacting to that?

Or that they're more attracted by the roguish element of Vala's personality rather than two forty year old pluses within a military framework? It could be argued that the Daniel/Vala thing is just the traditional 'bad boy' and 'good girl' dynamic turned on its head, which in itself again is quite unusual and therefore could be appealing just because it's not that common.