Hello there!

Hmm I have read many femslash stories here (mostly jeti with few Taeny and yulsic in between). And I have noticed something in most fanfics that irks me a lot. It makes me want to throw my mobile in trash can after pouring sulphuric acid on it. 

And that something is heteronormativity. 

Now, some might ask what is heteronormativity? 

It's the idea that relationships can happen only between a guy and girl. That relationships have to fall in to the traditional gender roles of man and woman. It's the idea that a man is masculine and a female is feminine. It's the idea that a man cannot be feminine and a woman cannot be masculine. 

Heteronormativity considers masculinity to be dominant and femininity to be weak. 

If a woman is masculine than that woman is a 'man'. And if a man is feminine than that man is a 'woman'. 

What I am saying is, that usually if a woman in femslash fanfic is strong, dominant and physically active than that woman will be referred to as a 'man'. She will become the guy of the relationship. Even if she is a girl. But her qualities make her seem like a guy. 

Now, tell me, can't a woman be strong, dominant and physically active in her own right? Why does one need to be called a 'man' or a 'guy' to be strong? Femininity is not something that is weak or inferior in front of masculinity. A girl could like pink but still be strong and dominant. 

One more thing. There is NO GUY in a femslash relationship. It's a relationship between TWO WOMEN. Please respect that dear writers. Even a tomboy/butch woman should not be referred as a 'man'. A guy with feminine qualities should not be referred as a 'woman' or sissy pants. 

Gender is complex dear writers. Gender could be defined as social constructs or roles placed on a individual based on their ( or ). But it's actually something that goes beyond the traditional roles of man and woman. Have you ever heard of genderfluid? It means a person can shift between feminine and masculine qualities. They are fluid when it comes to gender roles.  

Gender dynamics is very complex in same relationships. You just can't shaft it into traditional roles of a 'man and woman'. You can't call Taeyeon and Yuri as husband of Tiffany and Jessica respectively. That is offensive and insulting to the whole femslash community and it's sentiments. It's offensive for a woman to be called as a man. Because women are just as strong and competent without any sort of comparison to men. 

Otherwise what's the difference between straight and femslash fanfics? All you need to do is replace 'he' with 'she'. Otherwise everything is the same. For example, in jeti fanfics, Jessica is called as the man or boyfriend or husband. Just pick up any arranged marriage jeti au. Jessica would be the husband, and she would be explicitly called as a husband. And Tiffany would be the easily jealous, melodramatic, loud wife with Jessica being the hen pecked husband.

I think the same goes with Taeny and yulsic. Taeyeon and Yuri are the man of the relationship. And they are called as a man in the fanfic.  

But there are authors who do represent femslash correctly. Sparksfly and dearthearts for example. And I myself never call a girl as man in the fanfic. Even if that girl is dominant and physically strong. Because men don't have a monopoly on being dominant and strong. 

In my Bonnie and Clyde fic, I made Tiffany cross dress. But she died as a woman. Because I wanted to show how important it is for a woman to be seen as a woman. Comparing a woman to a man isn't a compliment. It's a insult to personal dignity. As if a woman can't be dominating without being labelled as a 'man'. 

This isn't a angry rant. I am just speaking what I think. I have done a course on gender and society. I am a psychology college student. I know what I am speaking about. But if you disagree with me than do so. But all I want to say is that femslash fanfics should be written with more care to avoid heteronormativity. Perhaps do more research on it using Google to avoid heteronormativity in your work? 

A woman can love a woman as a woman. You don't need to be a man or labelled as a man to do so. That's all I want to get across. 

Oh, and what do you guys think of gender bender? Do you find it heteronormative as well? Do you find it homophobic as well? Because I kind of do.

Leave your comments in the comment section below! :) 

And sorry if I have pissed you off. But this is something that just needed to be said. Showing lgbt correctly in fanfiction is kinda important.