reddwarfslash | Labels In RD Fic (Or Lack Thereof)

A comment I left on a RD slash fic on AO3 and its author's reply set me thinking about the extremely relaxed approach to labels which virtually all RD fic writers seem to have. With Michael_McGruder's permission I'm reproducing the exchange here. (You can also find a link to their fic in the first comment to this entry; I recommend the whole series it's a part of.)

Me: You know, I think this is the first time I've read the word "bisexual" in an actual RD fic as opposed to meta. Not a criticism, just an observation.

MM: Yeah, I'm not sure why everyone is so skittish about defining anyone as bisexual in fics, considering nearly 100% of them make Lister bi.

It's a good question. I'm not sure whether it's because we're usually talking about Lister rather than Rimmer. While the canonical evidence of his interest in women is undeniable (and no-one's trying to deny it) he also seems pretty likely to dislike the whole concept of labels.

Alternatively, it could be because of RD's setting and the fact that there are no humans around to make definitions necessary. Or maybe there's just something about this show which encourages a laid back, laissez-faire approach to this kind of thing, much as no-one's bothered about defining Rimmer or Lister as a top or a bottom. What do you think? :)

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Debated about whether or not to join the conversation, but figured what the hell. And I'll be speaking strictly in the context of Red Dwarf fan fiction, not fan fiction in general.

The thing about this "labels" business, is that it never, ever comes up, unless a character is identifying as bisexual. Many fics have one or more of the characters coming out as gay, and I've never heard anyone say, "ooh, labeling him gay seems a bit specific." It seems to be related to the overall problem of bi-erasure, but I don't want to speculate too much on where other people are coming from in their aversion to the word "bisexual."

As for the political sentiments in RD canon, which I attempted to address on Tumblr once but for some reason it digressed into Ionian politics about equal rights for the dead... The idea that in the future people beyond labels is demonstrably untrue. Yes, there's the business of Lister and Kochanski's conversation in Duct Soup, where the whole thing felt a bit weird, but all of VII was a bit weird and it's canon whether people like it or not.

It's not just Lister feeling funny about being gay in another dimension or Bent Bob. Herman Goering is referred to as a transvestite, in IWCD Lister comments Ken is a transvestite, Lister ribs Rimmer about the fact that he looks like he could get a man with the giant hair Holly gave him, Rimmer is notoriously homophobic, Ace comments that he didn't realize Bongo was non-hetero, Rimmer commenting that Lister's ex in Dear Dave was probably a man... Sexuality, sexual preference, and sexual identity are conversations in Red Dwarf canon.

Going back to my original comment on AO3, it just seems totally bizarre to me that when almost all of the RD fiction involve bisexual characters, people aren't very keen to actually say it openly.

All good observations. While I think you make a fair point, the only actual label used in those exchanges (by my recollection) was the comments about transvestites. Although there's comments about people getting men, suggestions of bread being buttered on certain sides, no one (as far as I can remember) has ever used the terms gay, homosexual, or even heterosexual, apart from the one exchange with Kochanski which felt very... out of place.

I will freely admit, that I am probably not the best person to even be answering these questions. I started reading fic very shortly after I started watching the show, so that's probably colored my observations of the characters a great deal. It's hard to see the show through non-fic lenses, once it's gotten into your brain.

Edited 2015-02-08 23:59 (UTC)

It's true that specific terms are infrequently used, but considering all weird sexual situations everyone finds themselves in, bisexuality is pretty pedestrian. I guess I'm just bored of it always being tip toed around.

I would argue that not mentioning a characters sexuality explicitly within a fic might not necessarily be tip-toeing around anything. If I were asked to describe the characters' sexualities, I would definitely describe Lister as bisexual, Rimmer would be tougher to pinpoint. I'd be tempted to say his sexuality hasn't really been defined, both because of his lack of experience, and his own reluctance to see himself as a sexual person (being a member of the Love Celibates, etc.)

But, there's never been a moment in any of the fics I've written where I've felt the need for any of the characters to either talk about or specifically reference what their sexualities are. I don't feel that's me tip-toeing around it though, it's just never felt particularly relevant for the stories I've written. Other people's mileage may vary. :)

There is something I've had on the backburner for months that might require some talk of sexuality once I start fleshing it out, but I'll have to wait and see what happens, once I start actually writing it.

You know, now that I've thought about it some more, it seems to me that Rimmer is much more likely in fic (and even in canon) to want to stick a label on himself.

Given that it takes him all of part of an episode to declare himself a "working class hero" after learning who his real father is in "The Beginning" I can easily imagine him wanting to define his sexuality too if he started a relationship with Lister. He might even read books about it and come up with his own original label. *Possible fic bunny* :)

Veronica_Rich wrote something like that regarding his new class status (in his own mind). Rimmer feels more comfortable when he has something to cling to.

Labels In RD Fic (Or Lack Thereof)

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