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Hello, also random person who got linked through

dotcoms_refresh. I totally get not finding someone attractive, because we all have our opinions on what makes someone hot or not, and it's a valid choice to be fannish over someone you find attractive.

The thing is, I've seen people use "I just don't find so-and-so attractive," in a way that I'd consider problematic, i.e., someone saying, "I just don't find black/Asian/Hispanic/Latino people attractive." When it's phrased like that, it's seeming to assume that a) all members of a specific race or ethnicity look the same, and b) those features are automatically judged lesser compared to features that are usually white. So, while, yes, we all have our subjective opinions on what makes someone hot or not, it doesn't automatically mean that there aren't other societal factors that play into that.

There's also the question of what leads people to write: while someone may write fiction about a person they consider attractive, somebody else may write because of dynamic, or personality. There's a great variety of reasons why people are drawn to fiction, and finding someone hot is only one of them.

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I don't disagree with you about the whole 'attractive' thing. But that isn't the issue for me. Personally, I prefer non-white guys anyday. I just don't like many non-whites in bandom. They don't do it for me, what can I say?

And I think too many people are inferring that those of us who don't want to read fic about these guys must be because of race issues or other "societal factors." There are some people, yes, but I do not believe they are the majority.

And I also agree with what you said about why people write. But let's face it: people are gonna be more inclined to write about someone they have an interest in. Just because someone isn't interested in a black man as a main character for their story doesn't mean it has to be because of a race issue that writer has with blacks.

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It doesn't have to be because of race, but I think what people are saying is that there is a large discrepancy between the presence of POCs in the source material and the presence of POCs in the fan material, and trying to get at the reasons why. What do writers automatically default to? Who are the people who get written and squeed over the most, and who are the people who are not mentioned or otherwise included in the squee? Is there a specific trend in the way POCs are characterized when they are mentioned? Are there major players in the source material who seem invisible in the fan material? It's a very broad view of the fandom, but I think the important thing is at least trying to have a discussion about it.

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Yep, that's all very valid. We should ask those questions. It definitely is interesting to ponder "what do writers automatically default to."

While race may be a factor in the "large discrepancy between the presence of POCs in the source material and the presence of POCs in the fan material", I don't see that as meaning the writers are anti-POC or racist in any way. If fandoms as a whole default to using certain characters more in fic, and these characters are of the same race, it could just mean the fandom as a whole has similar tastes in what each individual finds attractive. That doesn't have to be an attack on any one race.

And I agree. The discussion is always nice and eye-opening. It's really neat to discover how many sides and opinions there are about a single issue.

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