Seriously? It's just a story.

[logans_girl2001]

As y'all know I'm fairly active in the Hawaii Five-0 fandom, this means I read lots of stories based on the new series. And I love my shiny new fandom. A lot. Mostly because it allows me to explore a culture I've been interested in for some time. This, however, also means that there are a fuck ton of tropes that get explored, a lot. One of these is that a if a person is pissed off enough they can 'curse' the person who angered them and 'gender bend' them by turning them into whichever gender they are not (as in Danny, Steve and Chin become female and Kono becomes male).

I just read one that I found to be spot on in characterization. Danny is the one 'cursed' into becoming female and he freaks out, a lot. And while he is now physically female, mentally and emotionally he's still male and so the author uses the male pronouns.

I don't usually read comments, unless I have a question about a story and want to see if maybe someone else did as well so that the author doesn't end up answering the same question twice.

The first comment is from someone whose opinion I respect a great deal. Their reaction wasn't surprising, this person is all about doing away with elitist and ablest thinking. Several of the comments are a 'conversation' between this person and someone who is not the author.

Some time ago I mentioned how this reaction annoys me. It's just a story! Behind the cut is the 'comment conversation' between these two people.

The very first comment:

Native Hawaiian culture is very real; the spiritual systems of Native Hawaiian people likewise. It's not the stuff of fairytales and mythology; Native Hawaiian people do not have magical powers. By suggesting that they do, you're suggesting they're Other, and Not Like Mainlanders - in fact you're suggesting that they're not fully human by giving them non-human abilities.

There is a long tradition of colonialism in the Pacific - non-Native Hawaiians have been characterizing Native Hawaiians as magical and Other since Captain Cook stumbled into the region in the 18th century. Because the Native Hawaiian population was not Cook et al - not European, not American, not Christian, not for-profit oriented - their culture was judged as in its infancy, as lesser, as uncivilized, as superstitious, as backward, as 'magical'. Such a characterization became the excuse used by Europeans and Americans alike to dispossess Native Hawaiians, to aggressively evangelize toward them, to disenfranchise them of power, to relegate them to the lowest social positions the non-Islanders could manage, and ultimately to forcibly take over the islands for the benefit of American corporations.

When we tell stories where we do the same thing, where we suggest there is something magical or Other about Native Hawaiians rather than granting that they have autonomous cultural and spiritual systems that are their own, we perpetuate damaging stereotypes and prejudices, and resurrect this long and vicious history.

Please reconsider the fabricated powers and abilities you award to Native Hawaiians in this story.

I don't recall the author saying that the old woman was Native Hawaiian.

The response to this first comment:

Okay first things first, it's crack!fic. Suspend your disbelief for just a few minutes and enjoy it for what it is. A fictional piece of writing.

I don't think the author is trying to "perpetuate damaging stereotypes and prejudices, and resurrect this long and vicious history" in the slightest by happening to have a character who curses Danny and they live on the island. Well if I am honest I'm not sure I read a part where the author explicitly says that the woman who creates the curse is a Native to the island. (Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.)

I'm not denying that there is a history there in existence regarding prejudices and stereotyping but seriously? Bringing it here to a piece of fiction is just petty and inappropriate.

Please reconsider the way in which you raise your issues regarding such things by perhaps, in future, messaging the author and not turning this into a public thing.

At first I thought it was the author commenting. Imagine my disappointment when it wasn't.

The first commenter replies:

First, the story is public. I don't think it's unfair to therefore make the critique public also.

Second, I'd suggest it's strongly implied that the old woman is a Native Hawaiian. Even if she's not, the proposed cure for Danny's situation lies with Kono and her family, with her Aunt who can provide a 'cleanse' and potentially rectify things if the old lady is found. That's awarding Native Hawaiians magical powers.

Stories are not exempt from ethical scrutiny simply because they're fictional. Stories are how we transmit ideas about ourselves and others every day. [info][redacted], to provide just one example, summarized this powerfully a couple of years ago in her essay [redacted].

I'd suggest pointing out where someone's story perpetuates long-existing tropes that marginalize the real, lived experiences of a whole group of historically marginalized people is not inappropriate. Writing the trope in the first place is.

Okay, this is getting confusing so I'm assigning 'names'. The first commenter is Sally and the second is Lilly.

Lilly responds:

I'm not denying that public critique is acceptable and often encouraged but the fact that you've just chosen to focus purely on one aspect leads me to feel that you haven't tried to look at this piece of fiction from any other points of view. What about the flow of the story? The responses of the characters? If you've an issue with the representation of the Native Hawaiian Culture then feel free to bring it up, but at least try to present a holistic response. And I do feel that perhaps messaging the author and allowing them to discuss it in private would be more appropriate.

It is what is generally considered appropriate conduct in the workplace and the rest of society, so why not online?

I would like to disagree that the author is awarding the Aunt magical powers. In no way does the author explicitly suggest that the Aunt summons upon these "mystical powers" to resolve the situation. It is just your personal interpretation of the use of the word cleanse. But then perhaps this is what this is all down to, personal perceptions. As they say, the devil is in the details.

I am all too perfectly aware that stories, songs, sayings, terms, words and even images are all perfectly entitled to be subjected to ethical scrutiny. I look forward to reading the essay when I have a moment later on, but should also like to highlight that tropes exist in culture for a reason. We live in a society that influences the way we talk, think, speak and act and on a macro and micro scale this is influenced by culture, family, friends as well as so much more. For example, I would not take offence if you should be misguided and make a mistake when it came to Caribbean culture because people are easily misinformed. Take the pronunciation of Caribbean for example.

In my profession stories are important; they enable individuals to re-tell something from their own point of view with their own taint.

And perhaps most of all I feel that trying to point out the flaws of one fictional piece of writing when they happen to possibly imply something will not solve the greater issues at hand. Do you agree that stopping children from singing Baa, Baa Black Sheep in primary school will halt racial tensions? Sadly I do not because society as a whole will influence them and therein lies the rub. Like I said before, individualistic interpretations are important and the author is in no way encouraging anything or daring to fan the flames of cultural arrogance or cultural naïveté.

My apologies for having to cut my response shorter than I would have liked. I am leaving for work and will be more than willing to respond when I return to any further raised points.

Sally:

“No, okay, no. No cleansing, no family thing, no weird mojo or whatever. Seriously? You seriously buy that? Some old bat says a bunch of insane chanty things and you want to cleanse?” Danny really doesn’t get Hawaii and its customs, and this is just one reason why he doesn’t want to.

It's clear that the cleanse is supposed to be something intrinsic to Hawaiian culture. Kono is Native Hawaiian - her belief in the curse, her immediate suggestion of the cleanse, her second suggestion of the cleanse after discovering Danny has a female body - these are all linked in those opening paragraphs to the idea that this is something that can only happen on this island. The solution to Danny's situation is placed within knowledge held by Kono's family, not by any other group of people on the island - there is no suggestion that non-Native Hawaiians might have something to offer. (And to be clear, I'm not taking issue with Danny's derogatory comments - such as using the phrase 'mojo' - because if the author wants to characterize Danny as being culturally insensitive about Hawaii, he/she certainly has canonical support for that.) As for whether there are magical powers at work in the Aunt being able to provide a solution, magic is what caused his body to alter. What, but magic, would turn him back? And if something other than magic could turn him back, why wouldn't that have the team explored that and made it happen?

You're right that I haven't offered any feedback on other parts of this story - and that's because, for me, the opening paragraphs were so thoroughly jarring and culturally problematic that they dominate everything else.

I don't deny that tropes exist for a reason - usually very bad reasons. Tropes tend to occur when we act upon cultural information that exists to support certain relationships of power in our communities. That we're not always aware of the fact that things are tropes is without question. But that's in part why I'm commenting - to say 'this is a trope, please reconsider the way you're using it.'

In writing "I feel that trying to point out the flaws of one fictional piece of writing when they happen to possibly imply something will not solve the greater issues at hand" you assume that these comments are my only action on issues of social and cultural justice. Your words also suggest it's a zero sum game - that if we do one thing, we can't do another. Neither of those things are true.

I follow Sally's blog and happen to know that she's very active in social and cultural justice so her reaction is typical of her.

Finally the author, Tracy, comments:

While I take into consideration your input and thank you for the wealth of information, I think I will just leave the story as it is with the fabricated, makebelieve I have because that's what it is.

I have a great respect for the customs and traditions of the Native Hawaiians and I find the history fascinating, but it is just a story and I do hope that no one is gullible enough to believe that, at any point in history, there has ever been a method to turn a male into a female without the assistance of medical technology of the more recent decades.

It's crack, straight up, used as a plot device crack. There is no intended perpetuating of stereotypes or damage to the culture of Hawaii because it is just fiction and crack -I will mention the crack again.

Thank you for reading however far you got into the story and for taking the time to write this out, it means a lot. But I think my crack is going to stay the way it is. As crack. With no actual basis in reality.

Thanks.

I applaud her for standing her ground.

Sally responds to Tracy:

I believe you didn't intend to perpetuate stereotypes. But intent is not the same as effect. The magical aspects of this story are firmly placed within Native Hawaiian culture, and that has the effect Othering of that community - an Othering that has a long, unpleasant history. It's absolutely your choice what to do with that information, no question about it. But saying that this is crack fic doesn't erase that Othering for me.

A new person, Alice, enters the 'conversation':

First I have no dog in this fight as I am not in H50 fandom, but saw this conversation posted elsewhere. You ([redacted]) really need to chill out about a genderswap story. The whole premise is cracky, meant to be seen as crack and reads cracktastic to me. Danny Williams turned into a girl (without surgery) is not based on any real world scenario. This is not the J2 Haiti story which was filled with racial tropes and stereotypes and in that case, that author was rightfully called out on her writing.

To [info][redacted], it was the first time I read H50 fanfic and I loved this idea. I might have to look for more stories in this fandom. Don't let people get you down.

Sally's response:

My critique is not of the concept of genderswap. It's a great fandom staple - it's been done in Hawaii Five-0 fandom several times.

My critique is that the *cause* of the genderswap rests on the Othering of Native Hawaiians. Consider this - why not have a middle-class white guy from the Honululu suburbs issue a curse, if the curse was the mechanism to run with? Why not have Kono as baffled by the end result as everyone else, with no more solutions to offer than Steve? Those possibilities - out of many - would have resulted in a story that didn't perpetuate the idea of Native Hawaiians as magical people with non-human qualities.

I think she's digging a hole for herself.

And yet another new person, Samantha:

Tell me something, would you be this defensive if the story was set in New Orleans and the old woman was a Voodoo priestess? I don't think so. There is mysticism attached to every culture. Don't start wank where none is needed.
This is fiction and leave it as that.

I think she's just managed to turn Sally's ire away from Tracy's story.

First - that's not the situation we're discussing. Throwing out a hypothetical doesn't counter the concrete thing in front of us. Second - depending on how it was written, I probably would.

It isn't wank to point out a problematic trope.

Samantha responds:

So it's not trope if it's not about Native Hawaiians?

I think we're getting away from the issue, now.

Sally replies, wonder if she's growing tired of the whole thing:

There are all kinds of tropes, as I'm sure you know. I'm examining this trope, in this story.

Samantha's response equals my own:

Considering that warning that it's Crack!fic you pic that particular trope to complain about? Really? Seriously? You are complaining because you think that believing in a little paranormal makes it bad?
wow. just wow.

I feel I know enough about Sally to know that it wouldn't matter where the story was set, if the person 'with magic' wasn't a white middle-class guy (making it appear she feels a white middle-class woman wouldn't be able to 'preform magic') she would react exactly the same way.

No, I've been very clear. It's the fact that the magic is delineated as belonging to Native Hawaiians, thereby perpetuating the fallacy that they are Other, not-human-like-other-humans, magical, etc. My comments up thread make that very clear.

Had a white, middle-class guy from the Honolulu suburbs cursed Danny, and Kono been as baffled as to how to fix it as Steve, it wouldn't have tapped into any historical subtext, or racialized the magic. The gender swap, and the curse, could have existed without Othering Native Hawaiian people.

This story was posted on March 11, 2011* and later that day the author froze this thread with this response:

I'm freezing replies to this, because I feel it's just getting a little out of hand.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion; [info][Sally] was concise and respectful when stating the issues she had, it's her feeling towards this and we don't need to hash it all out.

Lets be adults and move it along. Everything is fine and dandy.

Just when you think the whole thing is over, someone comes along and leaves this comment:

I desperately wanted to like this story, and indeed, I did like the Danny/Steve interactions, but the cultural aspects put a huge damper on my enjoyment. [info][Sally] is spot on with hir criticism, and I must say that the Mystical Native trope sucked all the fun out of the story. I would strongly suggest that you reconsider your use of that trope in this otherwise good Rule 64 romp.

Don't they mean 'Rule 34'?

In short, it's just a frelling story! Get over it already! It's like people who get all up in arms in how Native Peoples are treated in historical works. To those people I say: But that's how they were treated! The creator of the work is being true to the time period they're writing about. I don't think historical writings should be changed to show minorities being treated the way white people were, when they weren't! I mean, seriously, people. There was a civil rights movement for a reason. It certainly wasn't because black people thought they were being treated too nicely.

*I realize I'm reading this almost a year after it was first written/posted but I am a slow reader and I have hundreds of stories bookmarked, some from as far back as 2005, so. Back to text