I think the issue re: the lack of f/f fan created content is not something that can be easily answered. There are a variety of answers that are dependent on both the fandom and the fan.
I recall one very poignant discussion about why it's easier for some women to write m/m over f/f and even f/m is that the actresses that we see on a daily basis don't look like most of us who generate fan-content. I started writing fic when I was in my late 20s. I get tired of writing about teenagers. I get tired of seeing older men with much younger women. I get tired of seeing a younger woman play a role for a women in her 30s/40s/etc. I get tired of seeing women who always look perfect, who always are the perfect weight. So sometimes this turns me away from writing for a female character that I am not absolutely in love with. And I am not alone. Sometimes creating and/or consuming m/m content is easier to people because it's easier to relate to the male characters than the female characters as presented in fandom.
And let's talk about the fact that there's not always a lot of female representation much less gay or bi rep in mainstream media. It's a very disturbing trend. And sadly, there are fandoms that are popular - for whatever reason - that are mainly male focused. It'd be great if we focused more on inclusive media but that's not the way fandom works.
What we can control is our reaction to fan created content. Sure we all have preferences for certain pairings and/or fandoms but if we make an effort step outside of comfort zone every so often and provide praise for content creators regardless of the pairing, genre, etc that they are creating for. There's been times when I've stepped out of my comfort zone to praise a fic that I enjoyed even when it's not normally my cup of tea. It's great when we create the content that we want to see on a regular basis but if we're not encouraging people to create similar content, even if it doesn't check off all of the boxes, then it discourages people from publishing that content. (And I am not saying that you aren't doing that but that a lot of people don't.) We can also encourage people to create the content we want to see by asking for it appropriate fannish exchanges. By talking about it in our semi-private platforms of what we want to see. And even by hosting exchanges or running communities that show a love for that genre, pairing, etc that we feel is missing from a fandom (or fandoms.)
And in addition about our reaction to the fan created content. There's very little incentive to publish fanworks when no one responds to it and/or you only get negative reviews for what you content you do create. No one wants to feel like they're shouting into a void when posting content, it's even worse when no one takes the time to give you any feedback. On A03, when you see that over a 100 people have looked at something you published there but only two people have said anything whether as a comment or giving kudos, it can be disheartening. This is why I think that feedback exchanges (i.e. instead of asking someone to write a fic, you ask for people to give you feedback on your works) is something important and something we need see more of.
I think it comes down to two things at the end of the day: not only do we need to be consuming more diverse media but we need to be producing more diverse fanworks. There's no easy answer to the quesitons that you raised. I think fandom is going to keep coming back to this over and over again until we come up with that easy answer.
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Date: 2018-12-11 07:06 pm (UTC)I think the issue re: the lack of f/f fan created content is not something that can be easily answered. There are a variety of answers that are dependent on both the fandom and the fan.
I recall one very poignant discussion about why it's easier for some women to write m/m over f/f and even f/m is that the actresses that we see on a daily basis don't look like most of us who generate fan-content. I started writing fic when I was in my late 20s. I get tired of writing about teenagers. I get tired of seeing older men with much younger women. I get tired of seeing a younger woman play a role for a women in her 30s/40s/etc. I get tired of seeing women who always look perfect, who always are the perfect weight. So sometimes this turns me away from writing for a female character that I am not absolutely in love with. And I am not alone. Sometimes creating and/or consuming m/m content is easier to people because it's easier to relate to the male characters than the female characters as presented in fandom.
And let's talk about the fact that there's not always a lot of female representation much less gay or bi rep in mainstream media. It's a very disturbing trend. And sadly, there are fandoms that are popular - for whatever reason - that are mainly male focused. It'd be great if we focused more on inclusive media but that's not the way fandom works.
What we can control is our reaction to fan created content. Sure we all have preferences for certain pairings and/or fandoms but if we make an effort step outside of comfort zone every so often and provide praise for content creators regardless of the pairing, genre, etc that they are creating for. There's been times when I've stepped out of my comfort zone to praise a fic that I enjoyed even when it's not normally my cup of tea. It's great when we create the content that we want to see on a regular basis but if we're not encouraging people to create similar content, even if it doesn't check off all of the boxes, then it discourages people from publishing that content. (And I am not saying that you aren't doing that but that a lot of people don't.) We can also encourage people to create the content we want to see by asking for it appropriate fannish exchanges. By talking about it in our semi-private platforms of what we want to see. And even by hosting exchanges or running communities that show a love for that genre, pairing, etc that we feel is missing from a fandom (or fandoms.)
And in addition about our reaction to the fan created content. There's very little incentive to publish fanworks when no one responds to it and/or you only get negative reviews for what you content you do create. No one wants to feel like they're shouting into a void when posting content, it's even worse when no one takes the time to give you any feedback. On A03, when you see that over a 100 people have looked at something you published there but only two people have said anything whether as a comment or giving kudos, it can be disheartening. This is why I think that feedback exchanges (i.e. instead of asking someone to write a fic, you ask for people to give you feedback on your works) is something important and something we need see more of.
I think it comes down to two things at the end of the day: not only do we need to be consuming more diverse media but we need to be producing more diverse fanworks. There's no easy answer to the quesitons that you raised. I think fandom is going to keep coming back to this over and over again until we come up with that easy answer.