Thread by @BookThingo

#IASPR18 Session 2 theme is "Gender and Sexuality" chaired by @lmfletcher72

The first paper is “Asexual romance in an allosexual world: how asexual characters (and authors) create space for romantic love” by Ellen Carter (University of Strasbourg) #IASPR18

"An asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction" Ellen summarises some of the incorrect and damaging stereotypes of asexual people, and how they're perceived. #IASPR18

Sexual vs romantic orientation. Ellen talks about ace-spectrum and counts 60 novels since 2012. Of these, 67% are m/m. Less than 20% have at least 1 female romantic interest. 2016 was peak year for ace-spectrum romance novels. #IASPR18

Queer romance publishing: Girls who like boys who like boys by Lucy Neville. Found that 37% of viewers to male gay website are women. Ties into huge proportion of straight women writing gay fiction. #IASPR18

In allosexual romance, non-aligned libidos signify problems. So you can see how this would provide conflict with Ace characters. #IASPR18

Types of ace romances: 2 ace characters 12%; polyamorous 13%; open relationship 3%; ace+allo 72%. Asexual + allosexual outcomes: no sexual contact 14%; kiss/hug 50%; k/h+ grind/hj/toys 14%; sex w/ mental prep/negotiation 9%; sex as desire to make other person happy 14%. #IASPR18

Authors of ace-spectrum romance: 72% female; 23% identify as asexual or gray-asexual. (Note: 49% of authors are of unspecified sexual orientation.) #IASPR18

As awareness of asexuality increases, we see more development of asexual romance fiction. Intimacy over passion (echoes Jodi's points). Co-creation of new spaces, asexual authors expressing orientation. #IASPR18

Heteroromantic couples are under-represented, especially ace hero + allo heroine. #IASPR18

Next paper is on “Rural habitus, young love and control: Young men talk about (hetero)romance, ‘territory-marking’ and living rurally in Aotearoa/New Zealand” by Christina Vogels (AUT New Zealand) #IASPR18

(Also, just on the last paper, there was a question on consent. Ellen's answer was that consent is constantly negotiated in ace romance, from kissing, to other forms of sexual intimacy.) #IASPR18

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Christina's study: how 22 school-aged men made sense of gendered (oppressive) roles within romantic relationships. #IASPR18

Some findings from conversations with the young men: boyfriends have a right to be possessive of their girlfriends, which seems to be embedded within a code of honour. Fighting as a way to mitigate shame & reassert masculinity. #IASPR18

Kissing your gf = a few punches. Sex with your gf = "full on bash". #IASPR18

There are consequences of NOT fighting the other guy. Derisive labels: weak, pussy, runt. #IASPR18

Rural school grounds emerged as a site where this type of territory-marking would be evident. Also a site of romantic networking for these young men. You're either a townie or a farmer. Different masculine status in the community. #IASPR18

Farmers: embodied more natural muscularity
Townies: needed to work on muscularity and performance of masculinity (going to the gym)
#IASPR18

Further analysis of what the young men said made Christina wonder if their statements about fighting were hypothetical/guesswork and not based on practical mastery, She's interested in ambivalence and the precariousness of these ideas in order to instigate change. #IASPR18

Q on whether this shows up in RuRo. Kate: Not really. << No one asked about how women viewed this behaviour. RuRo is female-centric POV! #IASPR18

Next paper is “‘Shipping’ Larry Stylinson: What Makes Pairing Appealing Boys Romantic?” - Andrea Anne Trinidad (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines) #IASPR18

Boy band archetypes. Each band member embodies a type/personality. #IASPR18

Who's your fave/bias? Who's your ship? Some fandoms are super dedicated and consider their ship real. #IASPR18

The Larry Stylinson ship is the most popular ship within One Direction fandom. Most reblogged ship of 2015 in Tumblr. #IASPR18

"Larries" get kilig by witnessing interactions between the pair that feeds into the belief that they're in a real romantic relationship. #IASPR18

We are now watching a video on "how kilig is manifested" in this fandom. IT IS GLORIOUS. #IASPR18

Larry shippers' kilig is not just in private spaces, but spills out into public spaces. #IASPR18

^^ The gif above is affectionately known as "the Larry hug". #IASPR18

Management would separate the two boys so as not to feed fandom narrative, and Harry and Louis asked for fandom to give it a rest. These were ineffective & inspired fans to be more vocal. (Like maybe they're hiding something.) #IASPR18

Plotlines: 2 boy band members in secret relationship, management as villain. Conspiracy theories support these narratives. Hidden meanings in song lyrics. Shippers feel a "responsibility" to decode the real meaning & demand the couple's freedom. #IASPR18

Okay, Andrea is going through examples of the conspiracy narrative of evil management thwarting the true love of their ship, and tbh...I'm kind of convinced. 👀 #IASPR18

Fan-created dynamic

Andrea briefly goes through history of Filipino literature around romantic & courtly love. Larry fandom mirrors romantic tropes. It encapsulates the suffering that ennobles the lovers. Adultery is removed and replaced by management attempting to exert control & repress. #IASPR18

Fandom stories and conversations rely on codes and conventions that are patterned after heteronormative romance stories (eg who tops/bottoms?) For Larry shippers have nicknamed them: Small and Tall. #IASPR18

(This part reminds me of the fanfic and fan art that Graham Norton likes to bring up when he has James McEvoy and Michael Fassbender as guests. Includes top/bottom discussion, domestic roles, and baking!) #IASPR18

Shift between homosexual fandom fantasy to the heteronormative tropes used to construct the narrative #IASPR18