Part 2! And as the title suggest I want to focus on the whole seme/uke dynamic. If you read any Static slash than you know Virgil is the seme 99% of the time. Why? Yaoi, like any genre has a set of unspoken rules that people blindly follow. For example, how many doujinshi or manga have you read where the short guy tops? Very rarely happens, right? Just like short topping tall is a rarity the same goes for Virgil topping anyone. Strictly looking at female produced fanfiction and art in any slash community I began to notice that there seemed to be some type of rule that black tops all. Why do females tend to want a black guy to top in his sexual escapades? And God forbid, what would they do if there were two black guys? Maybe this is why I’ve yet to find any such stories, it’s a conundrum they are unable to figure out. One of the rules followed to a T is that strong tops weak. Within the world of Virgil slash I don't believe this rule is obeyed. Instead, I feel Virgil is forced into the stereotypical role of a strong black male. I think this is done, not on purpose, but because whoever is writing the fan fiction or drawing the fan art is unable to see pass the stereotype portrayed in the media.
Now, another possible reason V is made to top can be because he's straight. Richie being homosexual is something that has pretty much become canon in the fan community ever since McDuffie clarified him as being gay on his forum. And here's another stereotype for ya: during sex between two men, the guy being penetrated is gay and the one doing the penetrating is straight. Twisted logic, I know. But, this is a strong possibility why V always tops.
Lastly, there are the Mary Sues who are using Richie as their surrogate. A Mary Sue in disguise is still a Mary Sue. So if you read a fanfic and the only flaw Richie has is his gay love for Virgil, than there's a good chance you're reading a Sue fic. And because it's a Sue fic, Virgil will fall in love with the perfect Richie and screw him like there is no tomorrow. Ah, amore.
No matter the reason why Virgil is topping, the mere fact he's locked into this role is unfair. V makes such a sexy uke. And this is what I shall explore in my next Static post. Until then, try and write a RV fic to pass the time.
1 comment:
This is another great, insightful post. We mustn't overcomplicate our uke/seme dynamics all too much, though. Uke is femme and seme is masculine. That's the long and short of it. Yes, the height-difference rule seems to be pretty much law, but that's because smaller stature is more associated with femininity and weakness. The race rule is less common - to be honest, I haven't noticed it, as all of my fandoms containing a black guy or some other dark-skinned minority have that guy as the uke - but it certainly does appear. This is because there is a tendency in popular culture (the works these pairings are based off of) to portray black men as being more masculine or at least more forceful than white men - in other words, more seme-like. It's unfortunate, but it's unmistakable. The gay/straight thing is pretty obvious. Gay guys are nearly exceptionlessly portrayed as femme in media, or at least more femme than straight guys. That is why they - the closeted ones, at least - are usually uke. I've personally noticed most pairings containing a gay guy that's openly stated to be so in the work tend to have him as the seme, though. And now back to the Virgil/Richie pairing. Richie is more often uke because he acts more like an uke. I doubt many could say Virgil is more feminine than he is. But as you say, he definitely makes a sexy uke.
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