This was an 8:00am session at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Annual Meeting (April 2009) with 4 papers, 2 on Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, 2 on the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Since the caffeine had not kicked in until the Ward papers, I present my notes on those only.
Maria Lindgren Leavenworth, Umea University, Sweden, “Lover Revamped: Sexualities and Romance in the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fan Fiction”
This was a fantastic paper.
Fan fic addressed [you can Google these]: “One Treasured Memory”, “Skin to Skin”, “Forever Lovers”
Fan focus on gaps in the source text and develop alternative readings. Slash text challenges heteronormativity in the source text and recasts relationships as m/m erotic relationships. Slash may seem to offer a great deal of freedom, but the heteronormative framework of the source text is quite limiting.
The vampires’ vampirism does not seem to matter in the BDB. The main thing is the relationships.
Homosociality and homosexuality is a blurry line in the BDB. Homoerotic attraction is presented as problematic in the text, while homophobia is rejected. Homosexuality is fine, just not with them.
V. repeatedly states that “everything about Jane feels right”, a rejection of homoerotic desire as something that needs to be cured.
This tension is addressed in the slash, but the desires are presented as unreal or temporary. They are written as dreams, or as events, the memory of which can be destroyed via magic. Denial of homosexuality as extending beyond this particular association. This attraction jeopardizes Butch and V.’s friendship and the relationships of the BDBD.
A temporary space where homoerotic desires can be explored has, but there are no real consequences for the characters outside the space.
Women are presented as being attuned to the sexual tension, and allow V. and Butch to engage in sexual activity.
Refers to simultaneous orgasms as a “perpetuated myth of the genre”. Hah.
“Genre itself is limited to heterosexual desire”, so Ward is limited and even the fanfics are limited.
[Maria attributes this to the genre, not the Ward.]
She also notes a tension between the opening up of the universe on Ward’s own website by having the characters “show up” and be interviewed, yet her militant protection of her own copyright and rejection of the use by fans of her material.
Jessica Price, University of Cincinnati, Women’s Studies and Gender and Sexuality Department “Heteronormativity and Masculinity: Sexuality and Gender in JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood”
[Price make a number of interesting points. I can’t say I felt them gel. As with many papers at this conference, the difference between a fan and a scholar was not coming through to me on this one.]
Price mentions attending a Ward signing. She asked Ward whether there would be more homosexuals in the BDB. She notes that at the signing, the idea of more homosexual men was received with great interest, but when she asked whether there would be a lesbian warrior was greeted with silence.
Ward herself said she “writes men”. Price notes that Ward herself has admitted to being influenced by fan desires. On the other hand, Price notes that Ward has said “The stories in my head are in charge”.
Price notes the tension here in Ward’s account of how she writes. Price asks, “So why can’t Payne show up in Ward’s head and say ‘I want to fuck a woman?’”
Representation of alternative sexual expression – “V. has very specific ways of having sex” [My note: we all have “very specific ways of having sex”. We just don’t call vanilla hetero sex “a very specific way” because it is widespread and normative.]
Notes that female characters are either virgins, women who do not enjoy sex, or prostitutes.
Jessica notes that Ward participates in her own fan fiction, inserts herself as a character interacting with the brothers.
Xhex [Price pronounces it “Hex.”] is only example of sexuality without a penis in the BDB. But Xhex will be paired with John Matthew, thus denying her her own book.
The BDB attempts to queer the notion of the romance novel. Asks the reader to open their minds to different sexualities and gender performances.
Audience questions:
Q: How has the imposition of the romance genre changed the vampire genre? It is a very different experience of the vampire, and it has becomes so huge.
A1: Candace: “The literary vampires often cannot get a hard on, They use fangs instead. With the romance novel vampires…good lord.”
A2. Jessica: “Yes, it’s a hypersexuality. It’s all about getting inside something.”
A3. Candace talks about a novella in which the heroine gives Viagra to the vampire hero!
[My note: raises the question of whether vampire romance needs vampires.]
A4. Candace described Lara Adrian’s series as “BDB lite.” Says “You’ve got this lovely situation where vampires do not turn human lovers, but if they mate, the woman gets all the benefits of vampirism without bad consequences. It’s an interesting take on it.”
Sarah F: Would be interesting to do a study on how the genre affects how vampires are constructed. [My note: there have been negative studies, on how romance and the proliferation of vampires across genres has diluted the originary vampire myth and is “not really vampire.”]
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#1 by Nicola O. on April 9, 2009 - 11:22 pm
These are papers I am tempted to read, although I suspect some of it would annoy me a lot. For example, this: “Notes that female characters are either virgins, women who do not enjoy sex, or prostitutes” is first of all not true, and what truth there is, is distorted.
I don’t agree at all with Lindgren’s take on the relationship between Butch and V — I thought that what was so interesting and compelling about it was precisely that it could NOT be firmly pigeonholed as sexual vs platonic vs fraternal. And the paranormal element of their relationship added still another dimension to their connection. I loved it, and I really like how Ward handles the continuing frisson between the two men. (er, “males.”)
Price asks, “So why can’t Payne show up in Ward’s head and say ‘I want to fuck a woman?’” To me this just completely misses the point, and shows a profound lack of understanding of the creative process. I don’t know about the statement that Ward “admits to being influenced by fans”– every interview, every comment on her forum I’ve seen on the topic, is that the stories form as pictures in her head, and she writes them. And when she tries to steer them in other directions, the creativity dries up.
Don’t get me wrong, I do not consider Ward to be the second coming of Shakespeare or a perfect author by any means.
I would tend to agree that her heroines are weak by comparison, but they have a quiet strength and grace that can grow on you. The visual image of Marissa burning her corseted couture; Cormia’s struggle with finding individuality; Mary Luce’s bravery in facing a terminal illness, and Jane– gotta love her wiseass remarks and her instant understanding of what V needs from her. As well as her understanding of what V needs from Butch.
She also notes a tension between the opening up of the universe on Ward’s own website by having the characters “show up” and be interviewed, yet her militant protection of her own copyright and rejection of the use by fans of her material. I don’t see anything at all tense or conflicting about this, personally. The “Brothers” are Ward’s creation, and if she doesn’t want to share the director’s seat with anyone, that seems entirely reasonable to me. The characters showing up on the forum is really just fun to pass time between the books, though I’ll concede that some of the fans seem to have trouble distinguishing the fiction from reality. Lindgren seems to be saying that the slash is somehow more true to the characters than the actual books. I haven’t read the slash but that seems absurd on the face of it.
The one gripe I have with Ward is her tendency to pathologize each of the characters’ unique sexualities, leaving their partners to help them “get over it.” Not unusual in romance, but it’s a bit heavy-handed in the Caldwell universe.
But whatever Ward’s faults, she writes a helluva story; and she writes outstanding alpha heroes.
(erm– sorry for posting a novella on your blog…)
#2 by Drusilla on April 10, 2009 - 1:37 am
Wow, I had read Lover Unbound like 3 weeks ago and had been discussing it with a friend because I had a lot of complaints about the fact that V constantly feels like his attraction to Butch is wrong and then feels that it is corrected when he finds Jane (I kinda skipped over Butch’s book for some reason I can’t remember). These papers sound interesting since I have made a lot of similar observations about Ward’s work–which is one of the reasons I am not sure if I even like the BDB series. Do you know if they are available to read online or if they are in an academic database?
#3 by Jessica on April 10, 2009 - 6:40 am
Nicola O. wrote:
[I don't have much time to comment, as I am still in conference throes.]
Nicola,
You are right. Also, I talked with Sarah Frantz of Teach Me Tonight, who was also at the session and will be blogging about it at TMT, and she corrected me on this point. The claim was that Ward is emotionally affected by fan reaction, not that her writing process is affected. My bad.
Drusilla wrote:
I believe they are works in progress, but you can email the authors and ask if (a) they are forthcoming in a journal or collection and which one, or (b) whether they would be willing to email you their drafts.
#4 by katiebabs on April 10, 2009 - 7:45 am
I never thought V and Butch would become lovers or a couple. First of all Ward makes sure to introduce Butch’s mate Marissa and shows their chemistry, so we the reader known they will be together. Second, for Ward to go the distance with V and Butch is something I think her publisher would never allow. Also, V is bi-sexual, Butch is straight. Butch and V love and care for each other deeply, but as for lust between them? Perhaps on V’s end but not from Butch.
I see the V and Butch relationship as brothers, very close friends who would die for one another. Why would we have to make them lovers? Can’t an author show two male characters as very close friends and not have it be romantic?
And Ward does write the best male relationships I can think of.
#5 by Victoria Janssen on April 10, 2009 - 8:19 am
I was hoping someone would address the racial issues in Ward’s work, for instance the way she uses old-school rap for her white-skinned vampires but never references the cultural/racial/social origins of the music. There’s a paper in there for sure.
#6 by Lusty Reader on April 10, 2009 - 8:29 am
I agree with your phrasing in that these are some “interesting points.” This kind of analysis makes you think much more beyond “I like it, I didn’t like it.” The only point I’d like to add is that I was SHOCKED the BDB books were in the romance sections of the Borders and B&N at which I bought them.
I looked in the SF/F sections in both stores for a while before asking someone for help and was genuinely surprised they were in the romance section. They just don’t seem like traditional romance novels to me…even though they pretty much have HEAs. The Sookie Stackhouse books are in SF/F, so I thought the BDB would be too…
#7 by RfP on April 10, 2009 - 9:05 am
The line gets very blurry. Have you spent any time on televisionwithoutpity.com? Some of their threads dissect TV shows in an extraordinarily analytical manner. Fandoms aren’t all “OMG <3 !1!”
#8 by Nicola O. on April 10, 2009 - 9:55 am
I had a lot of complaints about the fact that V constantly feels like his attraction to Butch is wrong and then feels that it is corrected when he finds Jane
I really disagree. Once you’ve read V’s backstory, it becomes clear that he has never experienced intimacy of any kind. With his destructive hand, he is conservative about how he touches others– he’s touch-deprived.
When he “falls in love” with Butch, he’s experiencing an emotional connection for the first time in his life and he’s confused by it– or maybe it’s better to say that he’s open to all the possibilities. I don’t think he ever thinks of it as exclusively sexual, but I suppose that’s open to interpretation. In any event, he understands from the beginning that Butch doesn’t swing that way. He also doesn’t trust his own sexuality – those two factors are what keep him from acting on his feelings (mostly), not an authorial dictation to adhere to genre norms. IMO, anyway.
When Jane comes along, he’s able to better distinguish between romantic love and fraternal love, because now he’s experiencing both. The bonding instinct never shows up when he’s with Butch, either. Personally, I don’t see that as a “correction” but as learning and growing. V was in a very stunted place emotionally to begin with.
By the end of Lover Unbound (spoiler alert) – there are two people in his life that not only is he allowed to touch without reservation, that touch saves them.
Eeep. gotta run to work. But I could talk more about V’s hand and his fears and how his HEA is so perfectly suitable for him.
#9 by Jessica on April 10, 2009 - 12:05 pm
RfP wrote:
Yes, I used to watch the Bachelor mainly because of TWoP. When they booted the Bachelor lo these many years ago, I stopped.
I think there is a difference between an academic paper and even the best fan analysis, although not as much of a difference as I once did, nor should anyone assume I am saying that academic analysis is superior, or closer to “Truth” in some impossible metaphysical sense.
A series of observations about a popular cultural phenomenon, no matter how intelligent and apt, are not therefore academic. I think an academic has (or should have) a highly reflective sense of what grounds her claims — and this is often disciplinary or interdisciplinary — while a fan need not. My mistake was assuming all the papers here would be academic.
#10 by Lissa on April 10, 2009 - 12:15 pm
Victoria Janssen wrote:
Funny you should mention race in Ward’s work – I participate on another forum in which we have discussed the race of particular characters often. For instance from all of Ward’s descriptions of Rhev I always have this picture in my head of the character Shaft (think Richard Roundtree from the tv show) with Billy Dee William’s voice. Xhex for me is kind of Grace Jones. Tall, strong, Nubian; elementally female in a warrior kind of way. Both strong ethnic characters; but when a friend of mine was at a Ward signing and asked about the race of those two characters she was told by Ward that her vampires don’t have a race as we would know it – so no caucasin, African American or Asian; that they are something entirely different. She didn’t explain “different”, just that they are not a race as we would know it. Ah well, I know she is the author and all, but Rhev will always be Shaft to me, only with a mohawk and purple eyes.
As to the issue of the slang the Brothers use – that has always bothered me as being out of place. Seems to me that 200 year old royal vampires, the salvation and protectors of their race would talk a bit more cultured and less teenage boy trying to be cool. It also seems they would be less inclined to name-drop the designers of their suits and shoes, but that is a whole ‘nother discussion.
The relationship between V and Butch has always read to me more as two men learning that they need each other to do the job they are there for and coming to terms with that rather than as homosexual. I do see the homoerotic lines running through their relationship, but I never felt as though they intended to act on them, or that they were even an issue. In real life it can be a struggle to find your place in someone else’s life, especially when that someone turns out to be more important than you ever thought possible. I found the relationship between the two men to be quite believable and interesting; moreso when Jane and Marissa enter the picture and it becomes a balancing act between their need to be together for the job and their need to be with the women on a more personal level.
#11 by Mary M. on April 10, 2009 - 1:55 pm
Love the topics!
I love the characters and the relationships in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and Butch and V always were and still are my favorite, because I had never seen a relationship the likes of theirs before. It was beautifully done, even though the end was botched up somewhat. It’s also interesting to see someone make a analysis of BDB fanfiction, since there is still so little of it (no doubt due to JR discouraging it). The sample used by the author is very small, though, so I think that’s why her conclusions on fanfiction contents as a whole are rather off the mark.