Though in my experience the vast majority of fanfiction supports harsh gender roles, and is not obviously a tool for social renovation as Jung suggests, Jung’s argument that fanfiction writers are attempting to undo patriarchal values rings true and helps to highlight the problems with fanfiction that does support rigid gender roles (Jung …show more content…
One reason authors are likely portraying characters in ways that seem to conflict with their source characterizations may be that these romantically unequal, power-dynamic filled relationships are accepted as the norm in our media, and rarely are alternatives to this norm presented. Slash that at first appears subversive is not always so, and may even fortify the gender roles it aims to