I'm so done with the MCU fandom.
May. 7th, 2015 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkI know it's terrible timing because I have a final exam tomorrow and my brain hasn't been working so well lately so I'm just hoping I don't fail, but right now, I'm furious.
And unless things get a lot better in the future, I'm 100% done with the MCU fandom.
I'm furious because the announcement of Sharon Carter appearing in Captain America: Civil War, which should have been a surprise to NO ONE who is familiar with the Captain America comics, is somehow sparking backlash. People are hating Sharon Carter because of the possibility of a Steve/Sharon romance (which, again, if you read the comics, should be a surprise to NO ONE), for several reasons.
1. Because it ruins Steve/Natasha or Steve/Tony or Steve/Bucky - Jesus effing Christ, the last thing I want to see in a fandom that I thought was relatively mature is the kind of shipping wars that infamously dominated the Naruto and other anime fandoms. First, there's this concept called "being able to enjoy multiple ships"—hell, *I* shipped Steve/Bucky but I also ship Steve/Sharon. Second, Steve/Sharon is CANON. People are free to dislike a canon ship on a personal level but canon ships should be entitled to a bit of respect? I mean, I'm not a huge fan of BuckyNat in the comics, but I'm not going to throw a fit if that becomes part of the MCU later (though I guess now that's unlikely because of Bruce/Nat).
And third, stop erasing female characters for the sake of slash ships. I enjoy the biromantic!Steve headcanon as much as anyone else, and I've read and written a lot of Captain America slash fic, but seriously, stop using that as an excuse to put down female characters.
2. Because "it's creepy" - Sigh. Is there something a little weird about Steve dating the niece of someone he used to love? Maybe. But freaking God, people are acting like it's incest or something when Steve obviously never married Peggy, making him COMPLETELY UNRELATED to Sharon. And people are acting like it's "manipulative" and "weird" that Sharon would get involved with Steve knowing that he sorta-almost had a relationship with her aunt, even though (a) how is it manipulative? CATWS shows us that Steve is the one who seems to be trying to initiate something with her, and she's always been incredibly professional around him (which is very in line with her character in the comics), and (b) so Sharon grew up admiring Captain America, like every other American in the Marvelverse, so what? Like people never end up in romantic relationships with someone whom they've admired for a long time?
3. Because Sharon/Steve never worked out long term in the comics - Neither has basically any other romantic relationship. Seriously, Marvel hates keeping romantic couples together; Sharon/Steve getting broken up multiple times is not some kind of aberration.
4. This is the one that infuriates me the most: "Because it's problematic [from a social justice standpoint] to have Steve fall in love with a blond white woman [instead of a man or person of color]."
Really? You're pulling the social justice card to justify your dislike of a female character because she's white and blond?
First of all, Marvel could have cast Sharon as a woman of color, and/or as bisexual, and/or as trans if they really wanted to. But they didn't. That's entirely on them, not the character.
Secondly, so where was your anger when Marvel had Tony fall in love with a white woman? When Thor fell in love with a white woman? When Steve fell in love with Peggy, a white woman???
Of course I want to see more women of color and relationships with women of color in the MCU. I would've been thrilled if Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Peggy Carter etc. were racebent. But if you're singling out Sharon Carter for being a white love interest, I call foul.
And it bears reiterating: You want a canon bisexual Steve Rogers? I'm with you. But for crying out loud, stop erasing female characters for the sake of male slash ships.
I'm really disgusted that people are using a social justice explanation to justify why they hate a female character and/or the ship.
.
Now for the obligatory "Why am I angry?" explanation.
I'm angry because, as you might have gleaned, I love Sharon Carter in the comics. There are many female characters I enjoy in fiction, but very few whom I can identify with on a personal level. Sharon Carter is one of those few female characters. She's badass and fearless even when she's just a normal human being surrounded by superpowered beings. She's dedicated to her job and willingly puts duty over love (and how many female characters are written that way?), but she clearly cares very deeply for the people she loves (Steve being one of them). She's not afraid to be angry or prickly or reserved and she's never ashamed, either. She's often treated horribly (because she's a female character in comics, unfortunately) but in the hands of a good writer she's really, really great and her relationship with Steve is sweet, supportive, and genuine.
So yes, Sharon Carter means a lot to me and it really, really infuriates me to see people on Tumblr turn on her. I previously took a break from the fandom because I had issues with their uncritical praise of CATWS and certain ways they viewed/treated Bucky, and I came back because there was a lot of interesting and thoughtful discussion about Age of Ultron, but unless things change in the future, for now I'm done.
(I hope the DCCU fandom really gets going once DC movies start rolling out because I want a new fandom home. :( )
And unless things get a lot better in the future, I'm 100% done with the MCU fandom.
I'm furious because the announcement of Sharon Carter appearing in Captain America: Civil War, which should have been a surprise to NO ONE who is familiar with the Captain America comics, is somehow sparking backlash. People are hating Sharon Carter because of the possibility of a Steve/Sharon romance (which, again, if you read the comics, should be a surprise to NO ONE), for several reasons.
1. Because it ruins Steve/Natasha or Steve/Tony or Steve/Bucky - Jesus effing Christ, the last thing I want to see in a fandom that I thought was relatively mature is the kind of shipping wars that infamously dominated the Naruto and other anime fandoms. First, there's this concept called "being able to enjoy multiple ships"—hell, *I* shipped Steve/Bucky but I also ship Steve/Sharon. Second, Steve/Sharon is CANON. People are free to dislike a canon ship on a personal level but canon ships should be entitled to a bit of respect? I mean, I'm not a huge fan of BuckyNat in the comics, but I'm not going to throw a fit if that becomes part of the MCU later (though I guess now that's unlikely because of Bruce/Nat).
And third, stop erasing female characters for the sake of slash ships. I enjoy the biromantic!Steve headcanon as much as anyone else, and I've read and written a lot of Captain America slash fic, but seriously, stop using that as an excuse to put down female characters.
2. Because "it's creepy" - Sigh. Is there something a little weird about Steve dating the niece of someone he used to love? Maybe. But freaking God, people are acting like it's incest or something when Steve obviously never married Peggy, making him COMPLETELY UNRELATED to Sharon. And people are acting like it's "manipulative" and "weird" that Sharon would get involved with Steve knowing that he sorta-almost had a relationship with her aunt, even though (a) how is it manipulative? CATWS shows us that Steve is the one who seems to be trying to initiate something with her, and she's always been incredibly professional around him (which is very in line with her character in the comics), and (b) so Sharon grew up admiring Captain America, like every other American in the Marvelverse, so what? Like people never end up in romantic relationships with someone whom they've admired for a long time?
3. Because Sharon/Steve never worked out long term in the comics - Neither has basically any other romantic relationship. Seriously, Marvel hates keeping romantic couples together; Sharon/Steve getting broken up multiple times is not some kind of aberration.
4. This is the one that infuriates me the most: "Because it's problematic [from a social justice standpoint] to have Steve fall in love with a blond white woman [instead of a man or person of color]."
Really? You're pulling the social justice card to justify your dislike of a female character because she's white and blond?
First of all, Marvel could have cast Sharon as a woman of color, and/or as bisexual, and/or as trans if they really wanted to. But they didn't. That's entirely on them, not the character.
Secondly, so where was your anger when Marvel had Tony fall in love with a white woman? When Thor fell in love with a white woman? When Steve fell in love with Peggy, a white woman???
Of course I want to see more women of color and relationships with women of color in the MCU. I would've been thrilled if Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Peggy Carter etc. were racebent. But if you're singling out Sharon Carter for being a white love interest, I call foul.
And it bears reiterating: You want a canon bisexual Steve Rogers? I'm with you. But for crying out loud, stop erasing female characters for the sake of male slash ships.
I'm really disgusted that people are using a social justice explanation to justify why they hate a female character and/or the ship.
.
Now for the obligatory "Why am I angry?" explanation.
I'm angry because, as you might have gleaned, I love Sharon Carter in the comics. There are many female characters I enjoy in fiction, but very few whom I can identify with on a personal level. Sharon Carter is one of those few female characters. She's badass and fearless even when she's just a normal human being surrounded by superpowered beings. She's dedicated to her job and willingly puts duty over love (and how many female characters are written that way?), but she clearly cares very deeply for the people she loves (Steve being one of them). She's not afraid to be angry or prickly or reserved and she's never ashamed, either. She's often treated horribly (because she's a female character in comics, unfortunately) but in the hands of a good writer she's really, really great and her relationship with Steve is sweet, supportive, and genuine.
So yes, Sharon Carter means a lot to me and it really, really infuriates me to see people on Tumblr turn on her. I previously took a break from the fandom because I had issues with their uncritical praise of CATWS and certain ways they viewed/treated Bucky, and I came back because there was a lot of interesting and thoughtful discussion about Age of Ultron, but unless things change in the future, for now I'm done.
(I hope the DCCU fandom really gets going once DC movies start rolling out because I want a new fandom home. :( )
