[ SECRET POST #3064 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3064 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 044 secrets from Secret Submission Post #438.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

09. http://i.imgur.com/k22wNBE.jpg?1

[(Anonymous)]

I've never read any genderswap HP fics, but if they're mostly the way you've described then I would hate them too.

Not a fan of genderswap in general. If it's got to be done I'd prefer very little changed about the character.

[(Anonymous)]

New thing? Genderswapping has always plagued fandom, especially the Harry Potter fandom. I guess at least now it's more likely to be used for kinky purposes than purely for avoiding writing a slash pairing (though that still happens). I remember reading a ton of ffnet profiles back in the day where people rambled about how gross slash was and then they wrote a bunch fem!harry/draco fic, lol

[(Anonymous)]

I can read and tolerate a lot of things but genderswap is absolutely the best way to make me not care about a fic.

Sorry people are genderswapping in ways you don't approve of.

[(Anonymous)]

Your reaction makes a lot of sense, but to be fair, what's the point of genderswap if you're not going to bother to change anything else about the character? If they're just the exact same person with a different gender, I can't really see the point of changing it at all, haha.

Then again, I've never been big on genderswap (and can only tolerate it in pairings when both are switched because I've seen too many people only do it to keep things as het as possible), so.

[(Anonymous)]

I have a soft spot for swapping both parties in a slash couple to make a femslash story. Not sure how much of that is just desire for more femslash in general, but anyway.

Too bad the majority of genderswap is "swapping the less attractive dude (into a really attractive lady???) to get with the guy the entire fandom has the hots for". Not one exception.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed in this secret.

I'd love to read a well done genderswapped version of Harry Potter. However, that does not seem to be something that really exists.

[caerbannog]

It's not a new thing?

I like the odd gender swap where bits are tweaked. If it was canon Harry with girl problems I pronouns i wouldn't bother because I'm not into fics that are basically copy paste with tweaks. So there's gonna be differences (and I love when they explore uniquely girl challenges).
I'm imagine most ppl, at minimum, don't want to do a copy paste with changed pronouns. Then it's a matter of how much they change it

Sigh there was a really good gender swap someone recc'd here and I was getting really into it then it went all Christian on my ass and I bailed. But it was so good up until that point ;-;

[(Anonymous)]

I think, to be honest, it's not actually a question of how much they change. It's a question of... most of those fics aren't good. They're not good.

[(Anonymous)]

I kind of liked a WIP Harry Potter genderswap fic called "The Never-Ending Road". It's a WIP that is pretty well-written. It has some of the same problems defined in the above secret, though. I also have a problem with the Harriet/Snape pairing because it's a bit creepy in my opinion.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

I sympathise with you on the issue of someone going all Christian - I once acted as beta for a while for a writer doing a huge genderswap (always a girl) Final Fantasy VII fic. It started to get to me after a while her anti-slash attitude and that one of her reasons for writing a genderswap fic was so she wasn't writing slash.

I think it bothers me a bit more than other folks because I am Christian but getting interested in slash made me accept homosexuality.

[(Anonymous)]

New thing?

Was this secret written in 1999, and, like those missing pieces of mail that turn up in an obscure post office years later, only wound its way here now?

[fingalsanteater]

Not seen this trend in HP fandom at all. I thought the trend was Indian!Harry and black!Hermione?

I only read on genderswap HP fic and Harry (Harriet) is just as flawed and wonderful as her male counterpart, so I can't say I've seen the Harry as a female would be more sensitive, etc. thing.

[(Anonymous)]

Indian!Hermione and black!Harry IMO

[(Anonymous)]

This used to be a really popular thing in the Harry Potter fandom. I remember distinctly the terms "taco show" and "magic stick" being used, the former for male to female genderswaps and the latter for the opposite.

But this was years and years and years ago and has probably been long forgotten.

[sarillia]

I remember a lot of fics called The Girl Who Lived back in the day (though some of them gave Harry a sister instead of swapping him). It's definitely been a thing for a while.

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly, the appeal of genderswapping for me relies on how well integrated the actual canon characterization is with the swapped version (which sounds like what you've been doing all along, OP).

While yes, had that character been a different gender throughout the narrative then certain things would have happened differently, something must still have shaped them into the recognizable character we're presented with in canon. Aspects of their personality might have come about through different experiences, but if they exist in the canon portrayal then you damn well better find a way of explaining how they exist in the swapped version too.

If you change everything about them then you might as well be writing an OC.

[tasogare_n_hime]

I feel the same way about fics where Harry is raised by someone besides the Dursleys, and is a completely different character because of it. I just really can't see Harry's personality changing that much. Sure there are going to be differences, certainly if he is raised by someone who loves him, but his personality is not going to do a 180.

[ceebeegee]

After living with the Dursleys who, let's be frank, abused him for ten years, Harry turned out to be a decent, kind person--it's obvious he has a pretty strong personality and as you say, would not change that much under different parental figures.

[(Anonymous)]

He-llo, lil' teal deer.

[flipthefrog.livejournal.com]

you just summed up like 90% of my problems with genderswap, congrats

[(Anonymous)]

I totally agree with you, except on one point.

Would Snape have been as cruel to Harriet as he was to Harry? One of Snape's biggest reason's for being such an a-hole to Harry was because he LOOKED JUST LIKE James. Practically carbon copied. Even if Harriet favored James' looks, that little bit of difference might have changed how Snape reacted to him.

Now I'm not saying Snape would have been nice. He still would be an a-hole, it's kind of essential to his character. I'm just saying it wouldn't have been so knee-jerky.

But there would have to be some differences, if only in the way people reacted to Harry.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think the Dursleys would like Harry any better, but they would be more cognizant of her appearance (boys can look a little rough, but girls will likely get comments).
I think Snape's reaction would be different.
Harry's flare-ups would probably be seen as more problematic.
The ball would have been a whole different thing.
Et cetera.

[intrigueing]

This sounds really cool OP! And I completely agree -- the whole reason I like genderswapping is to see characters of a certain gender in a situation that characters of that gender stereotypically wouldn't be. That juxtaposition of, say, female-character-in-a-male-character's-role, gives me a huge thrill. I call it the Ellen Ripley effect.

So all that shit you describe in other genderswap fics that make all those stereotype-conforming, gender-normative changes? It would completely erase the entire reason for genderswapping in the first place! People are so weird.

[(Anonymous)]

New trend in fandom? Reading the books for class? You must be young.