McLennon | Page 4 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Alright this is gonna be a long one.  I may end up spoilering a bunch of sections and adding in categories because there’s so much to cover.

Fanfiction:

How fanfiction interacts with fetish:

Fetishizing in general:

Some other thoughts i had:

My own experience:

TL;DR

I would like to start out by wholeheartedly thanking @Tangerine for their wonderful and fascinating post and I really appreciate the time and effort put into it. There’s a lot of things that you talked about that I haven’t taken the chance to consider or think upon and that have shifted my perspective a small bit on some topics. Sadly, I haven’t the time right now to watch the Youtube video, however, I plan on watching it later this evening. 

I agree that it was very unfair of me to categorize all queer-based fanfic-writers as “straight Tumblr girls fetishizing m|m relationships,” but right now I’m just going to start off with where I’m coming from in terms of McLennon: 

I understand if writing queer-based fanfiction or exploring the relationships and culture of queer people is an outlet for those who haven’t discovered their own identity, and yes maybe my word choice was slightly off when I used the word “fetishization,” but I do disagree on a few points. I understand where you’re coming from essentially, but when you say that people used in fanfic are either “AU to the point of being essentially different people, or semi realistic in a way that’s pretty analogous to a biopic, or alternate history fiction,” I completely disagree. When you write fanfic with Paul McCartney and John Lennon , you’re still using their likeness at some level and their name. You’re still taking their personal life that they have experienced and twisting it to fit your fantasies. And I’m not talking about innocent “What If” fanfiction that depicts the Beatles in fictional, historically-plausible scenarios, but hardcore “Paul is a soft boi twink who needs protection from alpha-top John” and then the fic goes into detail about John ramming Paul and then goes on to express hate to Linda or Yoko or Jane. This may be an extreme example, but imagine I take two of my friends, let’s call them “Jack” and “Lola,” and I write fanfiction about them. But not innocent, laughable fanfiction that’s made for a joke or maybe just like to be fun, but fanfiction where I have Jack and Lola interact in a sexually-explicit context where I make up stuff about their personal lives and personalities and obsessively rave on about how they absolutely have to be a couple there’s no alternative and I viciously hate on Jack’s actual girlfriend who he loves very much.  If I did that, I would be in some deep shit. And, yes, I have shifted my friends’ personas so that they seem off and unlike them, but I’m still purposefully using their name and likeness and taking their personal life and molding it without their consent into a fantasy that I so desperately want to be a reality. Now, doesn’t that sound a bit off to you? Doesn’t that sound a bit disrespectful of my friends? Shouldn’t I be treating my friends with a little more respect if I truly care about them the way I say I do? If I took the example down a view notchs, and let’s say that I just have Jack and Lola go on a wholesome date and have a little kiss. That’s okay. It’s not going so far as to dip my toes into the realm of their sex lives, something that is very personal to the majority of people (I know if I found out people were writing that type of fic about me, I would be irked and uncomfortable. Even if they claimed that my character, using my name, is completely different from the real me.)  It’s the same thing with McLennon, and especially the fanart. I have no problem with McLennon being a reality. In fact, I find it to be something likely taking the evidence, but the culture that surrounds it is a little toxic in my eyes. I found it disrespectful of people making seriously sexually explicit artwork of Paul having sex with his dead best friend. I don’t want to see that. Paul doesn’t want to see that. I’m no prude and Paul is definitely not a prude (*cough cough* Hamburg *cough cough*),  but There’s a major difference when you take someone who you claim to “respect” and illustrate their sex life for all to see. And this isn’t a homophobic thing. This isn’t a “I can’t handle looking at two men having sex” thing. If I came upon images and fanfic about Paul and Linda having sex, I would be offended/uncomfortable. It’s just downright disrespectful, no matter if you claim that its too “AU” to be the actual people. You’re still using their likeness and their personas and their names without consent. Straight, gay, male, female, black, white, cisgender, transgender, queer, bi, nonbinary it’s still disrespectful writing/drawing that kind of stuff in a serious manner no matter who you are. That’s why I significantly regret panning everyone under the term “cis straight Tumblr girl.” Also (forgive me if I’m repeating myself), but I would like to make clear that fantasizing about it in a wholesome, romantic context is not uncomfortable or offensive, it’s just the sex part that really throws things over the line and personally makes me uncomfortable. That’s why I initially used the term “fetishization,” because I’m using fetish in sexual terms. Whoever writes/draws these fanfics/artworks are in some fashion getting off on them and their viewers/followers who likemindedly obsess over McLennon in this context also are getting off on Paul’s and John’s sexual relationship, but in a public place, where it is inappropriate (yes, the internet is a “public place.” In fact, it’s the most public place of all.) And my shaming them on whatever degree, I find, is equivalent to shaming someone displaying pornography of their friends at school. 

I also take major issue with fangirls/boys who paint Yoko as some oppressive, vitriolic force that is weighing John down and separating him from Paul his one true love. Those fantasies irk me because it’s just another example of internalized sexism. They are hating on Yoko because she is an “intruding force” in their eyes, and therefore passionate McLennonites ridicule and attack her, just like Beatlemaniacs who attack her for supposedly breaking up the Beatles. I despise this. I despise taking Yoko, as well as Linda, and unashamedly illustrating them as evil forces who’s only purpose in existence was to disrupt Paul and John’s relationship and ruin everyone’s lives. 

There’s a ton more that I’d like to say on this topic but I’ve already spent way too much time on this and I have homework to do. I look forward to responses and thank you for coming to my TedTalk.