Thread Closed
Ignoring a lot of the bullhonkery going on in the thread, I will put in on my two cents, as this is actually a really old article. This was going around maybe two years ago. And at first I was on the side of "No" until I spent more time to really digest it and process it.
Because my immediate thought was to go "but we have gary stu's..." But the fact is - no one actually ever -uses- Gary Stu. It's Mary Sue. And it's been that way since the term first came around, which was used to put down a lot of early/younger fanfiction writers, much who were predominately female.
So. I don't know? I've mixed feelings ultimately about it. At best I think it's a microagression more than a more typical sexism. It's just something we've all come to accept as ~part of our culture~, despite the fact it's just kind of problematic by itself. It's just an outdated relic of an era where webrings were still the best way to get into fandom.
To be honest I've kind of grown away from even using the term, because it's just kind of spiteful by itself and mean hearted. Roleplay and write what interests you.
Because my immediate thought was to go "but we have gary stu's..." But the fact is - no one actually ever -uses- Gary Stu. It's Mary Sue. And it's been that way since the term first came around, which was used to put down a lot of early/younger fanfiction writers, much who were predominately female.
So. I don't know? I've mixed feelings ultimately about it. At best I think it's a microagression more than a more typical sexism. It's just something we've all come to accept as ~part of our culture~, despite the fact it's just kind of problematic by itself. It's just an outdated relic of an era where webrings were still the best way to get into fandom.
To be honest I've kind of grown away from even using the term, because it's just kind of spiteful by itself and mean hearted. Roleplay and write what interests you.