Frannie: the little black dress of due South femslash?

[luzula]

So I was thinking about due South femslash, and it struck me that basically all the femslash pairings are with Frannie. Here are the statistics for the sum total of the (really quite few) due South femslash fics posted at the AO3 and the DSA, split up by pairing (and not including crossovers):

Frannie/Elaine - 25
Frannie/Thatcher - 10
Frannie/Maggie - 8 (half of which were written by me *g*)
Frannie/Stella - 7
Frannie/Victoria - 1 (not actually posted, but I know someone had a long WIP with that pairing, so I'm including it)
Frannie/Irene Zuko - 1 (let me link to that, because it is very very good and I just discovered it)
Frannie/OFC - 1 (I wrote that one!)
Maggie/Victoria - 1 (hey, I wrote that one, too!)
Stella/Mackenzie King - 1

So basically Frannie is in all of them except two. What is the deal with that? Not that I'm complaining--I love Frannie! But why is no one writing, say, Thatcher/Stella?

Is it because Frannie seems more likely to be lesbian/bisexual? Or because she's people's favorite female character? Or because she's hot? Or because people feel she deserves some loving? Or because she has more onscreen time with other female characters? Hmmm. ETA: I just thought of this: maybe people dislike the canonical one-sided Frannie/Fraser and write femslash as a reaction?

ETA2: Also, the image of Frannie actually in a small black dress is a very nice one. : )

Comments

[innocentsmith]

*points upward* What Luce said. She's a fun and likeable and identifiable character whose main plot function - chasing Fraser - is really embarrassment-squicky. I think that puts a lot of people off wanting to ship her with another guy.

Something I've noticed in many fandoms is the gender gap in how characters in unrequited love/lust for another character are regarded by viewers. Guys in love with a girl who's uninterested get tons of sympathy, even if they're acting like twits or even being abusive, and the object of their affections gets criticized for being mean to him. Girls who show too much interest in a guy, though, tend to make audiences uncomfortable - they're seen as making fools of themselves, being too aggressive/slutty/persistent. Sometimes this is the plot's intention - ha ha, look at that dumb girl, look at the guy (who should obviously be the aggressor) being chased - but it gets old as a joke, and it's a pretty sexist and mean-spirited one at heart. I think it appeals more to men because it's a power fantasy, but women are more likely to identify with the woman being embarrassed, and either feel bad for her (and want her to succeed/find love somehow) or dislike her for being foolish/weak and making them uncomfortable (and just want her off their screen).

From what I understand, way back in the day when the show was first airing there were lots of Frannie/Fraser shippers, to the extent that it was the OTP and slashers were the exception. But obviously the landscape has changed. Obviously she's someone who really does want to find love, so if you like her as a character you're likely to want to write the story where she does. But if you're a slasher, as so much of the fandom is now, you're likely already shipping Fraser with someone(s) - and the two main candidates for that either are related to her or used to pretend to be, so an OT3 with her would be kind of incesty. And even if you aren't a slasher, Fraser is awkward after all those years. I've read some good Frannie/Welsh, but he is awfully old for her; ditto some very cute Frannie/Turnbull, but Turnbull is ... I've never been entirely convinced he's anatomically correct.

Making Frannie girl-crazy instead of boy-crazy bypasses nearly all the sexism and, as a plus, makes her shippable with lots of attractive ladies you might want to see happy.

...And now, I think I want fic with Frannie, in a little black dress, hooking up with Mackenzie King. Does this exist? And if not, why not?

[luzula]

And now, I think I want fic with Frannie, in a little black dress, hooking up with Mackenzie King. Does this exist? And if not, why not?

Okay, this immediately started writing itself in my mind. Which is definitely not a bad thing! Except that I suspect it's just another procrastination tactic (like this post itself, in fact) to avoid writing my Midsummer fic, which really needs to be written. *bangs head against wall* Well, I'll just note it down on my fic idea list.

Also, you make some really good points about Frannie pairing possibilities! I've always been kind of put off by Frannie/Welsh, not just because of the age difference, but mostly because he's her boss.

but Turnbull is ... I've never been entirely convinced he's anatomically correct.

*snorfles* You just made me laugh out loud.

[butterflyghost]

Which McKenzie King, out of interest? In terms of which actress? I like the idea of Frannie and blonde King, because they would look so cute together.

[luzula]

Personally, I prefer the second one! She's just more...vivacious?