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Real Texas and Texans and Supernatural
Mar. 11th, 2010 09:42 pm I am from Texas. Sometimes I am perfectly happy to say that out loud (especially since we finally have a non-Bush President). Sometimes I wince...but I think that since there are dumb people everywhere, that would also be true if I was from somewhere else. But I find people's ideas of what Texans are really like to be interesting. Of course I have to tie this to Supernatural. I think one of the reasons I like Jensen and Jared so much is that they are such cute Texas boys. And they are a lot like Texas boys I have always known.
What bugs me sometimes (OK, all the time) is when fanfic or just fans make all these assumptions about Jensen and Jared based on their incorrect (in my experience) ideas about what Texans are like. Both boys are from large cities (really large). Both seem smart. Jared I know is really smart--he was a National Merit Scholar. Smart children more likely than not have smart parents. They went to affluent high schools. They played sports but also did theatre and other less stereotypical Texas boy high school things. Lots of these school activities would have included a pretty diverse group of students many of whom would have been open to all sorts of experimenting with all sorts of things. They seem to have the support of their families. They have parents who work in professions that are generally gay friendly-even in Texas. They may or may not have a religious background, but I went to a Catholic high school and they taught us about various forms of birth control--while discouraging their use--but still. Assumptions are dangerous.
I am currently being bugged by gossip about the boys being gay and entering into fake marriages because their backgrounds/family would never accept that they were out. I just do not believe this. I do not know them or their families, but it just seems like something ignorant fans assume based on stereotypes. This is also big in some fanfics. Poor persecuted boys, so repressed because of their backgrounds. (I know there are lots of great stories where the families are totally accepting-those are the ones I like)
So i don't know why this is so irritating tonight, but i felt the need to rant (defend) the open-minded people in my state. There really are lots of them. I have no idea what either Jared or Jensen's personal experiences may have been, but they both are strong enough to have left home for the brutal career of acting--and been successful in their chosen paths. They seem reasonably comfortable with themselves. They both seem to love their families. They do not seem that repressed to me.
I am not sold on them being gay and together. I am enough of a silly fan girl to think they are adorable together and sort of wish that was the case. I also believe that if this was true, they could be bearding for business/career reasons. But I do not know!
So in the fan speculations about the boys, give us Texans a break every once and a while. Not all of us liked Bush, not all of us are religious fanatics, and not all of us ride horses;).
What bugs me sometimes (OK, all the time) is when fanfic or just fans make all these assumptions about Jensen and Jared based on their incorrect (in my experience) ideas about what Texans are like. Both boys are from large cities (really large). Both seem smart. Jared I know is really smart--he was a National Merit Scholar. Smart children more likely than not have smart parents. They went to affluent high schools. They played sports but also did theatre and other less stereotypical Texas boy high school things. Lots of these school activities would have included a pretty diverse group of students many of whom would have been open to all sorts of experimenting with all sorts of things. They seem to have the support of their families. They have parents who work in professions that are generally gay friendly-even in Texas. They may or may not have a religious background, but I went to a Catholic high school and they taught us about various forms of birth control--while discouraging their use--but still. Assumptions are dangerous.
I am currently being bugged by gossip about the boys being gay and entering into fake marriages because their backgrounds/family would never accept that they were out. I just do not believe this. I do not know them or their families, but it just seems like something ignorant fans assume based on stereotypes. This is also big in some fanfics. Poor persecuted boys, so repressed because of their backgrounds. (I know there are lots of great stories where the families are totally accepting-those are the ones I like)
So i don't know why this is so irritating tonight, but i felt the need to rant (defend) the open-minded people in my state. There really are lots of them. I have no idea what either Jared or Jensen's personal experiences may have been, but they both are strong enough to have left home for the brutal career of acting--and been successful in their chosen paths. They seem reasonably comfortable with themselves. They both seem to love their families. They do not seem that repressed to me.
I am not sold on them being gay and together. I am enough of a silly fan girl to think they are adorable together and sort of wish that was the case. I also believe that if this was true, they could be bearding for business/career reasons. But I do not know!
So in the fan speculations about the boys, give us Texans a break every once and a while. Not all of us liked Bush, not all of us are religious fanatics, and not all of us ride horses;).
