Ford's characterization in McShep slash...

[ratcreature]

So I'm rereading some McKay/Sheppard slash fic, great story overall too, only I stumble over Homophobic!Ford. Now, IIRC when I first read story I didn't take much notice of it, because I hadn't read that much SGA slash at that point, and taken as a characterization in an individual story I can buy it. Some people are homophobic after all, even otherwise nice, likable people. But there are quite a lot of stories portraying Ford like that, and it baffles me. Sometimes it seems to me that in S1 team McKay/Sheppard slash he's like the default token homophobe. And I don't get it, not to mention that it rubs me the wrong way because I rather like Ford. Is there any basis in canon for why this is such a popular choice?? I admit that I have watched most eps just once (I don't rewatch a lot in general), so I might have missed some huge clue leading so many to arrive at Homophobic!Ford, but if this is purely a fanon thing, it's definitely one I could do without.

Comments

[ratcreature]

Well in a lot of newer fic Ford is, understandably, absent, so it's less of a problem in much current fic, but from my impression it's really common in S1 team stories. Well, at least common enough to annoy me. Strangely enough I haven't noticed that many homophobic or evil Teyla stories, for example, nor stories depicting Ronon like that. Ford otoh is frequently depicted homophobic and/or conservative Christian (like Southern Baptist) who dislikes gays because of that. I wondered whether I maybe had missed a religious clue, and that authors extrapolated the homophobia from that.

[medie]

I must not be reading these authors, I don't remember it at all from the S1 stories I've read and, it strikes me as odd. It's got no canon basis. What we've seen of Ford's background has said nothing that would suggest homophobia. His grandparents raised him which suggests a fairly traditional upbringing but that doesn't necessarily translate into homophobia. It sounds to me like a cop out on the part of the writers to get the young pretty soldier out of the way. Creating an obstacle where there wasn't one to begin with.