Fan service is when the creator of a work of fiction purposely adds scenes or aspects to the story that will make the audience go crazy. It can be sexual or cute or it can even be something as simple as pairing two characters together just because that’s what the fans want. It’s seen in plenty of TV shows, anime, video games, comics, etc. Panty shots, subliminal phallic imagery, suggestive puns—the works. And there are also other kinds of fan service; one that I’m particularly familiar with is the fan service that’s present in Korean pop groups: boys fake-kissing other boys, sexual dances that idols aren’t comfortable with, objectifying bodies…
You can usually recognize fan service because it does everything it can without becoming X-rated. It’ll go just far enough to where people will notice it, but not so far that people will start serious controversy. Fan service in all of these different forms is dangerous for different reasons--not as light-hearted as it seems. There are plenty of people in fandoms who are sick of fan service. They see it as a cheap device that creators use when they’re lazy or they’re too perverted to stick to the original integrity of the piece of work. If that were the mindset of creators who do include fan service in their work, wouldn't you feel annoyed?
I do believe there are some good things about the “sexual” aspects of fan service. I think it’s important to be comfortable with discussing and expressing sexuality, I think it’s good that people seem to be a little bit more okay with homosexuality because of it (I guess…that might be a reach). But what’s not cool about it is that the original intent of the music, show, book, etc. becomes background information and the plot is filed down into one specific exponent. I don't think it's cool that humiliation is a big part of what's cute and sexy when it comes to fan service. I don’t think it’s cool that (in the case of idols), some fan service may be forced upon them against their will. I’m pretty sure not every idol wants to rub their hands on their team members whenever there’s a camera around. I don’t think its cool that homosexuality becomes fetishized in these kinds of situations. Queerbaiting is already a huge problem when it comes to the media we consume, and fan service most definitely adds on to that. These are things that might seem obviously dangerous and not okay, but there’s something else that’s far more dangerous in my eyes, and I don’t think that we talk about it nearly enough:
Most of us know that it’s wrong, but we can’t stop ourselves from indulging.
Isn’t one of the first steps of showing that you don’t agree with something to boycott it? Protest? That’s the usual route when it comes to going against the grain, but we keep stopping ourselves. I’m guilty of this and so are my friends around me. We know that there are dangerous aspects but we can’t bring ourselves to stop consuming these things. It’s like eating cookies in the middle of the night. You know it’s bad for you but you also know that the momentary satisfaction tastes so good. I love watching people kiss! I love it when people take their shirts off! Is that objectifying? Hell yes it is. But here I am, up at 3 AM with a disgraceful search history.
Lots of us tell ourselves that we love fan service, especially that which is homosexually driven, because we love seeing representation in the media that we can relate to as queers. Is that the truth or an excuse?
There are lots of times when fan service (in anime, especially) is driven by the sexualization of children and young-looking bodies. That right there is a gross foundation on its own. Are we fetishizing people without even trying? Is it really okay for us to point out why this is wrong but not be able to resist it? Thinking about fan service really forces me to do some self-reflection, and I'm not really happy about the result.
Fetishization, sexism, homophobia and abandonment of integrity are the shadows looming behind fan service. But is pointing that out enough? I think that's the real danger here: those of us who know that it's wrong but continue to enjoy it.
