in defense of RPF
If you’ve watched TV on any network or heard of any Oscar-nominated movies ever in your life, then you’ve seen RPF. It’s just not called RPF. It’s often called a “biopic” or “historical fiction” or “based on real life events.”
The Crown? RPF.
Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man? RPF.
The Social Network? RPF.
A fairly large number of Doctor Who episodes? RPF.
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter? RPF.
Just look at the actors who have won Oscars. In the last two decades, 22 out of 40 leads won for playing biographical roles (55%). And this isn’t a recent trend, either. We’ve been writing books and movies and TV shows about real people for as long as humans have been able to write.
So why do people hate RPF so much in fanfiction form? I think an argument can be made that it’s not the RPF that’s the problem. It’s the sex. Somehow, writing a story about a real person and including a sex scene in it is worse than just writing a story about them that doesn’t include sex.
So is the problem RPF? Mainstream awards shows would have me believe that it’s not. Entire genres of literature and film make me think that writing fictional stories about real people isn’t an issue at all. It’s writing stories about those real people having sex with other people that causes the problem. Which means that the problem isn’t RPF at all, it’s sex.
The F in RPF stands for Fiction. People who post it on AO3 are posting it on a website that is specifically dedicated to fiction. Anyone reading a story on AO3 and thinking that it’s an accurate portrayal of reality probably doesn’t even know what AO3 is. Which makes me wonder how they found the story to begin with.
Pick your genre of fanfiction and someone out there has a problem with it, and a lot of the time that problem comes down to the wrong people having the wrong kind of sex. Or the right people having sex, but the wrong people are writing it.
RPF exists in the world. It’s written about the famous and the nameless. It’s written about the dead and the living. It’s written about adults and about children.
If you don’t enjoy RPF, don’t read it. But leave the people who like it alone. A fantasy is still just a fantasy, even if you write it down.



















