What Does Subtext Mean?

Subtext in Practice

Subtext is a general literary concept that fandom made its specialty: generations of shippers became expert close-readers, cataloguing lingering eye contact, loaded dialogue, framing choices, and narrative parallels as evidence of relationships the text won't confirm. The line between subtext and wishful thinking is fandom's oldest argument, and the line between subtext and deliberate teasing is its newest — queerbaiting discourse is essentially a dispute about whether subtext was a promise. Historically, subtext was also queer representation's only available form under censorship, and fandom's tradition of reading it closely descends from audiences trained to find meaning between the lines. 'Making the subtext text' remains the standard phrase for what fic does best.

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