Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Ruth Gifford
eres...@cyberg8t.com (Ruth Gifford)
Subject:
Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Hi all!
Well, this is the bare bones of a possible Slash FAQ. I would like anyone
to feel free to answer the questions, writers and non-writers alike. If
you'd like your answer to be anonymous feel free to send it to me.
Regardless of *where* you answer *please* leave the subject header the
sameso I know what's what.
The first question is the only one I feel at all confident in answering as
if I spoke for the group and even on that one I'd value other people's
definitions.
Ruth
The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
1. What is slash?
2. Why do people write it?
4. Why do people read it?
5. Why do people object to it?
6. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their actors?
7. Any further comments or questions and answers.
8. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ which
will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she use your name
or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
Thanks! I'll be fooling with this for quite a while, so take your time in
answering. I'll also post a final call for answers and will post my final
draft for comments.
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Jon Andersen
To:
alt-startrek-creati...@moderators.isc.org
From:
jand...@mail.usyd.edu.au (Jon Andersen)
Subject:
Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Date:
17 Aug 1998 10:08:25 GMT
Organization:
The University of Sydney, Australia
Ruth's "The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire" (preamble snipped for space)
1. What is slash?
Technically speaking, "slash" is a subset of erotic fanfic in
which two oestensibly heterosexual characters engage in homosexual
activities.
This sub-genre derived its name, coined (as far as I know) in the
very early 70s, from the way the participants of a particular
story were identified in the story summary - their name or initials
would be seperated by a "/"
As with any living language, the definition of "slash" has become
blurred. Thus, depending on who you ask, slash could mean either
the technical definition above; a genre of fanfic in which
characters, regardless of their on-screen orientation, engage in
homosexual activties; or (my personal favourite) use it as an
inclusive term to describe the entire erotic fanfic genre as the
mechanism of identifying the participants is identical regardless
of whom is boffing whom.
As an aside of historical interest, as far as I'm aware, slash
fiction first originated amongst the fans of a British espionage
TV show called "The Persuaders". The trend continued with SF
shows such as "Blake's 7" and "Star Trek" and has today shown
up in the fanwritings of most shows that tend to attract fanfic.
Most of the early slash writers of these all-boy sexfests, and
even today they tend to be a high proportion of contributors,
tended to be heterosexual women. Today, there is a greater
diversity of who writes what sort of erotica as people feel
a greater degree of freedom to express their desires (and through
the Internet, a greater number of forums in which to express them)
2. Why do people write and/or read it?
Because they enjoy it. It's an obvious answer, but not one that
occurs to some people.
It has been said that fanfiction is the means by which the
average person can act to reclaim the stories and mythologies
we used to entertain ourselves with but which today are owned,
created and controlled by vast multinational corporations; these
companies, through their ownership of these stories, exercise a
veto over what we can see and hear and read.
Naturally, people want what others do not wish us to have, and
included amongst those wants is the desire to see characters in
popular/common mythology representing types of people and ways of
life that we as readers & writers either lead ourselves, identify
with, or find exciting.
It's a fact of life that humans tend to take vicarious pleasure in
the lives and deeds of others, especially others we can identify
with or find attractive in some manner. Those of us who read/write
erotic fiction in general and slash in particular are combining
this voyeuristic aspect of our nature with our sexualities and
desires.
Or to put it simply: we like it because it excites us. It is,
after all, erotica, and we have a fetish for certain people/
items/scenarios.
3. Why do people object to it?
Our culture has been built upon centuries of socio-religious
intolerance towards people whose racial, social or sexual
identity does not fit some model deemed to be the paragon of
existance.
The fact is that sex and sexuality frighten and disturb some
people. They've been brought up in a manner that teaches them
either homosexuality is wrong or that sex is only for the
purposes of procreation or that it is somehow deviant to
publically express notions of desire or that by projecting
our desires onto characters the corporations have given to us
to entertain ourselves with, we are being subversive and
attempting to undermine the status quo and the fabric of
society.
The Catholic church said the same thing about Galileo.
4. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their actors?
Canon is a term lifted from the church, and referred to the
accumulation of known facts about the Saints and various events
of religious significance. It's use is ironic given the
religous fervour with which some people view a particular series'
canon - terrible and bloody wars have been waged over whether or
not something is "proper" or "wankery".
In short - who gives a damn? If the idea of Deanna Troi &
Beverly Crusher doing the deed all weekend on some remote planet
or Julian Bashir & Garak playing Doctors & Nurses gets you all
excited but you're bothered by the fact that all they do on the
show is talk, pretend it's an alternate universe or something.
Some people may have heard of the literary term "sub-text" which
refers to a meaning or "text" hidden beneath the main body of
writing; it's what alot of people are going on about over "Xena:
Warrior Princess" and the relationship between Xena & Gabrielle -
little clues and nuances that speak of a deeper story than what is
made readily apparent (of course a lot of Xena's subtext is being
slowly made into main text, but that's another FAQ). There was a
degree of lesbian subtext between Jadzia and Nerys in 1st season
DS9, and despite several romances, there is a continuing gay
subtext between Julian and Garak - a subtext Andrew Robinson has
admitted to during convention interviews and which has been fueled
by rumours of a pact between himself & Alexander Siddig to play
the scenes between their characters as if they were casual lovers.
Of course, you could just ignore all this stricture and simply
loose yourself in the posibilities presented in a given piece of
fanfic. It is, after all, meant to to be fun.
And while it may bother some of the actors that their characters
are being so subversively manipulated for the pleasure and
amusement of certain segments of the fan population, it's simply
a case of their own beliefs and prejudices combining with the
belief of any actor who has been in a role for many years that
they know their characters better than anyone else /and they
just wouldn't do that/. But as it happens, a number of the various
Trek casts have gone on record stating that not only doesn't it
bother
them, but they are actually amused by the phenomena.
But when it comes down to it, the actors aren't their characters,
and characters are whatever their writers decide they should be.
5. Any further comments or questions and answers.
Personally, I'd suggest making this FAQ a chapter of the larger
ASCEM(L) FAQ: one chapter on administrative details, another
on what sort of stuff can be posted, another on slash. It might
not be feasable, but it's an idea to throw into the ring.
6. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ
which
will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she
useyour name
or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
Yes. Knock yourself silly 8)
-----
Build High for Happiness
Jon
Robin Lawrie
From:
"Robin Lawrie" <rob...@s054.aone.net.au>
To:
"ascem" <as...@earthlink.net>
Subject:
Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Date:
Mon, 17 Aug 1998 23:07:17 +1000
Ruth, with her finger on the throbbing pulse that is ascem/l, prompted
by a
post from Arachnethe2, writes:
>The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
>
and invites us to reply. I'll qualify my reply first by saying that I
have no
bias for or against slash. I'll read treksmut, I'll write treksmut. If
it
turns out to be slash that I'm reading, as long as it reads well, I'll
enjoy
it. Not cause it's slash, but because it's a well written story. I'm
also a
very visual person and enjoy seeing the movie in my head that these
stories
bring up. So if my answers sound like I'm just in it for the sex <g>,
I'm not
about to deny that it's a major attraction of slash.
>1. What is slash?
>
I'll go with whatever definition you put. I'm easy.
>2. Why do people write it?
>
Two blokes boffing? It's a pretty picture. There's no chance of it
happening
on Trek on the telly, so if we want to take these guys out for a play
around,
and put them through a little angst, a little emotional growth and a
little
sweat <g> we have to write it ourselves. And it's fun.
>4. Why do people read it?
>
A couple of big, nicely oiled up lads doing the nasty and... sorry.
Sidetracked by hormones. Being familiar with the characters from the TV
makes
it all the easier to imagine them actually involved in not just a slash
relationship, but the hard grunty physical part of it as well. It's
also a
chance to see what could have been done with the characters in "what if"
situations. For example "what if" Garak and Julian were the ones who got
married instead of Worf and Jadzia? Quite frankly I can see the blokes
having
a better life together than the Klingon and the spotted babe( I haven't
seen
the ep yet. To me she's still around. Yes, I'm in denial). Also there's
not
enough instances of m/m relationships in mainstream fiction or even
science
fiction. Its refreshing to read stories where the m/m side of things is
taken
as an ordinary part of shipboard life, maybe even secondary to the main
story
itself. But I do like the boffing bits<g>.
>5. Why do people object to it?
>
Because it's not how they perceive the characters to be. You're
upsetting the
idea they have in their heads when they watch the show. eg. Voyager had
the
Chakotay/Janeway thing happening on the show, and there are people who
quite
happily go along with that. For them to believe that Janeway actually
has a
huge thing for Seven and that Chakotay would prefer to be sticking his
tongue
down Tom's throat, would be like having Ruth believe that Picard and
Troi were
dating.("Come on, Ruth! She gets so personal with him, knows all his
secrets,
has little chats in the ready room, wears the plunging necklines on the
bridge...hey! No, not the thuddy thing! No! I'm sorry! ARRGH!).
The most common reaction I get from people when I tell them about slash
is
"But they're not gay!" (the K/S add on is "They're just good friends".)
It's
not that people object to the homosexual aspect of it, as much as they
can't
see one character having a relationship with the other. Kind of like
Kes and
Neelix. I mean, who hasn't at one stage gone "Ewww, Neelix in bed with
Kes?
Let's *not* go there." I know I have, and that's an "in canon" example.
But this is just the people who I have spoken to about slash and
treksmut who
haven't come across it before. I haven't had an extreme reaction to it.
Just
lucky, I guess.
>6. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their actors?
>
What about it? Not relevant. I don't think we need the "Is Patrick
Stewart
gay?" thread to start again.
>7. Any further comments or questions and answers.
>
You could ask the old "Why do so many women write slash?" That seems to
pop up
every now and then. Or "Why do there seem to be pairings that are more
common
than others?".
>8. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ
which
>will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she use your
name
>or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
>
Yes Ruth. Do with it what you will. I'm a trusting soul <g>.
>Thanks! I'll be fooling with this for quite a while, so take your
time in
>answering. I'll also post a final call for answers and will post my
final
>draft for comments.
>
"...quite a while," hmm? Let's see.
<scene: Lounge room at Chez Giffstein. atara is watching Hercules, and
Ruth is
on line>
Ruth: atara! I'm bored!
atara: Yeah right, babe. Have you posted those RR segments yet?
Ruth: Nearly.
atara: Cut and pasted the ascem posts?
Ruth: Sort of, but...
atara: Beta read the latest story from...
Ruth: Soon, ok?
atara: Done any more work on ACT?
Ruth: Look. It's just that...
atara: <sarcasm> Well really Ruth, perhaps you *do* need a new project.
Now
shoosh. Iolaus is in trouble again.
Ruth: <brightly> Iolaus? Ooo, lemme see!
atara: Ruth! The newsgroup posts!
Ruth: Isn't he cute? Man, they are just *so* doing it.
atara: <shakes head. They watch several slashy scenes in silence> So,
I'm
thinking of writing another H/I peice. Want in?
Ruth: <eyeing Michael Hurst's pecs and abs> Huh? Yeah, yeah, Ok. I'm
not doing
anything. Can I do the hurty bits?
atara: Sure Ruth. Whatever.
****
In the fullness of time, then <g>.
Robin
cvic...@my-dejanews.com
To:
alt-startrek-creati...@moderators.isc.org
From:
cvic...@my-dejanews.com
Subject:
Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Date:
Organization:
Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
Ruth Gifford asked:
> The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
>
> 1. What is slash?
Fan fiction, usually but not necessarily erotic, where characters of
the same
sex are shown to be sexually or romantically linked.
> 2. Why do people write it?
It's fun to write, it's a turnon to write, and it allows the writer to
explore
topics canon won't or can't.
> 4. Why do people read it?
It's fun to read, it's a turnon to read, and it allows the reader to
experience topics canon won't or can't explore.
> 5. Why do people object to it?
Some are uncomfortable with the idea of same-sex relationships; some are
uncomfortable with major changes to canon; some just like to complain.
Others
have problems separating the character and the actor.
> 6. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their
actors?
Canon sexuality is underdeveloped, and would lead an unbiased viewer to
believe that sex isn't as common in the future as it is now. Paramount
must
provide a commercially viable product, and that means portraying
sexuality in
a way the average American accepts. Paramount must also avoid any topic
which
would prevent its product from becoming unsaleable in more conservative
foreign markets.
The character is more than the actor. The producer, the writers, the
director, even the makeup and costume people have a say in the
character's
development and personality. The actor is only one part, although an
important one. Personally, I find it disturbing when a writer or reader
can't
differentiate between a character and the actor portraying the
character.
> 7. Any further comments or questions and answers.
Q. Why is there more male/male slash in fanfiction than female/female
slash?
A. Many women find male/male slash a turnon, and most slash writers are
women. I also believe that the male characters in Trek (with the
exception of
those in Voyager) are better written, more rounded, and more believable
than
the female characters. (Most of the f/f slash I've seen has been Voyager
slash.)
Q. Why are some characters extensively slashed and others rarely if
ever?
A. Some characters appeal more to slash writers. There's probably some
Worf
slash out there, but for every Worf slash story there's a raft of Elim
Garak
slash stories. Ambiguous characters, ones where everything isn't right
on the
surface, tend to be slashed more. Perhaps it's a result of contemporary
society, where many homosexuals are forced to lead a double life.
Characters
who lead double lives or who have shady pasts tend to be slashed more.
>
> 8. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ
which
> will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she use
your name
> or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
Permission granted: using my name is OK.
--
Charlene Vickers
Fanfic at http://users.internorth.com/~cvickers/Trek.htm
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Mary Ellen Curtin
From:
"Mary Ellen Curtin" <mecu...@alumni.Princeton.EDU>
To:
<AS...@earthlink.net>
Cc: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:07:15 -0400
Dear Charlene:
Your answers are really good, just the right
tone and substance for an FAQ. I especially
like:
>some just like to
>complain.
and
>Canon sexuality is underdeveloped, and would lead an unbiased viewer
>to believe that sex isn't as common in the future as it is now.
Ruth: what she said.
Mary Ellen
Doctor Science, MA
Caroline Gale
To:
alt-startrek-creati...@moderators.uu.net
From:
Caroline Gale <cg...@york.ac.uk>
Subject:
Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Date:
Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:08:48 +0100
Organization:
The University of York, UK
On Mon, 17 Aug 1998, Ruth Gifford wrote:
(Haven't read others' answers; apologies for likely overlap!)
> The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
> 1. What is slash?
Ummm. As I've come to understand it here, same-sex pairings. Actual sex
isn't necessarily involved but there are definite sexual overtones.
ALternatively, if the 'slash' refers to a '/' sign (dunno what the
correct
term is) then it can be any pairing, e.g. m/f would be
'male-slash-female'.
> 2. Why do people write it?
Multitudes of reasons. On ASCEM, there's obviously a ST influence.
(a) (For females who write m/m and males who write f/f) To explore new
ideas; to understand/explore a concept that they can't experience in
'real
life'.
(b) Because they find the idea a turn-on (obvious really but not, imho,
the sole reason by any stretch of the imagination).
For ASCEM slash, there's a whole new dimension because the characters
are
pre-written, played by actors and known by a wide variety of the
population. Slash writers come to know & care about the characters
before
setting pen to paper. Therefore:
(a) To explore a relationship between two or more characters that the
writer would like (for whatever reasons) to see on screen but that
hasn't
been in the script. To use what is already known about the characters'
personalities to explore and extrapolate how they'd behave in a novel
situation.
(b) (An extension of (a)) To relieve frustration when &£%$@
scriptwriters
have huge amounts of unresolved sexual tension between characters (eg
TOS: K/S. TNG: P/Q, P/C. DSN: G/B VOY: J/C, P/K) <grin>
I DON'T think that people write slash because of any problems with their
own sexuality, e.g. a 'closet' gay guy writing m/m stories because it's
the only way he can express himself. That just doesn't ring true; people
are either in the closet or out of it!
> 4. Why do people read it?
For the same reasons as people write it. In the case of ST, the primary
interest is ST and the characters.
> 5. Why do people object to it?
Because some people will object to anything. Putting aside any rights
and
wrongs of the objections, some people simply find erotica and
same-sex pairings offensive. That can be attributed to just about
anything from a repressed/homophobic upbringing to fundamentalist-type
religous beliefs to simple ignorance of their subject matter. However,
anyone who deliberately seeks out a newsgroup just to publicly object to
it probably has another agenda, e.g. starting flame-wars.
> 6. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their
actors?
Is there such a thing as a character's 'canon sexuality'? I'd argue not.
All we know is what's been shown on screen and discussed. (Has any
character ever emphatically stated their sexuality? If so, do we know
for
sure that they're not in denial? <grin>)
In an odd sense, the actors are completely irrelevant. I haven't seen
any
slash postings about actors, just about characters.
> 8. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ
which
> will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she use
your name
> or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
Sure...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Caroline Gale ~
~ Dept of Psychology, University of York, YO1 5DD, UK.~
~ http://www.york.ac.uk/~cg107 ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
libr...@well-com.net.au
To:
alt-startrek-creati...@moderators.isc.org
From:
libr...@well-com.net.au
Subject:
Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
Date:
Fri, 21 Aug 1998 06:24:20 GMT
Organization:
Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
>The Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
>1. What is slash?
Fan fiction based on television shows, movies and books that depicts two
characters of the same sex having a romantic or sexual relationship.
It can
also include combinations of two men and one woman, two women and one
man, and
three or more characters of the same sex.
>2. Why do people write it?
I can only answer this one for myself. I would not presume to say why
anyone
else writes anything. I write it because it's fun. I mean, if I want
to
write something that's not pure fun to write, I'll work on that novel
for the
pro market that I spend about half the time I *could * be writing
fanfic on
anyway. And I like to write erotic and romantic stories because I like
to
believe that relationships like that could exist. The fact that the
characters are the same sex, for me, is almost incidental.
>4. Why do people read it?
Because it's fun to read, they know and like the characters, and to be
honest, I think it's a lot more erotic to read sexy stuff about
characters
you know and like than it is to read about two people who just meet and
screw
their brains out.
>5. Why do people object to it?
Any of a million perfectly valid reasons. I think the main one is that
many
people are uncomfortable with the homeosexual idea. I don't in any way
see
the characters I write as gay, they are just in love with each other.
Again,
the fact that they're the same sex is incidental. One of my objections
to
the objections to slash is that people think that slashers twist the
characters out of recognisability. A lot of the slash I have seen has
excellent characterisation. I don't think anyone's character changes
solely
because of who they are having sex with.
>6. What about the canon sexuality of the characters and their actors?
Characters: Until or unless it is explicitly stated in so many words, I
refuse to believe that any character is totally straight. We don't know
about all of the het relationships characters have had in canon, TPTB
keep
them ambiguous so that they can bring on old lovers if they feel like it
(except on Voyager, of course, for the obvious reasons). They did it at
least a couple of times in TNG. So who's to say that some of the
lovers we
*haven't* heard about aren't same-sex?
I also feel that in the situations of the Bajoran resistance and the
Maquis
that a lot of people would be looking for comfort and affection, and
that the
sex of the person they found that comfort and affection with would not
be the
first (or even the last) thing on their mind.
And I'd also like to think that 20th-century constructs of sexuality
will be
as out of date in the 24th century as the constructs of the 16th
century are
today.
>7. Any further comments or questions and answers.
A big one for me is: Why do people bother to write PG or PG-13 slash
stories?
Isn't slash all about sex?
Now I'm not going to say that I don't *like* sex in stories, I do.
Very much.
But I don't think it has to be in every story.
My main problem with that question is that it is really divisive. No
one
asks why people write PG or PG-13 het stories, that make it clear that
the
characters are lovers, even though the story doesn't have explicit sex.
It's
assumed that het stories run the gamut of ratings. Yet people ask why
write
slash stories without sex? Why not just write them as friendship
stories?
Now a het writer would (and quite rightly) accuse me of flaming them if
I
asked why they bothered to write a PG P/T story that makes it clear
that Tom
and B'Elanna are lovers and not just friends. But if I write a P/K
story
that's PG, and the fact that they are, were or will be lovers is
important to
the story, some people are going to ask why I bother.
For the same reason that het writers write PG het stories. I want to
write
the relationship as romantic, but not sexual. Slash is no more all
about sex
than het is.
>8. Do you give Ruth permission to quote you in an eventual slash FAQ
which
>will be posted to ASCEM(L), and possibly ASC? If so, may she use your
name
>or would you prefer to remain anonymous?
Yes, and you can use my name.
Joanne.
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