The Generic Slash Defense Form Letter
Written/compiled by Susan Beth [susanbeth33@mindspring.com]
Purpose: two or three times a year someone (often but not always a
newcomer) posts a message expressing amazement/revulsion/horror over the
existence of slash zines. Generally this leads to a gusher of posts
vehemently arguing both sides in what has been described as "our
traditional semi-annual 'Slash: Disgusting Sleaze or Legitimate Subgenre'
debate."
The problem with this is that it has all gotten *incredibly* old. Anyone
on the list for more than a few months has already heard it all many, many,
many times. Those who don't like slash are not convinced by the arguments
in favor. Those who do like it are equally unmoved by the arguments
against it. And the vast majority, who simply don't care much either way,
wish the whole subject would just go away.
This post lists the objections that anti-slashers have made in the past,
followed by the major rebuttal arguments that pro-slashers have responded
with.
I will post it in its entirety each time the subject is re-introduced.
Hopefully this will accomplish what any FAQ list does: not foreclosing
discussion of the topic, but ensuring that debate does NOT have to start
over fresh from Square One.
*NEW* objections, arguments and insights are genuinely welcome, of course.
-------------
First, for those who may not be familiar with the term "slash", my
definition:
Slash is fan-written fiction that posits that characters of the same sex
from a media show are sexually involved with each other.
Sexual activity may or may not occur during the story, and may or may not
be described in explicit detail, but at least one of the characters must
realize that he or she IS sexually attracted to the other. Many male/male
bonding stories, and a lot of Hurt/Comfort stories, have strong homoerotic
undercurrents (IMHO, IMHO, IMHO) but it doesn't count as slash if neither
of the characters involved recognize it.
================= Why Slash Is/Isn't "Wrong" ====================
1) Slash zines are pornography: Writing/reading about sex in graphic detail
is offensive pure and simple.
"I don't think a discussion of what is and is not pornography is
practical or resolvable. It is very PC to be anti-pornography, whatever
that means, but sex and human interest in it, whether doing it, reading
about it, or watching it, are part and parcel of our human psychology and
very unlikely to fade. People have different tastes and express them in
differing degrees but there is nothing inherently 'wrong' in liking slash.
Textbook detail can be rather tedious but almost anything is better than
the approach to sex which hides the action behind closed doors and the
cover of darkness.
It doesn't seem to me that there is anything inherently 'wrong' with
sexually explicit writing. It is obviously not to everyone's taste, but
that is not what's wrong with slash. It's simply someone's opinion of why
they don't like it." [Catherine Salmon]
2) Stories centering around physical sex are inherently boring.
"I was under the impression from my attendance at con panels and my
reading _about_ slash that for at least a large minority of the authors
(and works) the intent has nothing to do with casual sex or meaningless
encounters, and everything to do with exploration of characters,
relationships, love, affection, longing, loneliness, and the possibility or
impossibility of communication between human beings. And I was under the
impression that B7 slash, in particular, specialized in these things."
[Dawn Friedman]
"There is good slash and bad slash, like any any other genre. The good
slash, in my opinion, deals with complex emotional issues, sexual and
otherwise. The bad slash, for the most part, deals with plumbing, or with
emotional issues in a cliched or overwrought way. The best writers of
Blake/Avon extend the characters in ways far beyond what is possible in a
tv series or in most gen stories." [Susan Hill]
"I like variety, and sometimes smut for smut's sake is fine with me.
Besides, character interaction is what I'm reading for, not gadgetry and
convoluted plots. So as far as I'm concerned, character interaction is
enough to sustain a story -- Blake and Avon working out their differences
is enough of a plot." [Sue Clerc]
3) Slash stories aren't as well written as gen stories.
"I do wish that the anti-slash faction would stop phrasing their
objections to the genre in terms of literary value. For one thing, I very
much doubt that any of you have read enough of it to know what you're
talking about. And why should you? The only reason to read fanfic at all
is for fun, and there's certainly no point in forcing yourself to read
something you know you won't like just so you can argue more coherently
about why you don't like it.
But surely you must be aware that many (not all, but quite a lot) of
the people who write your favorite gen stories-- the ones published in
zines like =Gambit= or =Southern Seven= or =Star One=-- are also writing
slash. Do you imagine that all their literary skills desert them as soon as
they turn to subject matter you don't approve of? Actually, I've found
that writers are usually pretty consistent stylistically. A good gen
writer, if she also does slash, will probably do it well; a maudlin gen
writer will write maudlin slash. As for knowledge of human anatomy and
physiology, that's just as relevant to, say, a fight scene, as it is to a
sex scene. How convincingly it's handled depends on the skill of the
writer, not the genre of the story." [Sarah Thompson]
4) Homosexuality is perverted and depicting the characters that way demeans
them.
"Value judgements such as 'perversion' reside in the mind of the
perceiver. If something was truly a 'perversion' or 'against nature' it
logically would not exist. It is only a perversion to someone who would not
do it, but not in the larger, reality-defining sense of the word." [Nicole
C. Michaud]
"Well, I understand what you say, but totally disagree. I do not
believe that there is anything unhealthy about homosexuality. Admirable?
No, I suppose not, but I don't think heterosexuality is admirable either.
It just *is*." [Claudia Mastroianni]
5) Homosexuality is against my religion.
"I believe that there is room for critical thought within most faiths. I
ask you to consider -- are you opposed to homosexuality? If so, is that
because you see it as harmful? If so, how? Is it because it's proscribed
in the Bible? So was eating pork. And I'm not being flip. A lot of the
rules in the Bible were necessary in the society in which they were
presented. Doesn't make them universal rules." [Claudia Mastroianni]
"If you were Jewish and didn't eat pork, would you demand that no one
else eat pork and that it is wrong/sick/perverted to do so? Different
religions have different views on any number of things from beliefs to
rituals and just because one religion follows one set of beliefs/rules, all
religions and people are not required to subscribe to those beliefs. If my
religion upheld the belief that technology was evil, that does not mean
that I have the right to prevent others from using that technology. If I
chose not to, that would be my choice but I do not have the right to impose
that choice on anyone else." [Catherine Salmon]
"Religion is extinct in the B7 universe (see "Pressure Point").
Homosexuality sure isn't against _their_ religion.
Oh, against (your) religion, you mean? Eggrolls and Sweet and Sour
Pork aren't Kosher, but I don't see any rabbis picketing the Chinese
restaurants hereabouts. [DK]
6) The actors are/would be offended by them.
"The actors are not the characters they played. Making a character he
played homosexual does not imply that the actor is. Playing a role does
not make it one's property. It can be played by others. It can be played
differently with a different interpretation. Slash merely offers a
different interpretation of a character (or two)." [Catherine Salmon]
"An actor, like an athlete or anyone else who has a public persona,
should be able to separate his or her identity from that of the character
and the fans' fantasies about that character." [Erszebet Bathory]
"If we're going to worry if slash victimizes the actors, why don't we
worry about whether sexually explicit non-slash does also?" [Nan Ellman]
6B) Slash artwork uses the faces of real people who might be upset.
"The characters depicted are works of fiction. Any resemblance to real
people, either living or dead is purely coincidental." [T'Rhys]
"A fan artist pointed out that what she does is perfectly legal --
creating art based on actors, no matter what that art depicts, does not
violate any laws." [Alex MacKenzie]
7) The series' creators would be offended by its distortion into slash.
"If we find slash repulsive, the only adult option is to never read
any of it again. The characters are not the private property of any one
reader. Whether we choose to manipulate those characters via poor writing,
weird alternate universes, insertion of Mary Sues, crossing universes or
putting them into 'slash' situations, we (as Blakes 7 fans) have to live
with it. The only person with an even moderate claim to a valid objection
would be the original creator of the characters, and to my knowledge, Terry
Nation has never voiced any viewpoint on the issue of slash, pro or con."
[Leah Rosenthal]
"*No* media fanfic is legally pristine or exempt from the charge of
tampering with the original writers' work and intentions. Why should slash
be a special case? Sure, it adduces sexual relationships for which we have
no explicit onscreen evidence. So does every *straight* combo but
Blake-Jenna, Avon-Cally, and Dayna-Tarrant -- and I'm being generous about
what I consider evidence here. So why don't Avon-Jenna stories become a
target for indignation and contempt? Why isn't Blake-Cally considered
anathema to the writers' intentions?" [Dawn Friedman]
"It's well-known and thoroughly documented that Blake was supposed to
be killed in 'Blake.' I understand that Gareth Thomas had it written into
his contract that Blake died and was seen to be dead. So, there's no
dispute about what the creators intended: Blake is bereft of life. He is
no more. He has ceased to be. He's rung down the curtain and joined the
choir invisible. This is an ex-Blake. So fans who write stories in which
Blake survived his wounds, or wasn't really on Gauda Prime at all because
It Was The Clone, are flatly contradicting something which the original
writers did their level best to make uncontradictable.
It does puzzle me, though, that I've never read any indignant
denunciations of live-Blake PGPs on the grounds that they're frequently
gushy, represent wish-fulfillment on the part of fans, and distort the
vision of the original writers.
Which takes more liberties with 'Othello': a production in which Iago
is portrayed as having a homosexual attraction to Othello, or one in which
Desdemona isn't killed?" [Brooke Barker]
8) Slash stories written by women are offensive/hurtful to gay men.
"Do you honestly mean to say that only gays are 'allowed' to write
about gays? Do you hold that to be true about other divisions? Are white
author's 'allowed' to have black characters in their books? Can Christians
include Jews? Can the able-bodied have a handicapped character? Can the
young write about the old? Honestly, this is one of the strangest literary
prejudices I've heard of." [Susan Beth]
"You know, there are a lot of slash fans I should introduce you
to--they would be seriously offended that you even dared suggest that slash
is about gay men. It's not. It's about media characters (you know, those
figments of someone's imagination) whom we place in a situation where they
have sex/romance with someone of the same sex. That's it. There are
precious few stories that are about 'gay men', fewer about the so-called
'gay lifestyle' (as if one life fits all) and of those few, almost none are
in B7.
No, I don't know what it's like to be a gay man. How many writers know
what it is to be shot by a space weapon? Have our minds fiddled with? Be a
cowardly, drunken thief whose mind adjustments didn't 'take'? And if they
write a story wherein Avon is sociopathic and/or schizophrenic, do you
expect them to check that no-one with a mental illness will be offended by
the story? Or do you save such odd constraints for slash only?
Does slash offend gay men? None of the gay men I know who've read it
have been offended. Nor have I ever heard any complaints from any of the
gay men to whom several other people have shown slash. Some of them did,
however, laugh. And some of them turned green with envy! I won't distress
you by telling you why. But stamina, frequency and talent had a *lot* to do
with it!" [M. Fae Glasgow]
9) It is wrong to put any explicit sex in fanfic since there wasn't any in
the series.
"As for sex in the B7 universe, its absence in portrayal is only a
matter of the BBC forbidding obvious sexual activity. We know people have
sex in Blakes 7 because people are born, people engage in foreplay, people
wear seductive clothing and people discuss sex." [Leah Rosenthal]
10) There is no evidence that homosexuality exists in the B7 universe.
"We did have Dorian eyeing Avon with some interest, and Gun Sarr all
set to paint a scarlet H on his forehead. And then there was Egrorian's
obvious interest in Vila. (In fact, I've always been suspicious that
that's why Avon picked Vila to accompany him in the first place--he somehow
knew of Egrorian's interest in fair young men, and Vila was the closest
match.)" [Betsy Ramsey]
"There are four times I can think of where a homosexual interest is
suggested, but since some of the characters involved have also shown
interest in the opposite sex, maybe the word bisexual is more appropriate.
Servalan and Veron in 'Pressure Point'; Krantor and Toise in 'Gambit';
Dorian and Avon in 'Rescue'; Egrorian and Pinder, and Vila in 'Orbit'."
[Susan Clerc]
11) All slash is out of character since these guys simply aren't
homosexuals.
"If anyone objects to stories that make Avon homosexual, why don't
they object to stories that make Avon out to be a paranoid psychopathic
killer? Hmmm? The implication is, of course, (you all knew this was coming,
didn't you?) that it is somehow 'better' to be a thief, an embezzler, a
traitor, a psychopath and a killer than it is to be a homosexual."
[Ann Wortham]
"What sort of truth are we worried about? The characters aren't TRUE
either; they're fiction, and just because they don't pee on-screen doesn't
mean we can't assume they don't answer the call of nature sometimes. If you
can enjoy a PGP story (at LEAST as improbable as A/V!), then slash fans can
define the 'call of nature' however they want." [Lynn Cherny]
"These are fictional characters. We can't hurt them. We're allowed to
kill them off, turn them into vampires, have them make ghastly mistakes."
[Dawn Friedman]
"How can we know whether or not a particular character is heterosexual
or homosexual? The only way to be sure would be to catch him in the act
and inventory his partner's genitalia -- and we'd have to do that *every
time* to rule out bisexuality." [Susan Beth]
"Who says the characters can't be gay or bi? It is never addressed on
screen, but then, we rarely see characters doing many normal daily
functions on screen (using the toilet, mastubating, etc.). If 10% of the
population is gay, why not our guys?" [*]
"Sexual orientation is not manifested in physical appearance. The
sterotypical image of a homosexual male is not, for the most part, what
most gay men are like. They are not all effeminate, in fact, the majority
of them are just like you and I. And unless you plan to creep into their
bedroom, you aren't going to necessarily find any "proof" of their sexual
orientation. Witness the surprise when celebrity homosexuals are outed.
Twenty years ago, who would have guessed that Rock Hudson was gay."
[Catherine Salmon]
"What about Cally and Avon, do you think they might have been lovers?
They aren't shown in bed together, but there are things to support this
supposition. (Looks, smiles, conversations in bedrooms, touches...) If
you allow some of this sort of 'evidence' to count, then the average slash
fan will be able to point at the same kind of 'evidence' for Blake and
Avon, or Avon and Vila." [Lynn Cherny]
12) Adding sex distorts the relationships between the characters.
"The emotionally-charged relationship between Blake and Avon is one of
the qualities that hooked me on the series. Although I sneered the first
time I heard someone say what I'm about to repeat, I've found it to be true
-- the relationship is not dealt with enough in genzines to suit me and
slash is the only reliable source of what I want. I want more about the two
of them and only slash stories seem willing to get into that tangled and
fascinating ball of string on a regular basis." [Sue Clerc]
13) Why add sex? It isn't necessary to deepen or explore the relationship
between the characters.
"The simple-minded answer is: sex is what lots of people use as the
medium for expressing affection and exploring relationships -- real-world
affection and relationships, I mean, as well as fictional ones." [Dawn
Friedman]
"Because that's the aspect that interests us.
I can't speak for anybody else, but I'm not trying to get any 'point'
across in my writing. I write slash because it's an intriguing way to deal
with the characters and their issues, and because it's something I feel
*moved* to do. And it's fun.
Freud said that dreams are the Royal Road to the unconscious.
Sexuality is like that, too." [Erszebet Bathory]
"Maybe it's the fact that sex allows you to add yet more emotional
intensity into an already intense relationship. It's one more thing for
them to argue over. How do Avon and Blake handle a sexual attraction when
they hate each other's guts? To get into bed with someone requires making
yourself vulnerable.
What if you attempt sex as a way of trying to come closer together and
then find it hasn't worked?
Alternatively, maybe it is the only thing that will bring two people
together when all else has failed (not a version I go for much myself)."
[Judith Proctor]
14) Slash unfairly shortchanges the female crew members.
"When the writers give all the good lines to the men, then the most
interesting emotional relationships in the show will be the ones between
the men; and those relationships will be likely to have a passionate
intensity that would certainly be interpreted by most viewers as evidence
of mutual erotic interest if one party were female. A viewer who's not
horrified by the idea of homosexuality can easily imagine a further
development of the story in which that emotional intensity slides across
the line into something sexual. It wasn't what the writers intended at
all, but they did lay the groundwork for it when they downplayed the female
characters and focussed exclusively on the men. Frankly, I think it's
poetic justice that members of the sex they chose to slight now take
pleasure in an interpretation of their work that they consider perverted."
[Sarah Thompson]
"So Jenna and Cally don't get their fair amount of ink in slash zines?
And exactly how is this different from the situation in any other set of
zines?" [Susan Beth]
"I'd say a lot of the really bad Jealous Jenna stories are
misogynistic. But then again, there are plenty of *gen* stories that
qualify as misogynistic, as well--slash is not the only culprit. There are
slash stories that fit into *every* negative category you can name...some
are poorly written, some do warp the characters completely, some are
misogynistic...but for every literary sin committed in a slash story, I can
find a gen story just as bad..." [Michelle Moyer]
15) Why in the world would women want to read/write slash any way?
"My best guess is that if one man is a turn on, then two men are
doubly so. My second guess is that if somebody wants to write a story that
draws on the strong relationship betwen two characters, then they just
extend that relationship as far as it will go." [Judith Proctor]
"As to why we like slash, I really only speak for myself, but I think
most of us are drawn by the intensity of the relationship between the two
men. I love the relationship between Blake and Avon whether it be sexual
or not. Certainly it can also, the slash that is, be a 'turn-on', but it is
not just any two men together, not even any two men I find attractive. It
is the particular combination that I find so...interesting." [Catherine
Salmon]
"Men tend to be stuck with emotionally frozen roles. Slash is a good
way of unfreezing things." [Janice Adlington]
"While many slash stories are not sexually explicit and the
nonphysical aspect of the relationship is often paramount in slash stories,
some of us also like to read stories that make us press our thighs together
and shudder (and then excuse ourselves for a few moments of solitude.)"
[Sue Clerc]
"Why ask why? Are men constantly asked why they like seeing two women
having sex? Are male porn video makers asked why they insist on putting in
sex scenes with two females even if the actresses aren't into that sort of
thing? Likewise writers of 'adult' books, which are, moreover, supposed to
appeal to women as well? Are men cross-examined on their motives,
psychological reasonings--and are they frequently characterised as being
weak, needy and perverted just because, gosh, golly, gee, whiz, they like
women with women? I honestly don't think there's any difference (apart from
a reversal of gender here, of course) in men liking female/female and women
liking male/male." [M. Fae Glasgow]
"Those seeking further understanding of the slash issue might wish to
read "Textual Poachers" by Henry Jenkins ISBN 0-415-90571-0 (HB) ISBN
0-415-05972-9 (PB) In addition to studying median fandom as a culture in
its own right, Jenkins explores the subject of fan fiction and devotes the
whole of one chapter to slash. He considers the origins of the genre, the
reasons why people read and write it, and the typical structural elements
of slash stories. It's an academic apprach, but an interesting one. He
quotes several writers of Blake's 7 slash whom he has had correspondence
with." [Judith Proctor]
16) Children, or people who don't want to be exposed to slash may come
across it accidentally.
"Virtually all slash publisher are very careful to: 1) label their
zines appropriately; 2) give warnings about the contents in their flyers;
3) require age statements. Despite these precautions, it is probably
inevitable that occasionally some 'innocent' reader will be offended. This
is unfortunate, but not nearly as undesirable as restricting *all* fiction
to the level that would be suitable to the youngest or most naive person in
the world.
And, after all, slash zines are hardly our society's only or most
common source of references to homosexual activity." [Susan Beth]
17) Why can't you pro-slashers just shut up about the whole subject here?
Why not just let the anti-slashers express their opinions?
"I didn't notice any slash fans out there posting questions to the
effect of: 'How many of you out there AREN'T slash fans, and why the heck
not? When so many zines are produced with slash in them, what's keeping
you from broadening your interests in fanfic?' --Questions that, as a
slash fan, I would love to hear answers to." [Lynn Cherny]
"Scenario: Suddenly slashfen take over the Blake's 7 fan fiction
publishing in toto. All you can find to read is slash. Everything else is
burned because rabid slash fen don't approve. Don't like being told what to
read/produce by someone else's arbitrary whim? That's how _I_ see the
opposing point of view as stated by several people here." [Joan Crenshaw]
"I don't remember anyone arguing that the antis didn't have a right to
have their opinion and to air it here. My impression has always been the
opposite: it's the antis who want the pros to shut up: don't speculate
about slash here, don't post reviews of slash zines, and for heaven's sake
don't write them." [Susan Beth]
"I think the main reason why slash writers/readers are so vocal in
defending our right to read/write what we want is because we keep on (and
keep on and keep on) coming across people who state quite openly, too often
nastily, that we should NOT be allowed to read/write what we want. Or
perhaps other slash fans leap to the battlements so quickly because they
feel as I do: that we are singled out, that we are subjected to comments
and attitudes that I don't see being made to/applied to other segments of
fandom. Or perhaps we are so quick to fend off attacks on our freedom to
read what we want because we've had so much damned practice." [M.Fae
Glasgow]
============================
In conclusion, two quotes that I feel deserve to be reread and pondered on:
"I haven't read any slash, but I sure as hell wish those that have
something against it would keep it to themselves on this list. From what I
can see, the good slash stories have to do with a person's emotional
attachments to others. Well, damn if that isn't true for ANY good story.
You don't like slash? Fine! Turn the bloody page! That's what it is
there for." [Ken Crist]
"Liz Sharpe once made the most wonderful comment about this very thing
(and Liz does _not_ like or read slash). She said that she had never heard
of a slash zine following someone around, flapping its pages and screaming
'Read me, read me.' It's true of any material someone wants to censor.
Censor it for _yourself_, then." [Ann Wortham]
== end ==