Slash hits the big time

[ivyblossom]

I went over to visit with my sister Bee today, and she tells me, "Hey! I got my issue of Bitch, there's an article in it about slash fiction!" Suddenly our worlds are colliding. Of course the first thing she does is scout through the article looking for references to her sister, sadly not finding any. Hehehe. How I love Bee.

Fan/Tastic Voyage, by Noy Thrupkaew for Bitch Magazine.

Oddly, on Sunday I saw a short documentary on SexTV about slash fiction as well. Both this and the Bitch article were well-researched, not reactionary, not horrified or disgusted, and not trying to denigrate or mock anyone. They both used the terminology current in fandoms, and showed that the writers of the pieces were actually familiar with the concept and history of slash fandom. The Bitch article goes so far as to call slash feminist and politically important, while the documentary examined the 'queer' angle (women writing smut about men for...other women) among other things. Very interesting.

Is it just me, or is slash getting higher profile? I mean, I'd never heard of it when I found it two years ago. And when I did hear about it it was not in a positive way. Both of these sources I encountered this week were very positive. I know this is just a drop in the bucket to the kind of press attention slash has been getting recently...we have thamiris to thank for some of the more literate information getting out to the popular press. After the Bitch article, I'm wondering if we're going to see a flood of feminists come in search of us.

What they may find, though, is that slash is not the feminist mecca they were told that it is.

I wonder what all this attention means for slash fandom, really. Good/bad? I don't know. The more high profile the more we're likely to get attacked. But at the same time, the more they talk about us the more normalized it all becomes and the less drama it's going to cause, I would imagine. These two sources, at least, show slash as being more intelligent than porny, which, having seen some very very bad fics lately, I wonder about. I mean, neither of these sources mention the gigs of pure stinking drivel that exists in slash fanfiction, as well as fanfiction at all.

Possibly they were both newbies and still had that new car smell.

Comments

[evil-erato.livejournal.com]

I think that slash fic has been a bit more attention than it has in the past, only now it is being *much* better represented. There are people actually trying to look at it objectively, rather than just going "eww. Look what those people are doing to XYZ characters. That's sick!". I for one welcome the change :). Perhaps we slashers need to help the movement along - stage 'Slash Pride' parades and wave pretty flags with our OTP on them.

I got into slash fics about 6 years ago or so, and back then we were just a tiny corner of any given fandom. Today, it seems like some fandoms are nothing but slash! (Again, I welcome the change *G*) I rather think that the growing openness about homosexuality in RL and the media has been a large part of this trend. You have more and more GLBT people coming out, making het people realize that being GLBT is okay, and in turn you get a more open fandom base for a particular movie/tv series/book. *shrugs* I'm sure I'm overgeneralizing, but that's my two knuts ;)

[crimson-stained.livejournal.com]

i personally think more people should know about slash.
more importantly, harry/draco slash.

but that's just me ^__________^

[(Anonymous)]

I heartily second you.

[kitsune13.livejournal.com]

That's a great article, and I think you're absolutely right about the higher profile of slash, and how it's a good thing.

You know I'm writing my dissertation on HP fandom, right? I really want to get it published, and my adviser assures me that there's an excellent chance that that will happen. However, i do confess to a few nagging worries, namely, that calling so much attention to the subject might make it uncomfortable for fans. However, my argument is going to posit that slash fics, and fanfics in general, constitute a real literary genre that deserves to be taken seriously not only as cultural artifact, but as a legitimate art form -- I'm hoping that even if I can't convince anyone of that, then at least I can present a positive enough spin on the subject that "outsiders" will come to it in a spirit of exploration, rather than condemnation. Does that make sense?

[taijasa.livejournal.com]

Makes sense to me, and also sounds really interesting. I'd like to read that... What happens when a dissertation gets published? Does it get published anywhere that other people can read it?

[meadowman.livejournal.com]

All dissertations are held at the institution for whom they were written and should be available (via the university/college library or similar) for the public. Getting it properly published will be quite difficult, unless it could be cut down to the size of a journal article - or possibly to essay size to go into a current book as a stand-alone chapter.

[ashakiran.livejournal.com]

You’re so funny! “New car smell.” =:P

Zeus, that one magazine article is really hilarious, on some levels… it’s like she’s Sidhartha searching for the meaning in fic. And, well, I’m just not sure if there are any broad and sweeping conclusions to be had.

[sinisterf.livejournal.com]

wee nice icon! Mana=good!

[ashakiran.livejournal.com]

<3 <3 Mana-sama <3 <3. Hehehe. XD

[ellenore.livejournal.com]

It IS a really good article. Although, who writes K/S anymore? I've never even met a Kirk/Spock-er in another fandom. Is it still a popular pairing?

I am also writing about fandom for my paper. In fact, almost every current unniversity student I know online has written at least an essay about fandom/fanfiction/whatever. Weird, isn't it? Even in the mid-90s, slash was pretty "underground" on the internet.

[franzeska]

I think it's still popular-ish, but I don't think it ever made the transition to cyberspace.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

ellen_fremedon has primarily K/S stuff. I haven't read it (I'm strictly a Potterverse slasher) but her Potter stuff is excellent, so I assume her other slash is as well.

Her website is http://www.geocities.com/ellen_fremedon

[sinisterf.livejournal.com]

That article was probably one of the best thought out pieces on fandom or anything for that matter that I have ever read. It is good to see that even though slash may be getting more spot light that not all of the attention it has been recieving lately has been bad.

darn capitalism

[linepainter.livejournal.com]

When I saw that Bitch, I started wondering how long it would be until the corporations,the ones who own the books and shows that inspire slash, discover a way to package and sell it back to us.
Of course, Bitch isn't exactly the mainstream, if that article had appeared in Bust, I'd really be worried.

[capitalflash.livejournal.com]

The description of slash fan fic as feminist unnerved me. I'm not entirely sure why, but it doesn't seem to add up for me.

[jessindistress.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's because they only read som eof the well-know2n better stuff... maybe they had inside information. *g*

On the feminist thing... I can sort of see why slashiness is regarded as a big feminist thang, and I'm a feminist myself... but by the same token, I agree with you- I wonder if they'll see the argument about slash existing because of weaker female characters and get irritated by that, or if they'll then get pissed at JKR... (I had a debate with one of those horribly "everything is oppression" feminists awhile ago, and she went on and on about teh evils of HP because he wasn't a Strong Female Character... *rolls eyes*) I guess getting nopticed gives it an air of normalness. Maybe when my son's my age, it'll be fairly standard to write and read slash... which would be awesome, eh?

~Jess

[franzeska]

Hmm... Slash has been getting more attention over a long period of time. The Utne Reader had a blurb on it a while back.

[wildendeavour.livejournal.com]

Personally I like to write slash because it is a challenge. I have never experienced a m/m relationship as I am female and as a general rule I have trouble writing male characters. I like writing about stuff that find challenging because I want to learn those dynamics of how to keep the characters cannon (which I am failing miserably at, just ask my betas) and yet give them enough depth to put them in a relationship. Not to mention the fact that H/D can be v. hot if done right. *smirk*

I do not want slash to really become more widly recognized. I like it being a more exclusive community. It is more fun this way. Also, the more people know about slash the more likely it is that slash writers will be attacked by stupid people who do not understand that we are not forcing them to read it, that we are writing it because we want to and they can go far far away from the places that have slash.