yes it's been a while no i'm not really here just dropping off an essay derp
Slash fanfiction, as discussed in class last week, is an interesting phenomenon taking place primarily among heterosexual women, wherein a writer pairs up or “slashes” two fictional males in a romantic and often sexual relationship. As someone involved in or observing this phenomenon for years, I felt there was more I could elaborate on and contend about the subculture of slash fiction and the people who write and read it; it’s a discussion I’ve participated in within that culture for some time now. The most interesting part of it, to me, is that I have found slash-dominated groups to be rather heteronormative and restrictive, compared to spaces more mixed in their representation of which genders are in relationships.
Before we begin, though, there are some terms I will clarify, as they are shorthand slang among those who participate but probably obscure to anyone unfamiliar with them, and many will be used in this post. A “fandom” is a word for the collective group of fans and their work for one series, a portmanteau of “fan” and “kingdom”; Star Trek has a fandom which produces work based on and discussion of it, as does Lord of the Rings, as does Glee, and so on. It should be mentioned that a fandom is generally considered to be all social involvement with a specific work; if you’ve ever, say, discussed a TV show on a forum, that would be participation in fandom. Slash is a noun denoting a male-male pair, but “to slash” is also a verb denoting enjoyment of such. A “ship” or “pairing” refers to a specific relationship, such as Harry paired with Ron or Kirk paired with Spock; a “shipper,” in the same vein, is a person who supports a specific relationship. “Fanfic” or “fic” is shorthand for fanfiction, or a derivative work based on an original one; a “canon” is the work upon which a fandom’s work is based. “Headcanon” is generally theorizing or discussion that goes beyond the limits of what a canon has given its fandom (this can also be referred to as meta occasionally). For example, considering what kind of music your favorite fictional character would like when no musical preferences have been stated by the creators would be headcanon. Meta is also used as a term for fandom discussing itself - the idea of “what goes on beyond the fourth wall.” “Lemon” or “citrus” is a term which has largely fallen out of use these days, but generally referred to a work with explicit sexual content when I was first involved in fandom. “Fangirl” (or “fanboy,” though that is mainly a term exclusive to male-dominated fandoms such as those for shoot-em-up video game) is a derogatory term for usually young, immature people in fandom who seem to be shallow or unintelligent; it’s something of a slur to call a stranger. “Weeaboo” is a slur for a usually white and usually female person who is perceived as liking Japanese culture too much without understanding it in actuality.
From the last two terms we can already see that there is a bit of a stigma about being female in a fandom, despite the fact that the majority of those involved in social and work-producing fandom are female. Gendered insults such as “bitch” or “slut” can also be common in heated discussions. Even aside from arguments, when examining how females are treated in much of slash fiction, we can see reflections of this female-negative attitude. In popular slash-dominated fandoms, if a female shows up in a fic, she is often portrayed as a sultry, dangerous “homewrecker,” coming between two star-crossed lovers. She fawns on one of the males in the pairing, usually the more masculine-typical of the two, and when refused often will turn to an ugly mood and attempt to sabotage the relationship or lash out at the more effeminate partner. In fact, sometimes slash shippers get so into this idea that they project it into how they see the actual canon and wish the female character in question did not exist; Kairi from the video game Kingdom Hearts gets this treatment among a lot of those who slash of the two male leads, Sora and Riku. The other common portrayal of females in slash fiction is much akin to the “gay best friend” in more mainstream media; that is to say, a shoulder to cry on, someone to dispense love advice or help with fashion, but rarely in a relationship and even more rarely a sexual being in and of herself.
But the people who enjoy slash are overwhelmingly female and heterosexual, so this behavior is likely puzzling to the casual observer. Why would women think so ill of other females and of female sexuality? There are a few theories that have been tossed around in meta discussions through the years. One popular one is that girls project themselves upon the more effeminate male in a pairing - according to this theory, women who dislike other females in fanfic are seeing these females as “rivals” for the masculine male’s affection. Another is that a lot of women are taught their genitals are scary or wrong in Western culture, and this affects them so much that they simply do not want to think about girls being in these relationships. A related but slightly different third theory is based on the idea of popular acceptance of male vs female sexual expression - that is to say, a male being a stud while a female is a slut, taken to the next level. According to this idea, it is okay for males to be sexual, but females being sexual is impure and wrong. Thus, this dismissal of fictional females is due to their sexuality being uncomfortable for a female reader who has been taught not to think sex is okay for them; these readers can enjoy sexual content, but cannot apply it to a female body comfortably.
To close, I’ll offer a few thoughts on the kinds of relationships portrayed in slash and the cultural makeup of who enjoys it. Interesting to note is that these male-male relationships in fiction very often follow heteronormative or “Disney princess” ideals. They meet in young adulthood, usually high school (if they don’t, there are plenty of “alternate universe” fics set in high school in a lot of fandoms), fall in love, share at least the effeminate-typical male’s first sexual experience, and proceed to live “happily ever after.” Possibly they get married, and some even have children - there is an entire subset of slash fiction devoted to “mpreg,” or male pregnancy. Concerning the racial makeup of who participates in slash fandom: slash fans are predominantly white, usually American, occasionally European, but there is a very sizable portion of young women of Japanese or Korean descent - usually also from America, but there are huge fandoms in those countries that thrive amongst themselves as well, usually more focused around visual art than writing. These Asian countries are of course the main producers of boy-love manga; however, what I find interesting is they are also the countries which have historically assimilated Western culture more than their neighbors, from what I have studied of them.
I know that the end of the semester is fast approaching, but any thoughts on and discussion of this subculture are more than welcome, and I’m happy to answer questions about my personal experience for any interested parties. Good luck to everyone on your finals, and I am happy to have been a part of this class and met you all.
Before we begin, though, there are some terms I will clarify, as they are shorthand slang among those who participate but probably obscure to anyone unfamiliar with them, and many will be used in this post. A “fandom” is a word for the collective group of fans and their work for one series, a portmanteau of “fan” and “kingdom”; Star Trek has a fandom which produces work based on and discussion of it, as does Lord of the Rings, as does Glee, and so on. It should be mentioned that a fandom is generally considered to be all social involvement with a specific work; if you’ve ever, say, discussed a TV show on a forum, that would be participation in fandom. Slash is a noun denoting a male-male pair, but “to slash” is also a verb denoting enjoyment of such. A “ship” or “pairing” refers to a specific relationship, such as Harry paired with Ron or Kirk paired with Spock; a “shipper,” in the same vein, is a person who supports a specific relationship. “Fanfic” or “fic” is shorthand for fanfiction, or a derivative work based on an original one; a “canon” is the work upon which a fandom’s work is based. “Headcanon” is generally theorizing or discussion that goes beyond the limits of what a canon has given its fandom (this can also be referred to as meta occasionally). For example, considering what kind of music your favorite fictional character would like when no musical preferences have been stated by the creators would be headcanon. Meta is also used as a term for fandom discussing itself - the idea of “what goes on beyond the fourth wall.” “Lemon” or “citrus” is a term which has largely fallen out of use these days, but generally referred to a work with explicit sexual content when I was first involved in fandom. “Fangirl” (or “fanboy,” though that is mainly a term exclusive to male-dominated fandoms such as those for shoot-em-up video game) is a derogatory term for usually young, immature people in fandom who seem to be shallow or unintelligent; it’s something of a slur to call a stranger. “Weeaboo” is a slur for a usually white and usually female person who is perceived as liking Japanese culture too much without understanding it in actuality.
From the last two terms we can already see that there is a bit of a stigma about being female in a fandom, despite the fact that the majority of those involved in social and work-producing fandom are female. Gendered insults such as “bitch” or “slut” can also be common in heated discussions. Even aside from arguments, when examining how females are treated in much of slash fiction, we can see reflections of this female-negative attitude. In popular slash-dominated fandoms, if a female shows up in a fic, she is often portrayed as a sultry, dangerous “homewrecker,” coming between two star-crossed lovers. She fawns on one of the males in the pairing, usually the more masculine-typical of the two, and when refused often will turn to an ugly mood and attempt to sabotage the relationship or lash out at the more effeminate partner. In fact, sometimes slash shippers get so into this idea that they project it into how they see the actual canon and wish the female character in question did not exist; Kairi from the video game Kingdom Hearts gets this treatment among a lot of those who slash of the two male leads, Sora and Riku. The other common portrayal of females in slash fiction is much akin to the “gay best friend” in more mainstream media; that is to say, a shoulder to cry on, someone to dispense love advice or help with fashion, but rarely in a relationship and even more rarely a sexual being in and of herself.
But the people who enjoy slash are overwhelmingly female and heterosexual, so this behavior is likely puzzling to the casual observer. Why would women think so ill of other females and of female sexuality? There are a few theories that have been tossed around in meta discussions through the years. One popular one is that girls project themselves upon the more effeminate male in a pairing - according to this theory, women who dislike other females in fanfic are seeing these females as “rivals” for the masculine male’s affection. Another is that a lot of women are taught their genitals are scary or wrong in Western culture, and this affects them so much that they simply do not want to think about girls being in these relationships. A related but slightly different third theory is based on the idea of popular acceptance of male vs female sexual expression - that is to say, a male being a stud while a female is a slut, taken to the next level. According to this idea, it is okay for males to be sexual, but females being sexual is impure and wrong. Thus, this dismissal of fictional females is due to their sexuality being uncomfortable for a female reader who has been taught not to think sex is okay for them; these readers can enjoy sexual content, but cannot apply it to a female body comfortably.
To close, I’ll offer a few thoughts on the kinds of relationships portrayed in slash and the cultural makeup of who enjoys it. Interesting to note is that these male-male relationships in fiction very often follow heteronormative or “Disney princess” ideals. They meet in young adulthood, usually high school (if they don’t, there are plenty of “alternate universe” fics set in high school in a lot of fandoms), fall in love, share at least the effeminate-typical male’s first sexual experience, and proceed to live “happily ever after.” Possibly they get married, and some even have children - there is an entire subset of slash fiction devoted to “mpreg,” or male pregnancy. Concerning the racial makeup of who participates in slash fandom: slash fans are predominantly white, usually American, occasionally European, but there is a very sizable portion of young women of Japanese or Korean descent - usually also from America, but there are huge fandoms in those countries that thrive amongst themselves as well, usually more focused around visual art than writing. These Asian countries are of course the main producers of boy-love manga; however, what I find interesting is they are also the countries which have historically assimilated Western culture more than their neighbors, from what I have studied of them.
I know that the end of the semester is fast approaching, but any thoughts on and discussion of this subculture are more than welcome, and I’m happy to answer questions about my personal experience for any interested parties. Good luck to everyone on your finals, and I am happy to have been a part of this class and met you all.