Slash (or Was Harry Potter Gay)

"Slash" is something I've only come across recently, and even then, in an academic context. A presentation was made on slash at the recent Asia Pacific Queer Conference in Brisbane. Even though I spend a lot of time on the net (too much), I hadn't actually come across slash before.

I found it quite fascinating. I omitted to ask, but I think the term "slash" comes from the oblique or slash placed between characters names in order to pair them, such as Harry/Draco. Vikram might find it of interest to know that a lot of slash has been based on sci-fi tele series, such as Star Trek, with Kirk/Spock slash being common, which is not a coupling I've ever fantasised about myself (in fact I've never fantasised about either of them). Another favourite from a related sub-genre is Buffy slash.

The reference in the article below to copyright concerns I found interesting. One of the first web sites you come across in the Google listing of 1.3 million (yes!!) for Star Trek, is for the Las Vegas Star Trek expo, complete with wedding options. This reminds me of when I used to live with Trekkies in my student days, a number of whom were very serious science students. One in particular would dress up in Trekkie outfits, and go on these various sci fi conferences with a whole lot of others dressed similarly, and not only from Star Trek. There was no talk of copyright infringement here, as the manufacturers of the Star Trek and other sci fi brands understood very well the power of fandom in terms of free marketing. While I don't think there was much "slashing" going on in those days, despite the number of men prancing around in tights, and despite the legacy of the ultra-camp and very annoying Queen Dr Smith of Lost in Space, the games these straight sci fi fans played were very much in the realm of plagiarism in the form of emulation. They too created new plots.

And when heterosexuals marry in Las Vegas in the characters of Star Trek "personalities", this appears to be tolerated as all good clean fun (even if I personally think the whole idea of a wedding of this type a bit peculiar). Again, one presumes the companies that own the brands and images recognise it as free marketing. 

It appears they are less sanguine when unpaid authors make (let?) their characters go off and do things on the internets back-rooms, and in science fictions sex bars. Reminds me of the Six Characters in Search of an Author stumbling into a queer zone and having a damn good time, having escaped from their rather boring script.

Fandom is older than post-modernism of course, but tell tale terms like "sub-text" that crop up in the article quoted below betray the impact of post-modernism on a substantial segment of the slashing population. Before Foucault and friends, I don't think many people ACTIVELY read for sub-texts as is suggested in the article, nor for that matter read "texts" as opposed to just plain "reading". "Sub-texts" of course have however always been there, perhaps more generally known as "reading between the lines", and we have no doubt all interpreted certain characters as queer, or at least objects of our own desire. Especially heros/heroines, and especially buddy narratives. Slash actually just takes this several steps further by reframing the characters and actually writing the plots we might have wished we were reading, and then publishing it on the net.

An interesting comment was made at the conference by the presenters, an Australian/Canadian lesbian couple doing joint academic work, that it is mostly American sci fi or cop stuff that gets slashed. Canadian and Australian material is little represented in slashing, even though Canadian and Australian slash authors are amongst the most prolific and most read across the net. They speculated that non-American material tends to be less cartoon like, with a couple of exceptions, and also tends to be more ensemble based, with fewer buddy structures. So Starsky and Hutch are prime candidates for slashing. I'm not sure this really holds though, at least not in relation to ensemble material, because Star Trek is arguably very much an ensemble production.

The thing that hit me though as I listened to the presentation and discussion was that I have been engaging in "slash fiction" myself, without ever realising it. I'm referring to the re-structurings of Hindu myth that I have written poems about, such as the one I called "Blasphemy", parts of which have been put up on GB. Maybe this is a variant which could be called "slash myth" rather than slash fiction, but it does essentially the same thing. In the case of "Blasphemy" essentially what I did was "slash" Krishna with a cowherd boy. I've recently written another one, where I have re-structured the Shiva/Mohini story, by have made it clear that Shiva actually saw through the Mohini "illusion", knowing full well that it was Vishnu PRETENDING to be a woman, and taking the opportunity presented by this charade to have sex with HIM. There's nothing particularly radical in this interpretation, because anyone who has watched village performances of the Shiva/Mohini story will know the actor-dancers usually camp it up to some degree, getting a few giggles out of the audience in the process.

Which brings us full circle. Because much sci fi, not to mention goth fantasy such as the rather vanilla Buffy or the somewhat darker Anne Rice stuff (Lestat and friends), is built on hero narratives, and linked pretty directly to structures such as the Arthurian cycles. Lord of the Rings is only the most contemporary resurrection of this re-cycling. And before anyone screams, like the outraged Indian fan quoted in the article, there is a substantial mainstream long standing academic literature on this very point. Myth lies behind a great deal of sci fi, especially in the form of the hero legends. It doesn't have to be directly alluded to or even consciously within the authors mind, given how pervasive these structures are to human culture.

So perhaps when one of the less refined village performances of Shiva/Mohini is presented, and the male dancer throws on a little veil and simpers over to Shiva, all the while throwing conspiratorial glances to the knowing audience, who chortle at the "joke" at Shiva's expense, perhaps this has something in common with slash. Less queer in a contemporary sense perhaps, not post-modernist in the French sense, but full of sub-text and innuendo nevertheless. When stated openly, this may well make some conservative religionists very uncomfortable, despite being regularly stated through the devices of slapstick and pantomime. But there it is.

Going back to contemporary slash, and the article quoted, I haven't said anything about the Harry Potter aspect. I haven't read any of the books, nor yet seen the film, and might not. But I remember when Harry Potter slash was mentioned in the conference that a slight discomfort came over me regarding the potential pedophilia. The article doesn't quite get around to saying as much, and instead opts for concerns about a (fictional) 14 year old engaging in (fictional) gay sex. Or at least, gay romance. Instead it runs off into a proxy discussion about pornography, perhaps creating a suspicion that Harry Potter slash is a form of child pornography consumed by drooling dirty old men.

Yet another interesting aspect of slash, a bit like it's cousins anime and manga, is that a lot of it is written and read by young heterosexual women. Or apparently heterosexual women (although one would have to acknowledge given this is the internet, that some of these young women authors/readers may themselves be fictional characters created by real authors who bear no relation to to their pen-names or nicks). In Japan for example, bishonen anime, soppily romantic cartoons of love affairs between beautiful boys, are heavily consumed by young girls. As is a similar lesbian anime/manga. This has now crossed over into Western anime/manga (I admit I'm not enough of an afficionado to be sure of the separation between anime and manga, I tend to think of manga as more violent and underground, but I'm not sure).

The world is a strange place indeed.

-Quentin

Slash is a very interesting topic, especially for someone like me with interests in science fiction/fantasy, homosexuality and writing in general. I've been aware of it for a bit, mainly in connection with Trekkie slash (you're right, the name comes from the / that separates the characters in the romance), but I didn't know, though should have realised, it had crossed into Hogwartsland. 

I find several things appealing about slash whether or not I get turned on by the content, which of course depends on the skill of the writer and the attractiveness of the pairing for me (as regards Harry Potter, my favourite is Remus Lupin/Sirius Black, who I've always thought were the most likely gay characters, and are adult too, so none of the paedophilia problems that Quentin refers to arise. I did a check and it was interesting to note that enough others thought like me for R/S to be an established category in Harry Potter slash). 

Slash seems to me to have a curious innocence which I find rather charming. Its childish maybe, but in a way that appeals to the illogical, childish parts within ourselves. Of course some of it is pretty hard core, but my impression is that most slash tends to the romantic rather than sexual, which is what adds to the innocence. 

Maybe I've just been lucky in the slash I've read - one can't discount the possibility of only being drawn to the slash styles one is likely to like anyway - but it rarely seems to have the crude, violent prose that you sometimes get in hard core printed porn. Slash seems to tend to the the lighter, easy reading style of the sort of romantic fiction in women's magazines. Its not exactly good, but its mostly competent, and unobtrusive - you don't generally find the romantic stuff becoming ickily embarassing (or maybe I just have a higher threshold for it!) 

Most of all though what I like about slash is that it comes from _readers_. Oh, OK, maybe viewers in the case of Star Trek. But the point is its from people who love reading so much they get totally absorbed in a book, loose themselves totally to it. And then once its over they can't entirely disengage. They sit there first reliving the book, and then, slowly, as they become more familiar with it, they take posession of it, start embroidering on and imagining it for themselves...

Yes, I realise this can become obsessional if taken to extremes. But it is part of the magic of reading, of imagination, that the imagining doesn't end with the original writer (or creator of whatever kind), but passes on to the recipient, an imagination viirus that gets you imagining for yourself. Slash fiction starts there and its a big reason why I like it. 

Quentin wrote: "It appears they are less sanguine when unpaid authors make (let?) their characters go off and do things on the internets back-rooms, and in science fictions sex bars."

This, of course, is another pleasure of Slash - the way it pisses of the over cautious, over censorious companies that run the world's creative businesses. In general, as Quentin knows very well, I tend to adopt a pro-business stance on most issues, but I often lose my patience with the sheer stupidity of people in publishing, music and entertainment. Their blind focus on copyright concerns and desire to reduce everything to the mean level dictated by focus groups, means that they lose sight of what should be their main business object, which is pleasing the customers, of _all_ kinds, who are their reason for existence. 

But I'm drifting away. The point, as I said, is that its nice to see the stupider companies getting pissed off. They should take example from the original writers, who are usually quite sanguine about seeing their creations being used in slash - after all who would understand better the pleasures of imagining with these characters. There are also a few smarter companies which are realising the importance of not getting worked up about fan efforts like these because they are, after all, from fans. 

New Line Cinema's handling of Tolkein fans in the run up to the launch of The Fellowship Of The Ring has been quite good (check the Wired cover on this). Lego is one company that is coming round to this position, with regard to the similar, and quite amazing category of brickfilms. These are short stop motion animated films made using Lego bricks to create the characters (and often Lego's high tech film kits to actually create the films). There's an amazing variety of brickfilms ranging from the Bible to porn. One of the most famous examples is - yes, finally a gay connection to this post! - "Rick & Steve, the Happiest Gay Couple in the World" Check this link for some pix: 

http://marginfilms.com/indierag/content/reviews/010312rick&glamour.html

" Fandom is older than post-modernism of course, but tell tale terms like "sub-text" that crop up in the article quoted below betray the impact of post-modernism on a> substantial segment of the slashing population. Before Foucault and friends, I don't think many people ACTIVELY read for sub-texts as is suggested in the article, nor for that matter read "texts" as opposed to just plain "reading". "

Its what I said. Most people may not read books in post modern scrutinising way - at least, I devoutly hope they don't - but they do let themselves imagine about the books. 

"non-American material tends to be less cartoon like, with a couple of exceptions, and also tends to be more ensemble based, with fewer buddy structures. So Starsky and Hutch are prime candidates for slashing. I'm not sure this really holds though, at least not in relation to ensemble material, because Star Trek is arguably very much an ensemble production."

A possible comment on the rather strai(gh)t laced standards that have governed American popular entertainment for ages. There were actual codes like the Comics Code and all sorts of conventions on TV that prevented writers going into all sorts of interesting human areas. Because of the limits they tended to stray towards more impersonal areas like general violence. 

The more human elements then had to come in from other countries, especially those like Australia and Canada where the language was the same, but attitudes were not. Not a coincidence that the first gay comicbook superhero launched by a large American comic press, Marvel, was North Star, a Canadian superhero in a series, Alpha Force about Canadian superheroes (this is fantasy we're talking about... sorry), created by a Canadian writer called, I think John Byrne. 

"The thing that hit me though as I listened to the presentation and discussion was that I have been engaging in "slash fiction" myself, without ever realising it. I'm referring to the re-structurings of Hindu myth that I have written poems about, such as the one I called "Blasphemy", parts of which have been put up on GB. Maybe this is a variant which could be called "slash myth" rather than slash fiction, but it does essentially the same thing." 

That's a very interesting take on the topic. I'd agree with you that slash and myth have links particularly in the area of the Hero. 

"Yet another interesting aspect of slash, a bit like it's cousins anime and manga, is that a lot of it is written and read by young heterosexual women. Or apparently heterosexual women (although one would have to acknowledge given this is the internet, that some of these young women authors/readers may themselves be fictional characters created by real authors who bear no relation to to their pen-names or nicks)." 

I'm going to leave aside your suggestion that the writers may be fictional creations themselves, because that takes the whole thing to levels of complexity beyond what I can deal with at the end of a working day! But most of the slash I've read does seem to be written by heterosexual women and is about gay men, whcih is a an answer to the sterotype of drooling dirty men. 

Why heterosexual women are writing about gay lovers is a fascinating question. Is this the counterpart of the straight men obsessed with lesbians thing? Is this suppressed same sex feeling? Are gay men involved at all, or is their presence deceptive? Some of these issues are discussed at this site, which is a good collection of writing on slash: 

http://www.fanficweb.net/directory/slash/slash.htm

In particular the issue of heterosexual women writing gay slash fiction is robustly dealt with at:

http://www.wordsmiths.net/Essays/slash.html

"In Japan for example, bishonen anime, soppily romantic cartoons of love affairs between beautiful boys, are heavily consumed by young girls. As is a similar lesbian anime/manga. This has now crossed over into Western anime/manga (I admit I'm not enough of an afficionado to be sure of the separation between anime and manga, I tend to think of manga as more violent and underground, but I'm not sure)."

I don't know much about this, since my access to anime and manga is limited here, but I thought the essential difference was just technical. Doesn't anime just refer to the animated films that use the styles developed in pinted manga comics? Anyway, the site has a link to an excellent essay on this issue of the romanticisation of homosexuality by Japanese women in their 'beautiful boys' cults:

http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue3/mclelland2.html

Hope this is all of interest to more than just Quentin and me! 

-- Compiled by Vikram
Uploaded on 08-Feb-2002