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 ==