What is slash?

 

Okay you're asking yourself, you keep hearing this term banded around various writing and fan forums, some people seem to like it whilst others loathe it with a vengeance but what exactly is this slash business that you keep hearing so much about?

Read on and find out.

First of all I am going to start with what slash isn't. It isn't about the author saying that they think that the characters that they are writing about, real or fictional, should be together in reality or in the book/movie/series in which they appear. This is a common mis-conception especially in 'real people slash' (RPS) which tends to be the genre that I write in.

Instead it is about an author using their imagination and writing 'what ifs.' Couples tend to be chosen either because there is some form of spark or chemistry between them already or simply because an author thinks that they would go well together.

The key word to remember at all times is FICTION. As an author you are creating scenarios and situations but at the end of the day no-one is trying to say that they are in anyway real.

Right, so that what slash isn't, this is what slash IS.

Slash in it's purist form denotes a sexual relationship between any pairing/pairings be that m/m, f/f or m/f. Over the years, however slash has come to be more closely associated with same sex couples, in particular m/m couples.

The name derives from the convention of writing up the pairing i.e., Mulder/Skinner. The first name written is meant to denote the aggressor with the second being the poor friend/colleague who is naturally unaware of the first character’s love and affections. More generally you will find the names written as they would naturally occur; i.e., if you were writing a Placebo fic you would tend to write it as Brian/Steve even if it was Steve who was making all the advances. More often enough you will find the names shortened to just the initials i.e., B/S or S/S if you are writing Steve/Stefan slash.

This branch of slash is technically known as homoerotica. Think 'Interview with the Vampire,' 'Velvet Goldmine,' 'My Own Private Idaho,' or 'My Beautiful Laundrette.' and you have perfect examples of homoerotica. Sometimes it is blatant like in 'Velvet Goldmine' where a gay relationship forms one of the central themes of the movie, at other times like in 'Interview' it is more subtle and is present as part of the subtext.

Sometimes you may hear slash referred to as yaoi. This mainly occurs in anime/manga fandoms. For further explanations of slash terminology see 'The Slashers' Lexicon.'

General consensus has the earliest slash stories arising from the ‘Star Trek’ fandoms, usually involving a Kirk/Spock pairing. (Go figure!) Gradually it has involved to encompass just about every possible pairing you can think of and probably quite a few that you won’t of as well. (Fred Durst/Eminem slash anyone?)

Slash occurs in all genres from pop groups to T.V. shows, books to movies. For a wide variety of examples may I suggest that you check out www.fanfiction.net. Whilst this site isn’t exclusively slash you won’t have to dig down very far to uncover some.

So now you know what Slash is just pick your two favourite pretty bois and go slash them to your heart’s content!

And most of all have fun doing it because after all that is what fanfic is all about. Having fun.