Slash... and Slash Again: Original Slash Reviews, by Lady Cyrrh

Slash... and Slash Again

Original Slash Reviews, by Lady Cyrrh

NOTE: This foreword has been adapted from the commentary I've given in my posted story reviews.

Slash (broadly defined as the pairing of two same-sex media characters) has been around for almost thirty years now. Long considered a subgenre of fan fiction, it's been slowly nurtured by the communications possibilities of the net -- and a slow shift in general American culture -- to become a literary genre in its own right. In fact, it's become the female equivalent of porn, written by women for women. Both serve the same need for sexual fantasy and escapism, yet both are very different, opposites, even. Porn is produced mainly by men, slash by women. Porn is written and consumed in private; slash is communal. Porn objectifies through sexuality; slash humanizes. Porn requires pretense; slash, confession and honesty. Porn glorifies mostly female bodies; slash, mostly male bodies. And on and on. In recent years birthed it's birthed a whole other genre -- that of "original" slash, or the application of a slash sensibility to a regular M/M sex story.

What exactly is a slash sensibility? It's a bit hard to define, but you know it when you read it. I'll say it is generally polite in tone, often genteel, and usually carefully written and proofread. A distinct authorial voice is not seen as important or even especially desirable. Plot events are related in a way that is personal, emotional, melodramatic; the tone often becomes full-blown gothic when males are victims or victimized, the physical and mental cruelty serving to reveal the emotional character of the male protagonists, though more often it revels. Slave and D/s ("power differential") themes are very common in slash, as well as the more mundane ones of sighing and longing, and wondering if the adored one will ever return the attraction. Yaoi is slash's Japanese twin, adding anime themes to the mix and male characters that are often younger, prettier, and more passive.

Whatever you think of such things, the genre has been growing exponentially during the past few years. Thanks to the net slash is now easily available to everyone where once it languished in privately-produced fanzines circulated only among fans. There arehundreds of virtual communities now where fans, many of them in high school or the early years of college, can write, read, and crit stories for one other. For young women, it'sone of the few outlets in which they can have fun with and share their sexuality - and go as far as they can with their (written) sexual fantasies -- in an environment that is safe and supportive. Men have always gone to strip clubs and brothels together, indulged in locker room talk, had circle jerks. Women haven't had those outlets, unless it was as whores, in a whorehouse, or as a "girl's night out" to see male or female strippers (a activity borrowed from the male world of sexual consumption.) But these fans are going far past such tired stereotypes. They are holding conventions, participating in online clubs and forums, and running websites, many of thempainstakingly and beautifully designed; there are also sophisticated host sites with complicated database systems, CGI programming, and intricate DHTML and XHTML scripting, all the more amazing considering the bulk of the writers are young women in their late teens and twenties... females in their dating years who will be deciding the course of our sexual mores in the near future... and for the truly creative ones, the future content of our media. The whole phenomenon heralds some very interesting changes that I cannot wait to see.

When I first started reviewing, back in 1997, it was very rare to find an original slash story, that is, M/M erotica with that slashy slant. Since the start of the 2000s, however, the genre has grown slowly and steadily, in part due to the popularity of yaoi and Japanese manga and anime series, but also, I think, due to efforts from the writers themselves, many of whom are maturing and growing bored with the limitations of fanfic. And also, I think, from the feedback and community they've acquired on self-posting archives such as Fictionpress and Slashfanfiction.com.

So, are you ready? Let's slash... and slash again!

The Adored by Yaoigoddess (Yaoi)

Arrangements by Moniquill (Fantasy)

Auctioned by Kai (Contemporary)

At the Baths by GioGio (Historical)

Bloodlines and Lineups by kai (Contemporary)

Bloodraven, Chapters 1 - 3 by PL Nunn (Yaoi/Fantasy)

Caled's Wager by Tricia (Fantasy)

Captivity by Maureen Lycaon (Fantasy)

Captive by Ryu I and Cassiopeia (Myth)

Closing Time by Allisan (Contemporary/Yaoi)

Devotion, Chapters 1 and 2 by Bright Angel Aetherius (Yaoi)