I believe that slash is still a popular mode of fan discourse, because there still is a certain amount of stigma surrounding queer relationships in popular culture and society as a whole. As we saw in the Supernatural episode “The Monster At the End of this Book”, queer readings of many texts are outright despised by many content creators. Even shows such as Glee and Pretty Little Liars tend to focus more on the tragic aspects of gay life. (Glee is rather famous for its storylines of bullying and painful coming outs, whilst the lesbian character on Pretty Little Liars is faced with bigoted parents and must hide her relationship from them). I feel like many fans of slash feel the need to resist the tragic ideals of queer romance that the text gives them, and more importantly, I think they just want to see their favorite characters happy. They want to see their favorite pairing engage in love and companionship that isn’t necessarily doomed. Jenkins quotes Joan Martin in Textual Poachers in saying that “Slash offers strong characters who are able to cope with their world and aren’t victims of it” And I feel that slash still serves that purpose. Whether it is simply the world itself that is put upon the characters or whether it is the “tragedy” of homosexuality, I think many fans simply want to see their favorite characters relax once in a while.
I also feel like the idea of “slash as female pornography” (Jenkins 191) still holds true. Today, as when the book was first written, traditional pornography still focuses more on ”penetration and ejaculation” (Jenkins 192) than real foreplay and passion. Slash is able to refocus more on the emotions being transmitted during the act, rather than the fluids, and not only does it make for a better narrative, but it also makes for a more realistic sexual experience that women, especially younger or more sexually inexperienced women, can appreciate. The fact that it’s to men who are engaging in the sexual acts, I think, also provides a level of comfort for women, a safe distance where they can observe, but not necessarily feel the need to participate in. I know many women I know who slash prefer it to heterosexual stories because they feel less likely to place themselves in the female partner, expressing the discomfort of the idea of actually having sex with the character.
Jenkins, Henry. ""Welcome to Bisexuality, Captain Kirk": Slash and the Fan-Writing Community." Textual poachers: television fans & participatory culture. New York: Routledge, 1992. . Print.
I only recently entered the Star Wars fandom, having only completed the original trilogy this summer after being virtually forced by friends. I was struck almost immediately by the character of Han Solo, and in particular his relationship with Lando Calrissian. The affection that they showed onscreen and the storyline of friend betraying friend was so intriguing to me, I immediately started wondering what their relationship pre-series was, and, as someone who constantly reads queerly, I started thinking that their relationship might have taken a sexual turn. I was shocked to discover that the rest of the Star Wars fandom apparently didn't share my ideas. Of the close to 32,000 Star Wars stories on Fanfiction.net, one of the biggest fic archives on the net, not one could be found that focuses of Han/Lando as a couple. This dearth of fic on what I think is an incredibly fascinating relationship is part of a bigger problem in fandom; that of ignoring the potential for interracial coupling in fic. While fandom is willing to accept that two cismen can have a biological child together, it seems it draws the line at the idea that two men of different races can be in a loving relationship. While the racial divides in the Star Wars universe are more between species than within species, the racial divides in our universe might still play a part in the lack of Han/Lando fic to be found
So, to remedy this, I wrote a short fic, taking place around the time Han Solo teaches Lando Calrissian to drive the Millenium Falcon, to showcase the romantic possibilities of the pairing and add a fic to what I think is a severely underrepresented section of fandom. Of the "ten ways to rewrite a television series" that Jenkins talks about, I believe that this is closest to recontextualiation, as the fic focuses more on filling in missing scenes from Han and Lando's earlier relationship and refocalization, since the fic is entirely from the point of Lando, a minor character in the last two movies of the original trilogy(Jenkins 162)
My process for writing this fic was mostly fact-checking. I didn't want to make the characters too OOC (out of character) or put them in too-fantastical settings for their universe, so I consulted Wookieepedia a lot of find out when and where a good setting for this kind of fic would be, and what kind of words and phrases the characters would be likely to say and I Google Image searched the interior of the Millenium Falcon to make sure I knew my limitations for the setting well enough.
Fic is under the cut.
He should be less surprised when Solo brushes against his hand. He should play it off as an accident, the kind of accident you make when you’re fiddling with knobs at a control deck. He should stare straight out the windshield and try not to think about what look Solo might have on his face, whether it’s that despicable (and charming. By the Force, is it charming) grin he wears when he’s being triumphant, or the hard concentrated look he has when he’s piloting (probably the only time Solo is ever serious). He knows as he casts a glance at Solo, it’s a bad idea, but he does it anyways. Probably because he just loves awkward situations so much.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t see smugness or sarcasm, or any of the other emotions Solo does so well (He’s not going to examine why he’s so familiar with Solo’s facial expressions and what they mean. He’ll chalk it up to needing to be attuned to a copilot and call it a day). Instead, he sees… Awkwardness? Embarrassment? He wasn’t sure that was even on the spectrum of emotions Solo could feel.
“Sorry,” Solo mutters. “I was just trying to-”
“Yeah. It’s ok.” Lando replies.
The silence that follows seems to last hours, but it can’t have been more than a few seconds, before Solo says “You’ve improved,”
Lando’s caught off guard and asks, “What?”
“Since you first got this ship. You’ve improved. Piloting wise. I remember a couple of month ago, you couldn’t tell the difference between the hyperdrive switch and the commode releaser, but now, you’ve. You’ve improved.” Lando can’t help but notice Solo’s gripping his side of the control deck a little harder than usual, as if the effort of actually being pleasant to someone for once is too much and he might collapse. Lando marks that it’s probably the first time Solo’s said something to him that was a genuine compliment.
“Well, thank you.”
“But don’t go getting cocky.” Solo quickly supplements. “My regular copilot could have this thing in hyperdrive before you can even blink”
Lando smirks. “Don’t worry, Solo. I don’t think there’s room for two egos in this thing, when yours is the size of Corellia itself” Han lets out an amused snort, and Lando feels a surge of triumph. He’ll count it as a minor victory.
And he feels a blaze on his cheeks hotter than the twin suns of Tattooine combined but he’ll ignore it. He’s grown accustomed to just ignoring whatever it is that Solo’s stirring in him. He can barely admit to himself that he wants to impress the rouge, prove himself. And, by all nine hells, he feels something inside when Solo tells him he’s improving. Something like pride but something more like he’d feel back when he was a kid, and a pretty girl would give him even a nanosecond of her time. Some stirring that shouldn’t make as much sense as they did. He knows that some males perferred other males in their beds, but he never thought he’d be one, and he never thought it’d be Solo he’d want. And maybe he doesn’t truly. Maybe he’s ust been too long out of the company of a woman, and maybe a trip to a bordello during the next supply run would cure this stupid attatchment he’s growing for Solo, but deep in his mind, he knows it won’t. Best maybe to just ignore them, forget them.
“You know, I’m thinking. Maybe once we get back to Corell, we’ll part ways. You’ve got the basics. Find yourself a competent copilot, you’ll be making some of the best runs in the galaxy soon enough.”
Lando won’t admit he’s hurt.
“My regular copilot, Chewie, he’s getting word on some runs that might be very profitable. Truth be told, I think the big fuzzball just misses my pretty face.”
Lando smirks. “Well, thats two standard weeks we have left together, Solo. Strangely enough, I’ve grown accustomed to you. I might even miss you.”
“By the ninth hell, if you get all mushy on me now, I’ll eject myself right now.” Solo groans.
“Fine, Solo. No mushy stuff,” Lando chuckles.
“Actually,” Solo clears his throat, and there’s that awkward look again. “I think we’re, uh, we’re on a first name basis now, don’t you?”
Lando feels that blaze on his cheeks again, and he could curse himself for it. “I think you’re right, So-uhm, Han” Han.
Saying a name shouldn’t sound as sweet as saying his does.
I believe that the us/them binary is still firmly in place, especially within fandom itself. One example I can think of within my own fandom experience is the "history" fandom, particularly that following the Tudor dynasty, made popular by the 2006 Showtime series about the royal family. On the surface, the Tudors fandom is much the same as any other active fandom online, there are gifsets made, stories written, discussion had, sides drawn (Team Aragon and Team Boleyn taking the place of Team Edward and Jacob). However, because the subjects are historical persons, some fandom activities are given a degree of legitimacy. A Henry/Anne Boleyn fanfiction could be published and widely distributed as "historical fiction", a legitimate genre of fiction. Some history fans find solace in describing themselves as "amateur scholars", ensuring themselves that their work is more legitimate that those of more traditional fandoms.
I found myself using certain pathologized terms that Jensen mentions in her article. While describing my earlier fandom activities, more than once I referred to myself as a "crazy teenage girl", bringing to mind the "sobbing and screaming and fainting" female fans Jensen describes in her article. I invoked an us/them dichotemy within myself at one point, contrasting (and in effect, pathologizing) my earliest days in bandom fandom with the more scholarly "big girl" fandoms I'm apart of now. Perhaps I do fear "crossing the line" into the pathological psychopathic fan, and that is why I feel the need to draw such a firm line between who I was, and who I am now. As Jensen says "[Fantasy and Reality] are the two realms that must remain seperated, if the fan is to remain safe and normal." and perhaps I still fear people questioning whether or not I have separated the realms, and thus require such a strict division within myself.
Jensen, Joli. “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization.” The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. New York. Routledge, 1992. 9-29. Print
