Warning: those of a sensitive disposition please stay on the ice-cream and corn-pun threads.
----- Original Message ----- From: Neil Faulkner N.Faulkner@tesco.net
From: Fiona Moore nydersdyner@yahoo.co.uk
Thing is, though, if we're talking about slash, most of what I've seen
of
it
doesn't actually go beyond the sexual, and frequently seems to present
the
sexual relationship as a kind of "hey, presto!" explanation to the complexity of B and A's relationship.
It's worth bearing in mind that slash today is the current phase of a long process of evolution. Sarah Thompson or someone else who knows will have
to
correct me on this, but I gather there are essentially three phases to
this:
Phase 1: the characters discover their homosexuality. That is, writers began to posit that the characters might be gay.
Phase 2: the gayness of the characters comes to accepted as a given, as a basis from which to develop their mutual attraction to each other.
Phase 3: the 3rd generation of slash then takes the attraction as a given, to concentrate on the dynamics of that attraction.
Each phase after the first therefore eliminates a lot of explanatory material that by Phase 3 is just unnecessary guff. If your first
encounter
with slash is at the Phase 3 level, then it's going to be a lot more disconcerting than if you'd worked your way through phases 1 and 2.
Actually, to clarify, I was referring to stories from all three phases. To take how I see each phase as simplifying the relationship between Blake and Avon:
Phase 1: Blake and Avon have a complex, multifaceted relationship. Which, they then realise, is because they've been lusting after each other since boarding the London. Relationship explained.
Phase 2: Blake and Avon continue to have a complex, multifaceted relationship, which, it seems, is simply because they are lusting after each other. The sexual tension builds and builds until they wind up in bed. Relationship explained.
Phase 3: Blake and Avon still have a relationship which seems complex and multifaceted to outsiders, but the rest of us know that it's because they're shagging. Relationship explained.
Disclaimer: As I said in my post to Betty, I acknowledge that there is some slash out there which does take the complex nature of relations between Blake and Avon into account, and treats sex as an added ingredient rather than as a simple explanation. But I'm not talking about those stories here (they're not so much fun to take the mick out of).
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com