Might be useful to ask someone who labels a m/m relationship in a piece of fiction as slash why they perceive it is so. At least for some older fans, slash denotes not just m/m, but a type of story, in which the emotional component takes priority in the story. The story might even be about the emotional component in the relationship, and the action (such as hurt comfort) arranged to keep the reader's attention squarely on it, adumbrating all other story aspects.
A story in which a pair (m/m, f/f) are romantically involved but that is just a data point in a work whose main thrust is elsewhere won't "read slashy" by that definition. So one could say that Billy Budd by Herman Melville "reads slashy" because there is a strong focus on the emotional state of the characters, the physical descriptions keep the readerly eye squarely on those emotional tensions, and not on the ship or the sea or even the event that prompts the captain's action. An even stronger example might be Horace Vachell's The Hill, which is specifically about the emotional relationships of the boys, with no (overt) reference to sex. I've seen it referred to as the slashiest school story ever written. Contrast that to Jo Walton's recent book Farthing which includes a major m/m pair, and some f/f relationships, but the story is about murder, and about serious political threat, not about the emotions of the pairs. I have seen this aspect discussed, but have not seen anyone label it slashy.
Another thought: there are plenty of stories with gay pairs that are not "about" the emotions of gay sex in gay literature, but my strong wish is that the label "gay literature" be dropped and these works be regarded as and discussed as literature. With more characters partnering away from the old standard one m/one f popping up in all genres, I'm hoping that that label vanishes as useless.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2006-12-19 03:28 pm (UTC)A story in which a pair (m/m, f/f) are romantically involved but that is just a data point in a work whose main thrust is elsewhere won't "read slashy" by that definition. So one could say that Billy Budd by Herman Melville "reads slashy" because there is a strong focus on the emotional state of the characters, the physical descriptions keep the readerly eye squarely on those emotional tensions, and not on the ship or the sea or even the event that prompts the captain's action. An even stronger example might be Horace Vachell's The Hill, which is specifically about the emotional relationships of the boys, with no (overt) reference to sex. I've seen it referred to as the slashiest school story ever written. Contrast that to Jo Walton's recent book Farthing which includes a major m/m pair, and some f/f relationships, but the story is about murder, and about serious political threat, not about the emotions of the pairs. I have seen this aspect discussed, but have not seen anyone label it slashy.
Another thought: there are plenty of stories with gay pairs that are not "about" the emotions of gay sex in gay literature, but my strong wish is that the label "gay literature" be dropped and these works be regarded as and discussed as literature. With more characters partnering away from the old standard one m/one f popping up in all genres, I'm hoping that that label vanishes as useless.