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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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July 28: 3x01 Spock’s Brain

Today’s ep was the infamous Spock’s Brain. I’d never seen it before and always insisted I didn’t want to but...this is a complete rewatch so I guess I kinda had to.

As predicted, it was bad. Utter nonsense for a premise and the actual execution shot through with sexism. There were some aspects that I did like but most of them have been done better by other eps--and in any case were not worth the ridiculous basis of the ep itself. Honestly, if I were watching all this live, and I waited months for this, I might have wondered if the show weren’t better off cancelled.

But I would have been wrong because the next ep is The Enterprise Incident so! Sometimes you just need to be patient.

This episode is starting out so strangely. Why is the bridge being shot from all these weird angles? And why do the colors seem...duller?

They really can spy on these other ships, huh?

“My name is Captain James Kirk.” Not breaking out the middle initial today, I see.

Chapel going for the drama as she falls down.

Kirk too, sprawled over his chair. (Makes me think of “The chair is, in fact, not bolted to the ground.”)

This honestly reads like a bad parody of Star Trek.

Ridiculous lines include: “His brain is gone.” “His incredible Vulcan physique.” “In search of his brain.” “Where are you going to look for his brain?” “It was taken out, it can be put back in.”

“Spock’s body is more dependent on his brain” than a human’s. Ummmm I feel like there’s something suspicious in there.

The only good thing about this ep is Kirk’s devotion to Spock.

Seriously why does the bridge look so different? Filming it from a different location changes everything.

When Kirk paces in front of the view screen, it really shows off how small it is.

“The spaceship that has Spock’s brain.”

I like these schematics and Chekov’s little presentation here. Also Kirk can automatically put years to all the planet evolution codes or whatever--like on the one hand, of course he can, that’s his job, but on another... what a nerd.

Honestly these people--obviously, they are underground on the ice planet. Obviously!!! I actually do appreciate this scene in general, with the bridge crew working out a problem on the bridge, which actually almost never happens--it’s definitely the best scene of the ep--but still. It’s obviously the ice planet.

Also, I like that Uhura gets to contribute. She thinks outside of the box, asks the good questions. Don’t just look at the outside evolution of the planet--ask about what the brain could be used for, and where it might be.

“Get there, find the brain.”

Oh no, he accidentally called Scotty Spock :(

“High of 40. Livable.” I realize this is a Russian joke but that’s really not that bad lol. Definitely not an ice age anymore.

“They give pain and delight.” So they’re dominatrixes?

“You are small.” Well no need to be mean about it.

Don’t you have a companion?? Love that that’s one of their synonyms for “spouse” or “partner.”

The alien men look like they’re wearing short jean skirts.

“A dead and buried city on a planet in a glacial age.” That’s a good idea. Could have done something better with that.

Chekov’s still stuck on the no women thing, I think.

Why did they dress Spock in a leftover outfit from This Side of Paradise?

McCoy and his stimulants again, waking up the alien lady after they stunned her. Multi-purpose.

“I know nothing about a brain.” Clearly.

So all the women live below ground, and all the men live above...

Ah-ha, they have found Spock’s voice.

“There is a definite pleasurable experience connected with the hearing of your voice.” This ep is almost worth it for that line.

Also Kirk’s face when he hears Spock’s voice.

I like that Spock is still funny. Honestly he’s probably funnier disembodied. This is a very humorous Spock characterization. “That is a practical idea. It seems unlikely that I shall be able to get to you.”

WHAT IS BRAIN.

They’re being quite sexist, aren’t they? “No engineering geniuses here. Only women. None of these women could ever have done surgery on Spock’s brain.” Like I know it’s that they’re obviously (or supposedly obviously) naive and childlike but like combining that with the sex segregated society and the actual phrasing of these lines (WOMEN?? Engineers?? Doctors??) plus Kirk assuming the Controller is a man (who says?) all creates this like definite sexist vibe while watching. Ugh make it stop.

How can Spock’s brain control everything? They’ve only had it for 5 minutes.

“Mistress.” I told you they were dominatrixes.

Oh yeah Captain Sulu!!

More sexist quotes: “What a way to maintain control over a man.” “I’ve certainly noticed their delightful aspects.” Please stop talking; you’re digging yourselves in a deeper hole.

(Seriously though--I feel like the unspoken world building fact here is that the women need the men for procreation specifically, which is why they capture the men, and then control them--using the “pain belts”--to have sex--the “pleasure.” They probably also use them for other labor, given the presence of the male guards and the line “they won’t help us if we don’t control them” or whatever it was. But surely the delightfulness of the women is more than their physical appearance, is what I’m saying.)

What is the commentary on gender here? Women = scary, dumb, and hot?

Yeah, how DOES Spock’s brain fit into this?

Lol at Spock’s empty body calmly watching them all fighting.

“Science will triumph.” A real lost opportunity in the AOS-verse to have Kirk say this after a bar brawl.

“You are a disembodied brain.” I feel like there’s a (McCoy) joke in here about how he’s reached his ideal state.

His body is the building. (I was right, I totally called this plot point as soon as Spock started talking about his incredibly large body and how his brain was still doing things like regulating oxygen. I must say... this is not a bad idea, except for the brain stealing part. Like there’s something in there, the idea of the complex as a body, powered by a brain. Idk.)

So basically Spock is taking another opportunity to insult Bones’ medical skills. Oh Spock, never change.

I feel like Bones is enjoying his Spock puppet, on some level.

“Pain bands.”

Use the Spock puppet, Kirk! Use it to fight the lady alien!

“The controller is young and powerful, perfect.” / “How very flattering.” LOL I can’t believe this is real.

“You took his brain. You will put it back.”

So the alien lady puts on the spiky helmet and now she’s suddenly smart. I hate thissssssssssss.

(I actually do think the idea of old knowledge stored outside of the... brains...of the current generation, for their own protection, as decided by the paternalist elders... is not itself a bad concept. Of course it’s also a concept that other eps did better, like The Apple or For the World is Hollow or even Return of the Archons. Again, combining it with all the gross things they said about women earlier just leaves a bad taste. Even though--even though!!--we don’t know who the elder people were. Like, was this a matriarchal society that saved the women in the underground because they were better? Or was it a patriarchal society that put the women in the underground because they were considered weak and in need of protection? I rather assumed the second, but I think there’s some evidence for the first, in particular, that the story reeks of Sexualized Male Fear. What’s a better combination of hot and scary than a matriarchy of women in short skirts?)

“Got your gun.” (But the other way around.)

“Our need for the Controller is more important than your need for your friend.” That sounds an awful lot like “The needs of the many outweigh needs of the one” and we all know what Kirk thinks about that. That said, he’s really not...engaging with her facially fair argument at all.

“No one may kill a man. Not for any purpose. It cannot be condoned.”

Love Scotty’s acting skills. Gotta get this gun back really fast--create a diversion by fainting! But not too much!

I do love McCoy. He’s an adventurer too. He pretends he’s not but he jumps at the chance to discover and learn. He will not hesitate to put himself in danger if it’s for the common good or to protect his friends.

“Put the teacher on.”

Now finally Kirk is engaging with the fate of the society he’s encountered lol. Like, again, he’s not wrong; they’ve stagnated under the computer/controller and it’s not moral to steal from someone else to keep your comfortable and boring life going when you could just do the work yourself, but coming this late, it feels like an afterthought. It’s also weird that she just like stood by and let them take Spock and his brain after all that to do about...not letting them have the brain. Like at the end of the day she was not so inept. Also, they never explained what happens to all the knowledge in the teacher. One would assume they’d have to access it--or not? They’re just to start from scratch? Also legit I guess. And finally... all I can really hear, in the emphasis on integrating with the men again, is “You’ll learn how to develop a society naturally and also about heterosexual sex wink wink.” (Except that as I said... I think they know about that.)

I see McCoy’s regretting that “child’s play” talk now.

“Give priority to reconnecting Spock’s vocal cords.” Yep that’s how the brain works for sure.

Wow Spock really does have to do everything himself. Including operate on himself.

“This Vulcan is telling me how to operate.”

How did he operate without...opening Spock’s skull... in any way??

Not to question the verisimilitude of Spock’s Brain lol.

Everyone’s being so rude--Spock is providing valuable last minute exposition/explanation about this weird-ass society!

It’s always odd when they don’t return to the bridge. Like, they’re not going to collect Chekov?

That was... something.

I liked a few things: any excuse for Kirk to be devoted to Spock; the humor Spock showed; I liked the bridge scene where they looked at the map of the planets; and I liked certain things about the premise of the episode, although, like I said, most of the general aspects (post-disaster society, reliance on computers, etc.) had been done better in other episodes. I liked the look into the Male Brain lol.

What I didn’t like was how outright ridiculous the basic catalyzing event was--Spock’s brain has been literally stolen like??? Are you kidding me? That led to a considerable amount of dialogue that read like a Star Trek parody. Did not like that. And of course, as I said... the sexism. I think I’ve unpacked that enough. It didn’t need to be sexist, and you can explain it in a way that’s not, but the vibe sure was. It was like... well a lot of TOS is like this imo. You can give it an A (or at least a B) for effort, but what comes out is so obviously tainted by the sexism of the creators. Like, for example, how they say they believe in women who are just as capable and professional as men, but struggle to show it. This ep wanted to show a matriarchal society but it wasn’t really a matriarchal society--it was a Freudian dream that was all about the male psyche and what it most fears and wants.

All that said.. the next ep is a D.C. Fontana creation featuring one of my favorite TOS Ladies, the Female Romulan Commander, so I will be receiving a consolation prize.

Also the AOS verse is still more sexist and doesn’t have an excuse I said what I said.

#the year 2021 #2021: star trek #2021: fandom thougts #star trek tos

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somescenekid · 4 years

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I'm Cackling

Alrighty, so, I am one bigass nerd, like I love nerdy stuffs. But see, I'm also an edgy gay bitch who likes to piss off my homophobic parents. But this shit makes me lose it every time.

So, like I said, a nerd, right? Well I as a matter of fact love Star Trek TOS, like it's my favorite. But if you know ANYTHING about TOS, it's that with Kirk and Spock, it is one big 'ole gay ride. And it doesn't have to be anything huge either, it can be as simple as a look, and bam!

So I love this, right? If course, in all honesty, Kirk and Spock are like the one thing that still never fail to cheer me up. But my parents on the other hand, they still had NO CLUE that these two were in love. (Idk don't ask me how) Anyways, since I can clearly spot this on screen, I could call it out. But if course, I do not, as I do not desire to be yelled at for being A Gay.

This does not stop me from convincing them. Oh no it does not. It simply makes it all the more fun for me.

See, what I've done is I know when something GayTM is about to go down, and I make SURE one, or both of my parents are in the room and paying attention. And even though I don't turn and see the looks on their faces, I just know in my head, I'll be like, "Find a heterosexual explanation for the way he's looking at Spock, I dare you. You cannot escape the gaaaaayyyy!!!" But if course, I can't just stop, it's all too much fun.

So I go FURTHER. Do I push it a bit? Maybe. (Yes) But it's too funny. Like, something will happen, and I'll just pipe up and be like, "Awww, that was so cool if him to save Kirk like that," or one of my personal favorites, "What in the world, you're GOING to wreck ur ship and kill everyone to save one singular Spock!!! " , and of course, how could we forget me, bringing up their Bond every 20 seconds like, "Could they maybe, speak verbally, not just in their heads, so we can, y'know, have an idea about what is going on??!"

I love it. And they normally have zero rebuttal, cause there is none. I'm serious, I love my friends, but I would not go all Tholian Web for them, sorry. But EVERY TIME, me and my gay ass just WIN.

But like, there's also this other side. You know what I'm talking about. The part where I actually have to watch these men act out these scenes RIGHT IN FRONT OF my parents. And idk about you man, but the second that these scenes start, it goes DEAD SILENT. I wish I was joking. No, it goes so quiet, like I'm just holding my breath till it's over.

Like, imagine, sitting with your mom, who is blatantly homophobic, and watching two grown men stand in each other's personal space bubbles, and whisper in each other's ears, and gaze into each other's eyes lovingly. And on top of that, it's so damn quiet you can't move and you're sitting there listening to them breathe, BECAUSE ZERO WORDS PASS DURING THESE SCENES. I just want to curl up and hide. But I can't, cause remember, I'm an edgy bitch, and it always comes back to bite me in the ass.

I swear though, despite my absolute deadly embarrassment, it's still totally worth it to rub it in my parents' faces. But just thinking about that whole awkward, edgy, nerdy situation just makes me laugh, idk.

#star trek #captain kirk #commander spock #star trek tos #k/s #kirk/spock #space husbands #gay #love #rip me

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mild-lunacy · 7 years

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Sherlock, Irene and the Alien Girlfriend Trope

I don't wanna write this post... and the fact is, it's still not a natural reading of canon for me, but I think I like challenging myself to go deeper and deeper into the dark and the damp. As I said in my post-S4 meta on Sherlock's sexuality, I can't actually see Sherlock/Irene in the show even when I try to and suppose I should be able to, but I have to believe the intent was straightforward in the interviews about Irene, at least insofar as the acting. I'm thinking of the recent pre-S4 mention by Ben C, where he says Sherlock has a 'private life' with her to some degree. Given that I take Mofftiss' old interviews seriously (like I said recently), I suppose you could argue it follows we're meant to consider Sherlock ambiguously (but not really *romantically*) involved with Irene ever since ASiB-- in a very limited sense, anyway.

In other words, I imagine taking that texting reference in TLD seriously only makes sense if he'd texted her every now and then (not particularly often) but ever since the beginning. That would mean he'd done it in TSoT, for example, and that's why she showed up in his Mind Palace with all those other women he was intending to interview. So what do I think about that?

Like, remember that in ASiB, HLV and even TLD Sherlock thinks romantic entanglement isn't for him, and is 'human error', at least on the personal level. Any secret fluffy romance is out. So if any involvement exists, it's... maybe mildly sexually flavored teasing and a bit of chat, essentially much like what John was doing with Eurus. Oh, irony. Anyway, I still think it's weird, and almost completely unsupported. I don't even know how to respond (once I dissociate from my more intense emotions, I mean), because usually I need something to work with besides the suggestion there's something I don't know about, essentially. I mean, I think Sherlock respects her and finds her interesting... sexy would be a huge stretch. He's more likely to be flattered by the attention. However, I have to at least consider that Eurus asks that about him not being a virgin 'cause he's not... and it's related to the texting. Somehow.

Am I supposed to think about this so skeptically? I don't know, but considering that I like plenty of het couples, I can say with some confidence that I simply need something to work with before I find a romance or even attraction truly plausible for a character like Sherlock, and that's not asking for too much. This is *Sherlock*. You can't just hand-wave it or leave the audience to fill in the blanks when his very inscrutability and unsuitability for relationships has been a major refrain up to and including TLD. Anyway, note that I'm not suddenly accepting Ben C's statements as 'canon' -- I'm just taking them seriously and following the logical consequences to see where it leads. And seriously, it's hard to credit. If I force myself, I can imagine Sherlock's endless curiosity and bravado leading him to experiment once with Irene after he rescued her, and then texting. But with literally nothing to go on... and my conviction he's much more sentimental about other people than that, given he'd been a virgin *before* Irene, I can't do it. The main reason is my conviction we should be able to *tell*, because he would have changed his attitude or behavior somehow. After all, Sherlock's disconnection and its connection to romantic entanglement is a long-running theme, though we usually associate it with Johnlock, as most recently listed in @balancingprobability's post. You can't really resolve all that without consequences with Irene, either. So, I have to assume that he'd never consummated the relationship if it exists.

Besides that issue, I can't put a woman-- or The Woman-- into the box essentially reserved for Jim Kirk's 'alien planet only' girlfriend in Star Trek TOS. I mean that it seems unnatural to me to do out of any context, though I have to consider that the narrative may support it or indeed that could be the intent. That is, I have to imagine Irene Adler as a person who only really matters at all in a very narrow context, there and nowhere else. A brief vacation to carnal pleasure and/or ambiguously romantic interest, until it's time to go home to the Enterprise (and Spock-- or John, in this case). With Jim, at least it fits his personality; there's a reason Spock only did that when he lost his memory. It's not something you can casually insert for Spock, and so it never happened. Sherlock is much more like Spock than Jim Kirk, obviously. I don't really know how it works in Ben C's mind. The magic of heterosexuality at work?

This does appeal to me in one way, and that's just that I was never comfortable saying Irene's *only* function is metaphoric or representative of Sherlock's feelings. That sort of meta-only approach to characterization is just not very Mofftiss. Irene is a real person, so Sherlock has to have some actual relationship to her actual self and an actual explanation for her appearance(s) in his Mind Palace, no less so than any other character would need a reason. If you ask me, ultimately that reason isn't meta but neither is it meant to communicate the shape of any actual 'relationship'. No, what we have is the suggestion of one, much like Johnlock exists, between the lines. It's just... well, in this case, it's between the lines to preserve Sherlock's status, the legend and the mystery of 'Sherlock Holmes', I think. Even with het, they didn't want to go too far afield from focusing on Sherlock and John, or 'modern Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson', perhaps. It's all about them, and their stories. In the stories, Sherlock is either with John or alone, and so he remains-- with Irene Adler more or less a recurrent theme or memory rather than a person. A narrative ghost, like Mary.

It may seem like that's going back to the meta level, but it's a different kind of meta. It's more of a Holmesian commentary, a sort of self-indulgent homage rather than a fully fledged aspect of characterization. This is meant to be a teaser that relies on heteronormativity, not an actual relationship that makes any difference in the story. This definitely bothers me, especially in context with the continuous focus on Sherlock's capacity for romantic feelings and the importance thereof. This subject is constantly teased, presented as important, but not taken *seriously* except in ASiB and TSoT, which are also the two queerest eps. Like, by *no* stretch of the imagination is ASiB about Sherlock's relationship with Irene, and it could've been-- just like TSoT could've been about John and Mary, and wasn't. The women seemingly exist just muddle the waters, but that's particularly true of the way Mofftiss wrote Irene. They both work as conduits for the male characters' emotional development. They're still just... not pivotal to Sherlock or John's emotional growth, even though in TSoT and TLD John *says* as much about Mary. It just doesn't ring *true*. With Sherlock, there's absolutely no attempt made to make the arc about anyone other than John (and in fact, Ben C even mentioned this in the same interview he mentioned his 'private life' with Irene). So John is the center of Sherlock's universe, undoubtedly... but then there's texting vacations, sort of like sex vacations without the sex.

Anyway, it certainly casts their conversation at the greenhouse in TAB in a different light, given Sherlock *was* hiding some juicy tidbits and/or hetero impulses from John and from himself... maybe because Redbeard and/or Eurus's trauma, 'cause he heard Redbeard/a dog bark? Except who in the world hides heterosexuality, trauma aside. I just... I don't think it's *beyond* Mofftiss, but it really stretches credulity to think Gatiss wrote Sherlock as a closeted straight man. That's just... a bit much. I mean, I assume Ben C doesn't think of it like that, but Gatiss would be aware of the subtext, and he almost certainly doesn't think of it in those terms. So... I'd say we can dismiss any reductive or straightforward reading of Sherlock's sexuality, regardless.

It's obviously intentionally ambiguous, there's no way around that. The text isn't clear by any means, regardless if Ben C's headcanons, which you can see 'cause Moffat's said Sherlock's not interested in women, point blank. Honestly, that is what makes the most sense-- he may be haunted by Irene, and I suppose he visits her room in his Mind Palace sometimes (really?), but he's *obsessed* with John to the point where various villains feel the need to remark on it and/or show their home videos on the subject. Sherlock's emotional intimacy is overwhelmingly with John... and to be fair, that's not unusual in depictions of heterosexual manly men in genre media. Jim and (to some extent) Spock are certainly like that. It's just... Jim Kirk respected women, and they knew where they stood with him. There was no need for secrecy, and he was always sincere. This is... not that.

This is more like a heterosexual male fantasy projected awkwardly and incompletely onto Sherlock Holmes, who hadn't even developed enough conscious awareness of himself in his romantic/sexual aspect to do anything with it, for most of the show. The man was completely oblivious of most things to do with feeling until at least TSoT, so any long-distance texting would have been very, very bare bones until the time of TST/TLD, when John left him for good, and I guess he reached out to anyone who'd let him (he'd even tried therapy, after all). However, my suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far; so... still gay or null, essentially, as I said. It definitely doesn't extend to straight!Sherlock. Sorry, Ben.

#sherlock meta #sherlock feels #pointless rambles #a scandal in belgravia #series 4 #the lying detective #irene adler #queerlock #virgin sherlock #benedict cumberbatch

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jurrasicparkislove-blog · 7 years

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FA335 CREATIVE PROJECT

Hello Dino Lovers! Welcome to our blog!

What is Fan Fiction?

Fandoms provide interesting and inclusive opportunities for individuals to acknowledge and interact with movies, television shows, art, music, celebrities and so on. A particular outlet of fan interaction is fan fiction—fiction written about characters and settings from an original piece, created by followers and supporters rather than the creator themselves. Malin Isaksson describes fan fiction as:

“A creative and free text-type, open to possibilities of developing a story in directions not foreseen by the canon’s creators and for pairing characters who do not form couples in the canon, for example creating slash/femslash. However, the general rule in fan fiction is that writers respect the logic of that canon regarding plot, style and the characters personalities“ (Isaksson).

Within fan fiction, slash and femslash fiction—fiction written about same sex relations between characters—has grown into a popular sub-genre of fan literature. In this blog post, we will examine what slash and femslash fiction is, its history, and whom it is written by and for. We will explore this subject using the Jurassic Park franchise. Then, we will take a stab at writing slash and femslash fiction ourselves.

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park and Jurassic World provide intensely interactive plots, fascinating character development and enchanting cinematography. It is apart of an enterprise that has inspired numerous sequels, adaptions, merchandise, amusement and even slash fiction. In fact, over the past 20 years its fan base has continuously grown into a thriving and inclusive fandom. As childhood fans of the original film, our love for Jurassic Park was reinvigorated with the 2015 release of Jurassic World.

So, lets explore fiction, fan-fiction and slash-fan fiction, shall we?

Why Fiction in General:

Before we begin, lets closely analyze human beings’ fascination with fiction more generally. Tooby and Cosmides (2001) argue that our involvement in fictional and imagined worlds appears to be “a human universal” (Salmon and Symon 94). In fact, they argue two possible explanations as to why humans create and consume fictional representations. First, “human engagement in fictional experience is a functionless byproduct of psychological adaptions that were designed by natural selection to serve other functions.” In other words, our engagement in fictional experience is not something we were designed to do, but rather something we are susceptible to doing (Salmon and Symon 95). The second explanation is “that human engagement in fictional experience is in itself an adaption; that is something we are designed to do” (Salmon and Symon 95). Whatever argument you may find more convincing, there is no doubt that human beings love interacting with fiction!

What is Slash Fiction?

At the surface, it is fan fiction written about characters of the same sex. Slash fiction originated in the 1970s. To be considered true slash fiction, “lovers must be an expropriated media paring, such as Captain Kirk and Spock” (Salmon and Symon 94). The term “slash” arose “from the convention of using the slash punctuation mark to unite the lovers’ names or initials” (Salmon and Symon 94). Interestingly, it is almost exclusively written by and for women (Salmon and Symon 94). Throughout slash fiction’s growth in popularity, nearly every cop, spy, adventure and science fiction TV series featuring male cast members were “slashed” (Salmon and Symon 94). In part, slash fiction’s growth in popularity was because of the creation of the Internet (Salmon and Symon 94). Lastly, Slash fiction arose spontaneously at the same time in the US, the UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada (Salmon and Symon 94). There is no doubt that slash-fiction is popular, specifically amongst female audiences, but the question remains why?

Why is Slash-Fiction so Popular amongst Women?

There are a number of theories that argue why slash fiction is so popular amongst female audiences. Ika Willis has said,

“Through my involvement in slash, I have developed terms and practices which enable me to live more comfortably in my body and with a sense of my own gendered identification(s), which works for me. In fact, slash has worked both to sustain my lifelong boy-identification and to solidify and strengthen my (in some ways more precarious) identification as a woman” (Willis 292).

Therefore, slash fiction provides an opportunity for individuals to explore sex, sexuality and gender, and the complicated intersection of these identities. In addition, Willis argues that we have a corporal body and felt body. The corporal refers to our literal and physical body and the felt body is metaphorical—whether you feel more masculine or feminine, or perhaps neither. Therefore, “an individual—cis or trans—may, in practice, experience a gendered disjunction” between these two bodies. (Willis 303). This disjunction can be explored within slash fiction and can help “strengthen” ones identification.

What is Femslash?

Femslash is a subgenre of slash fiction—fan creations written about lesbian relationships. It has gained increasing popularity amongst fan communities. Femslash as a phenomenon occurred later than slash fiction. While fans were slashing Kirk and Spock together since the 70s, female slashing became popular a few decades after. Malin Isaksson argues that femslash really grew in popularity in part because Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrayed such strong female characters. More generally, as women received stronger lead roles in Hollywood movies and TV shows, there was a greater opportunity to slash them together (Isaksson 3). Interestingly like slash fiction, the general authorship of femslash is also women. While we now know what slash and femslash fiction is, and that it is primarily written by women, the question still remains why? More importantly, why is there a stigma surrounding male authorship of slash and femslash fiction?

Who can Write Slash/Femslash Fiction?

Want the short answer? Anyone. But for some reason, there remains such an impermeable stigma around men who write slash/femslash fiction. But why? Sexuality and gender is non-binary; it is fluid, individual and intrinsically apart of our identities. For example, Alfred Kinsey understands sexuality on a spectrum and that the majority of humans are neither exclusively homosexual nor exclusively heterosexual. Instead, the majority of us are somewhere in between (Weinrich, 1). We work so hard to avoid boxes and labels—the options are no longer dichotomous. It is no longer just male or female, it is no longer just straight or gay. So, why does it matter who is creating a piece and whom is reading it? There shouldn’t really be stigma surrounding this. It is just fans taking part in fandoms in their own way. That’s why we are challenging this stigma, by writing a fan fiction that contains both slash and femslash fiction! Take a read:

The following fan fiction was written and created by us. We then edited our piece to include femslash as well.

Claire

Zara

Note: This Femslash takes place one year following the events of Jurassic World Lightening struck again waking Claire from a horrible nightmare. The constant routine of waking abruptly with flashes of dinosaurs ripping apart human flesh had become so familiar to her. She immediately rolled over in her bed expecting to beside the love of her life.

She was alone.

Thinking back, she could not remember a time where she slept through the night without waking up in a panic. She got out of bed and walked down the hallway, giving up any hope of more sleep. For some reason tonight her house felt more empty than usual. Everything was silent and lonely. Her constant need to clean and keep a perfect looking home made it seem lonelier. She had trapped herself in isolation when she moved away from everyone she knew. She found a house in Fairbanks, Alaska. This winter was especially cold.

She hadn’t seen Owen since the events took place. She feared that he would be upset with her for leaving without telling anyone. However, she could not go on lying to everyone after the horrible incident. More importantly, she regretted never having the chance to tell him about Zara.

Although Owen Always thought they were meant for each other, Claire knew he could never fulfill her need for connection the way that Zara did. Zara was the most beautiful woman Claire had ever seen. When she first began working for her she knew there was chemistry… and not just the kind that made dinosaurs come back to life.

Zara had the type of confidence that captured the room. It was as if all work in the office halted once she walked in; all eyes slowly wandering down her long legs. When Claire first saw Zara, she knew she had to have her. She was immediately drawn in. Her brown hair was perfect. Everything about her seemed too perfect to be true. It was in these first looks that Claire felt something she never had before; something she never thought she would ever feel with a woman.

Claire put the kettle on and prepared a cup of tea. She then grabbed her housecoat and decided to brave the cold winter night. Immediately she was surprised to see the beautiful Northern Lights illuminating the sky. She sipped her tea looking at splashes of glowing green across the sky. She thought it might be the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Then immediately she began to remember when Zara and her first spoke.

Once their eyes locked, it felt as if the whole world had become weightless. As they discussed their work she noticed she could not stop smiling. Claire and Zara’s eyes kept meeting and she noticed that Zara kept looking at her lips. Once she realized this was happening Claire blushed. She had never felt butterflies this strong with anyone before. However, she was too nervous and embarrassed to make a move.

Claire decided it was too cold and moved back inside to turn on the fireplace. Although she was lonely, her home in Fairbanks gave a sense of independence and sanctuary. She needed a simple life after living through the horrible deaths and fears at Jurassic World. Every article and news story across the world covered the story of the hundreds of injured and killed people in Jurassic World.

She checked her phone and noticed a missed call: Owen. It had been three months since the last time Owen had tried to call her. She began to cry. She never realized how much she missed human contact till this moment. The fire finally began to heat the house and she curled up on the couch. Through the frosted window she noticed the snow begin to fall.

The first time Zara kissed Claire her heart began to beat through her chest. Her arms wrapped around her body and held her close. She had never been so nervous. “Don’t be nervous” Zara whispered to her.

FIN

Grant

Malcolm

Note: This Slash Fiction takes place one year following the events of Jurassic Park Lightening struck again waking Grant from a horrible nightmare. The constant routine of waking abruptly with flashes of dinosaurs ripping apart human flesh had become so familiar to him. He immediately rolled over in his bed expecting to beside the love of his life.

He was alone.

Thinking back, he could not remember a time where he slept through the night without waking up in a panic. He got out of bed and walked down the hallway, giving up any hope of more sleep. For some reason tonight his house felt more empty than usual. Everything was silent and lonely. His constant need to clean and keep a perfect looking home made it seem lonelier. He had trapped himself in isolation when he moved away from everyone he knew. He found a house in Fairbanks, Alaska. This winter was especially cold.

He hadn’t seen Ellie since the events took place. He feared that she would be upset with him for leaving her without telling anyone. However, he could not go on lying to everyone after the horrible incident. More importantly, he regretted never having the chance to tell her about Malcolm.

Although Ellie always thought they were meant for each other, Grant knew she could never fulfill his need for connection the way that Malcolm did. Malcolm was the most beautiful man Grant had ever seen. When he first began working with him he knew there was chemistry… and not just the kind that made dinosaurs come back to life.

Malcolm had the type of confidence that captured the room. It was as if all work in the office halted once he walked in; all eyes slowly wandering down to his chest. When Grant first saw Malcolm, he knew he had to have him. He was immediately drawn in. His brown hair was perfect. Everything about him seemed too perfect to be true. It was in these first looks that Grant felt something he never had before; something he never thought he would ever feel with a man.

Grant put the kettle on and prepared a cup of tea. He then grabbed his housecoat and decided to brave the cold winter night. Immediately he was surprised to see the beautiful Northern Lights illuminating the sky. He sipped his tea looking at splashes of glowing green across the sky. He thought it might be the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Then immediately he began to remember when Malcolm and him first spoke.

Once their eyes locked, it felt as if the whole world had become weightless. As they discussed their work he noticed she could not stop smiling. Grant and Malcolm’s eyes kept meeting and he noticed that Malcolm kept looking at his lips. Once he realized this was happening Grant blushed. He had never felt butterflies this strong with anyone before. However, he was too nervous and embarrassed to make a move.

Grant decided it was too cold and moved back inside to turn on the fireplace. Although he was lonely, his home in Fairbanks gave a sense of independence and sanctuary. He needed a simple life after living through the horrible deaths and fears at Jurassic Park. Every article and news story across the world covered the story of the incident at Jurassic Park.

He checked his phone and noticed a missed call: Ellie. It had been three months since the last time Ellie had tried to call him. He began to cry. He never realized how much he missed human contact till this moment. The fire finally began to heat the house and he curled up on the couch. Through the frosted window he noticed the snow begin to fall.

The first time Malcolm kissed Grant his heart began to beat through his chest. His arms wrapped around his body and he held him close. He had never been so nervous. “Don’t be nervous” Malcolm whispered to him.

FIN

THANKS FOR READING

Works Cited

Griffin H. SOAP SLASH: GAY MEN REWRITE THE WORLD OF DAYTIME TELEVISION DRAMA. The Spectator. 2005;25(1):23-34. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/docview/1496062665?accountid=14846.

Isaksson, Malin. "Buffy/Faith Adult Femslash: Queer Porn With a Plot." Slayage: The Online, International Journal of Buffy Studies 7 (2009): Web. http://davidlavery.net/Slayage/PDF/Isaksson .pdf

Salmon, Catherine, and Don Symons. "Slash fiction and human mating psychology." Journal of Sex Research 41.1 (2004): 94-100.

Willis, Ika. "Writing the Fables of Sexual Difference: Slash Fiction as Technology of Gender." Parallax, vol. 22, no. 3, 2016, pp. 290-311, doi:10.1080/13534645.2016.1201920.

Weinrich, James D. "Notes on the Kinsey Scale." Journal of Bisexuality, vol. 14, no. 3-4, 2014, pp. 333-340, doi:10.1080/15299716.2014.951139.

#jurassicpark #femslash #slashfiction #jurassicworld

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