Slash
From Fandom wank wiki
Slash is the romantic pairing of two characters or people of the same sex. Fiction based on such ideas is called slash fic.
Slash is controversial because most slash pairings involve characters who are considered unlikely to come out as gay or be lovers in canon. As a result, slash causes arguments about:
- Acceptance of homosexuality in society
- The need to adhere to canon in fanfic
- Shipper wars
- Your thoughts on yaoi
Any one of these arguments can create endless supplies of wank--slash combines all of these to create a perfect storm of spooge from which no one can escape. When the Megazord of slash is combined with the Dragonzord of real person fic to create the Ultra Mega Ninjazord known as real person slash, there's nothing you can do but make peace with your god.
Word Origins
Slash, as a word, comes from the "slash" (/) between two names in a story code, e.g. "Kirk/Spock". (Sorry to confuse those fans of the guitarist from Guns 'n' Roses.) In recent years, some slash pairings have been represented by a blended name (like "Kock"), but the original term is still used. (But see also "x".)
While slash is usually about proudly non-canon relationships, fans will often defend their pairings through the "subtext" -- hints within the text (or other media). Some feel that as a cutting-edge subversion of fandom, slash should not refer to pairings of canonically gay characters, but this nitpicking is routinely ignored.
Femslash
Note that slash is frequently used to refer only to male/male pairings, which are very popular in certain fandoms (...all hail the mighty buttsex!). Therefore, fanfic featuring female/female pairings is referred to as femslash, femmeslash, or saffic.
No one can decide if that's more or less offensive than being lumped under the umbrella of slash.
Fans of female/female pairings have been known to wank repeatedly about being ignored and marginalized in their fandoms. In some circles, men writing femslash is frowned upon on principle.
