The Darker Side of Slash Fan Fiction

Like other forms of fan fiction, slash fiction—centered on same-sex relationships between two or more characters—is a powerful cultural dialogue. Though the genre can be socially transformative, particularly as an active feminist resistance to patriarchal ideologies, it is complex and continually evolving. This collection of new essays covers topics on real, “fringe” bodies and identities; the inscription and transgression of bodily boundaries; and the exploration of power, autonomy and personal agency. Considering the darker side of the genre, these essays discuss how systems of authority are both challenged and reiterated by the erotic imagination, and how the voices of marginalized groups are both raised and ignored within slash fiction and fan communities.

Ashton Spacey is an independent researcher currently based in the south west of England.

Edited by Ashton Spacey

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7121-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3174-5
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction (Ashton Spacey) 5

Section I—Aberrant Realities: Fringe Bodies and Marginalized Identities
Slashing the Invisible: Bodily Autonomy in Asexual Fan Fiction (Lýsa Westberg Gabriel) 25
Icons of ­Self-Destruction: The Portrayal of Aggression and Abusive Behaviors in Band Slash Fiction (Ágnes Zsila and Zsolt Demetrovics) 50
(Un)Sanctioned Bodies: The ­State-Sexuality-Disability Nexus in Captain America Slash Fan Fiction (Divya Garg) 76
Not So ­Star-Spangled: Examining Race, Privilege and Problems in MCU’s Captain America Fandom (Cait Coker and Rukmini Pande) 97

Section II—Sexual Inscription and Bodily Boundaries
When the Omega Empath Met the Alpha Doctor: An Analysis of the Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics in the Hannibal Fandom (Laura Campillo Arnaiz) 116
Pregnancy as Bondage: Impregnating the Cisgender Man in Works of Sherlock and Merlin Slash Fiction (Jesse Ashman) 140
Erotic Imaginaries of Power in Fan Fiction Tropes (Samantha Close and Cynthia Wang) 157

Section III—Power, Desire and the Erotics of Consent
A Bad Bromance: Betrayal, Violence and Dark Delight in Subverting the Romance Narrative (Charity A. Fowler) 177
Dubious Consent: The Revival of Ravishment (Ashton Spacey) 200
“Happy Consensual Gangbangs”: Deconstructions of Sports Cultures and Hegemonic Masculinity in Football RPF (Milena Popova) 224

About the Contributors 245
Index 247

Over the Rainbow Recommended Book List—Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA)