History of Slash

It’s no secret that slash and femmeslash are very popular on Mibba. There are many Mibbians who write and read slash, but how many know how slash began? The term “slash” originated from Star Trek fanfictions, in which people would ship Kirk and Spock. These would be tagged Kirk/Spock, which would be read “Kirk slash Spock”, thus coining the term “slash”.

The slash genre is believed to have begun in the late 1970’s, with the Star Trek fandom. It is then believed to have moved to Starsky and Hutch, in which Starsky/Hutch was a popular pairing.

Because most people didn’t have access to the internet until the 1990’s, slash fanfictions were written and sold at conventions for very little profit to the writers. The internet brought on a new age of fanfiction, and with it, many more slash fandoms. It became more common to see pairings other than the typical Kirk/Spock and Starsky/Hutch, proving that the genre was moving out into the open.

The popularity of slash has caused many academic articles to be written on the subject, including a few based on the psychology of slash. Many academics claim that slash provides an outlet for people to explore their own sexuality. While that may be the case, each person has their own reasons for liking slash, and the genre is sure to continue its popularity.

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