Femslash (also known as "f/f slash", "f/f", "femmeslash", "altfic" and "sapphic") is a

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of slash fan fiction which focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships between female fictional characters.

Characteristics

Typically, characters featured in femslash are

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...

in the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

universe; however, similar fan fiction about lesbian or bisexual female characters is commonly labeled as femslash for convenience. The term is generally applied only to fanworks based on Western

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

s; the nearest anime/manga equivalents are more often called yuri and shōjo-ai fanfiction. "Saffic" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsSapphic love Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Achillean, Sapphic, Uranian, homophile, lesbian, ...

and fiction. "Altfic" as a term for fanfiction about loving relationships between women was popularized by

Xena Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' franchise. Co-created by Tapert and John Schulian, she first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', before going on to ...

fans. There is less femslash than there is slash based on male couples; for example, in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' fandom, only a small number of femslash stories are written about the

Arwen Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age; her father was Elrond half-elven, lor ...

Éowyn Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who calls herself a shieldmaiden. With the hobbit Merry Brandybuck, she rides into battle and kills the Witch-King of Angmar, Lo ...

pairing in comparison to slash between the male characters. It has been suggested that heterosexual female slash authors generally do not write femslash, and that it is rare to find a fandom with two sufficiently engaging female characters. Janeway/ Seven is the main '' Star Trek'' femslash pairing, as only they have "an on-screen relationship fraught with deep emotional connection and conflict". Although it is debated whether fanfiction about canon lesbians such as

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and Tara of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' counts as "slash", their relationship storylines are more coy than heterosexual ones, which entices Willow/Tara femslash authors to fill in the gaps in the known relationship storyline. It is "relatively recently" that male writers have begun writing femslash, and this entry of males into femslash has occurred within ''Buffy'' femslash. The femslash authorship is mostly female. As of 2006, femslash is enjoying increasing popularity and is the "dominant form" of slash in some fandoms.

History

Femslash was relatively rare in fanfiction communities until the 1990s. The show Xena: Warrior Princess served as one of the first major femslash fandoms, with the relationship Xena/Gabrielle, and also served as one of the first major fandoms where alternative universe fics were widely written. The television show ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene ...

'' set up a contest at the website FanLib.com where fans could submit a femme slash fanfic. The winner's story was incorporated into a scene of a third-season episode.(December 5, 2005), "At Deadline".''MediaWeek''. 15 (44):3 In more recent TV series, such as '' Rizzoli and Isles'', '' Warehouse 13'', '' Orange Is the New Black'', ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' and ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

'', the slash-shipping portions of the fandoms are significant, particularly in online forums.

Reference

{{LGBT fiction Slash fiction Fan fiction Lesbian fiction Sexuality in fiction

Characteristics

History

See also

Reference