I was going to do an editorial on the "pernicious evils" spawned by the K/S relationship stories

Meta
Title:	I was going to do an editorial on the "pernicious evils" spawned by the K/S relationship stories
Creator:	Theresa Holmes
Date(s):	April 1979
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Topic:
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

I was going to do an editorial on the "pernicious evils" spawned by the K/S relationship stories is a 1979 essay that was imbedded in the editorial for The Oracle Speaks #3, a zine by Theresa Holmes.

For additional context, see Timeline of Slash Meta.

Some Topics Discussed

• the letter that Bev Clark wrote that Holmes thought "says all this ten times better" -- mainly that male homosexuality was unemotional and brutal, that female relationships were written as "clinging, possessive affection"
• the rise and popularity of Kirk/Spock zines that where James T. Kirk and Spock were sexually or romantically intimate with each other
• Holmes' displeasure over reviewing the zine Mahko Root #2 and seeing the Yea, Though I Walk fiction series by Katy Young (published in September 1978)
• Holmes' ironic displeasure at reading the editorial in Mahko Root, one that asked for tolerance, civility, and open minds
• Holmes' reasons for disliking these m/m stories were a laundry list of the standard arguments, as same sex intimacy was: 1) a crime against nature, 2) dangerous to civilization and marriage between men and women, 3) boring and mushy and lacked imagination and "massaged the romantic instinct" much like soap operas, 4) were Mary Sue without any ladies, 5) were formula stories, and these kinds of stories nearly killed not only the original show, but also are a danger to fanfic, 6) she couldn't stop these stories, despite stating her opinions to "various people who write it", and 7) K/S stories aren't "real," and are more like Pepsi than Coke
• good fanfic should "inspire the author and reader alike to stretch their imaginations to the fullest — and then some" -- but not like THAT!

The Essay

Now, down to business, I was going to do an editorial
 on the 'pernicious evils spawned by the K/S relationship
 stories, ' but since I wrote my rough draft, I got a letter 
from Bev Clark that says it ten times better, not to men
tion more succinctly, than I could, so I decided why bother?
 I've passed beyond active resistance to boredom as regards 
K/S, so what can I say? I've already stated my arguments 
to various people who write it, but I don't appear to have 
made much of a dent.

What prompted the original editorial was the arrival of Mahko Root II on my doorstep. It contains six stories from Katy Young's series "Yea Though I Walk.',' They, purport to carry the development of the relationship between Our Heroes from first meeting through Bonding to first pon farr. They aren't graphically sexual (as Penny promised), at least, not erotically so. What they are, essentially, is a very mushy Mary Sue series — only without a Mary Sue. Certainly the intent seems to be the same, to massage the romantic instinct. (And I thought Harlequin Romances were bad until I read these stories.) They also strongly imply that a straight homosexual fixation is superior to a heterosexual relationship of permanent duration (otherwise known as marriage). Think about the long term effects of this attitude on the shape of civilization were it to become widely accepted. Also consider just what it implies about male/female relationships. But that's for another editorial.

My major complaint against the K/S story -- the Mary Sue story, the Get 'em story, the hurt/comfort story and all the other formula stories -- is that they are formula stories. Where's the challenge? Formula is what nearly killed aired ST — are we really going to let it kill ST fan-fic too? I mean, sometimes I wonder why I stay on in fandom when I see so many writers who seem too small-minded to look around and see the broader sweep of possibilities open to them -- and I'm not talking about fans just beginning to write, but well-established writers, who should know better. Instead, they seem content to settle back into their little niches and dream their little pipe-dreams. What'll it be today, a Get 'em story? A lay-Spock story? A K/S story? Come on people, is penetration (both personal and sexual) all you can think of? There's a lot more to life than that. Formula stories are for lazy minds. A real story will contain elements of get-'em, Mary Sue, hurt/comfort, whatever, but they won't be the point of the story, only elements of construction. A real story lives, without respect to either author or reader — as Star Trek did -- and still does. It doesn't merely massage the romantic instinct -- like soap opera — it rouses the spirit to new possibilities in life. It inspires author and reader alike to stretch their imaginations to the fullest — and then some. Like Coke, a real story is the Real Thing; formula stories are so much Pepsi. Wake up, friends. A real story, like Coke, adds life. So live.

Now that I've been added to a few more enemies lists, enjoy, enjoy [my zine]!