The K/S Press/Issues 061-070

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The K/S Press 61 (September 2001)

• contains 44 pages, comments on material from Within the Mirror #1, #5, #14, Beyond Dreams #3, Greater California K/S, The KiScon Zine 2001, First Time #51, #52, #53, Legends, Festival, T'hy'la #1, #11, Naked Times #1, Nome #2, Out of Bounds, Duet #1, As I Do Thee #1, Matter/Antimatter #3, The Way of the Warrior #1, Daring Attempt #1, Counterpoint #1, Charisma #1, Scattered Stars #1, In the Wilderness #1, KaleidoScope #1, see those pages
• a reader thanks another "for sharing the KiScon cake story in the July issue. I laughed out loud through the entire story... about you arguing with the baker about the color of Spock's penis, and why it must be green!."
• there are many thank yous, congrats on running for five years, and "what The KSP means to me" letters from readers
• discussion about how fiction in the last ten years seems to portray Spock as frail and incapable
• discussion how fans tend to start out liking Kirk or Spock (almost always Spock) more, and how they "mature" and grow to like them both, as both half of a whole
• a fan writes of the difficulty in finding other fans at the hotel during a con as she didn't know anyone's real names
• a note about the passing of Warren Oddsson
• a keychain was included with this month's letterzine
• from the editors: "One of the best features of this issue is Jenna's presentation of the first issue of each zine series... a fascinating look at the beginnings of K/S zines."
• a reader notes:

  Looking back in retrospect, I think perhaps K/S was on the wane in the mid-ninties, zine sales down, etc... but slash in general and K/S slash in particular is vibrant and alive and in a resurgence. A very great deal of that is to you [The K/S Press]. Here in the pages of The KSP, we introduced our net sisters and welcomed them to print zines, making both the net and print zines richer for the sharing.

• a reader comments:

  I found your comment in the August issue about hiding your K/S interest from people not just because of the sex, but because of the 'weirdness' of so much deep emotional investment in a sixties space adventure to be very true for me as well. For example, I'm pretty sure my two best friend would be fine with the homoerotic nature of the stories, but what makes me reluctant to tell them about my new-found interest is that I don't think they will understand how I can feel so intensely about fictional characters from a SF TV show that's 35 years old.

The K/S Press 62 (October 2001)

• contains 36 pages, contains comments about material in Act Five Fantasies, Charisma #17, Scattered Stars #8, First Time #52, #53, Within the Mirror #9, #14, see those pages
• a fan encourages others to go to Escapade and offers a lengthy, down-to-earth description of the past five Escapades she has been to, she notes that not as many people are selling zines there
• an ad for song tape #5 available to The K/S Press subscribers only, $7 for NTSC version, ten pounds for the PALS version
• a submission request from Angel Wings Press for “Always Shall Be Yours,” a zine that didn’t make it off the ground, at least under this title
• some Creation Con con reports
• regarding the September 11 attacks in the United States:

  terrible tragedy has befallen the world. It was not just New York, it was not just America… We are all in this together. Your K/S Press is a place for all of us to share our feelings about K/S… because of that love, we are able to transcend the tragedy. Not ignore it. Not pretend it didn’t happen, but rise above it.

• more on this tragedy:

  One of the things I’ve been thinking is that from the very beginning, Star Trek has offered hope to people. So many Trekkies, or Trekkers, if you prefer, are dreamers, and somehow Star Trek gives life to the dream. How many stories have we heard over the years about how interest in the show helped save a person’s sanity, gave them needed strength during difficult times, gave them hope?

• a fan encourages people to track down older zines, if nothing else, for the art:

  I’m a believer in print zines with real art. I still don’t consider computer art or manipulated pictures to be real art, although they do take talent. I even have manipulated computer photos on canvas myself, hanging on my bedroom wall, but I don’t consider them art. I call them photos.

The K/S Press 63 (November 2001)

• contains 40 pages, contains comments on material from First Time #6, #21, #31, #36, #45, #49, #52, #53, T'hy'la #3, #6, KiScon 2001, Beside Myself #1, Shades of Grey #5, Act Five #1, Festival, Beyond Dreams #3, Kaleidoscope #5, #6, Within the Mirror #14, Morpheus Rising, Another K/S Zine, Trilogy, To Catch a Unicorn, see those pages
• the Contest Zine has had the deadline extended to February. The editor felt that everyone was completely checked out during September 2001 due to 911.
• the editors beg for LoCs
• announcement of the Passing of the Torch -- from Jenna:

  The good news is that Shelley and I remain committed to The K/S Press. The bad news… Wait a minute, there really isn’t any bad news, is there, given the above? But there is going to be a change. Shelley and I both need a break. Publishing the KSP has been absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, and I don’t regret a minute of the time I’ve spent on it the past five years. But five years at any one stretch is perhaps a reasonable amount of time to devote to this project… This is what Shelley and I would like to do. We’d like to turn the responsibility for the KSP over to two, three, four people. Two is a minimum… We will give you everything you will need to continue the KSP at its current high standards, so much more than what we ad we started. Shelley and I still occasionally reminisce about those first frantic months together, when we didn’t know how to keep records, how we could increase the subscriber base that was sagging horribly, didn’t know how to send the letterzine by email… Oh boy, the list of what we didn’t now, the systems and programs and bank accounts that we didn’t have, is a long one!

• Shelley also comments -- an excerpt:

  A K/S newsletter has become vital to our fandom, I believe. It connects us and keeps us all together in K/S -- not to mention the integral buying and reading of zines.

• there are many comments by fans about how the recent events in New York (911) has made them all the more happy to be fans and have a community that offers support in trying times, that the optimistic world of Star Trek help sustain hope:

  During these difficult times, K/S can be such a wonderful solace. Hold the love of Kirk and Spock in your hearts.

• a fan wonders:

  Do we, when we write K/S stories, give both Kirk and Spock a mixture of traditionally masculine and feminine traits? If so, do you think it is done with both characters equally? Do you think we tend to portray Kirk and Spock as being more feminine than most ‘real’ men (Tupper Trek aside)? Does this have anything to do with the fact that we are sometimes writing the characters as homosexual? Does it have anything to do with the fact that most of us are women?

The K/S Press 64 (December 2001)

• contains 35 pages, comments about content from Against All Odds, Amazing Grace #3, #4, As I Do Thee #3, Beside Myself #3, Beyond Dreams #3, Consort #2, Counterpoint #8, Encore, First Time #13, #14, #15, Legends, Matter/Antimatter #10, The Prince, T’hy’la #19, #20, #21, Within the Mirror #14, see those pages
• songtape #6 is available, includes “Dante’s Prayer”
• a review of “Music Video #5” by Karen P
• a lengthy excerpt from The Prince
• a fan offers the Starsky and Hutch “songtape with the almost-kiss on it” for sale
• many thank you letters of appreciation to Shelley and Jenna for their years as editors
• fan comments on a question in the last issue about masculinity and Kirk and Spock’s roles. She sees two kinds of K/S stories, one where the two are equals, and one where they seem to be forced in to traditionally male and female roles with one strong and the rescuer and the other weepy and in need of rescue:

  Attempts to force Kirk and Spock into traditional gender roles violate what is for me one of the main attractions of K/S – the opportunity to envision a world and a relationship in which stereotypical roles are just not important any more. Interestingly, when I thought about K/S art, I realized that there are many cases in which hyper-masculinity seems to be combined with feminine characteristics. There are a lot of portraits that show both Kirk and Spock with extremely muscular, idealized male physiques, while their facial features and expressions are very soft and almost pretty in a traditionally feminine sort of way. Maybe this is just the visual version of the written depiction in which each character has a mixture of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits. Or it might be a case of creating a ‘dream man’ in whom hyper-masculine good looks are combined with a ‘feminine’ temperament which is cuddly-warm and emotionally accessible. Or many it’s a way of saying that the ideals embodied in these characters are for everyone, male and female alike. Or, hey, maybe it’s just that it’s fun to draw them that way… and to look at the results!

• a fan comments:

  When I first discovered K/S, I had a very strong vision of a feminine Kirk (sensitivity, inherent willingness to submit sexually and even prettiness) and a masculine Spock (smoldering passion, sexually dominate, and physically strong). I even imbued their sexual relations with Kirk being the ‘woman’ and Spock being the ‘man.’ This vision has certainly changed dramatically, but it took a long time for me to see things like Kirk penetrating Spock. In fact, I had a difficult time visualizing the first time I wrote about it. I remember the whole thing made a big impact on me, and I felt amazed that I was able to write it. At the time, this was very important. Another aspect of that vision also changed dramatically from when I first started drawing them. I remember being fascinated with showing two masculine and muscular bodies embracing – it was part of the essence of K/S for me – Kirk and Spock were men and they were in love with each other.

• a fan writes:

  I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that most don’t share my interest in master/slave K/S stories, but I’ve always loved the idea of the feminine Kirk submitting to the masculine Spock….The dynamics of dominance and submission. Two loaded words, I know, but the way that I see Kirk and Spock in relation to them is not what you might think. I feel that submission is not necessarily weakness and dominance not necessarily meanness. There’s so much more to all this – about femininity and masculinity not meaning female and male – rather traits we all share to varying degrees.

The K/S Press 65 (January 2002)

• contains 21 pages, comments on material in KisCon Zine 2001, First Time #52, #53, Worlds Apart, Within the Mirror #14, California K/S, songtape #5, Charisma #17, Nome #8, see those pages
• the editors note that no one has:

  ... come forward to take over this publication, so we must decide what the future of the newsletter will be. s you know, this is a very difficult decision. We do not want to just drop it, but on the other hand, continuing in this endeavor remains a doubtful choice. Our final decision will involve a lot of soul searching. We love doing this newsletter and we love K/S and we wish to see the fandom continue...

• an artist talks some more about masculine/feminine types and her art:

  Last month, I talked a little about my portrayals of them in my artwork and how it’s changed over the years along with my perception of them. I have to say I’m a little sad that I don’t see them the same way I once did… at the time of my first flush of romance with K/S. I adored drawing a big, muscular Spock, because that’s how I saw him, he was the master, the commanding Vulcan, and it seems odd to me now. I can see him much more realistically, he has strengths and weakness, so his is not the Super Vulcan, nor is the painfully shy, painfully tearful, or painfully skinny Vulcan of some fan literature. I also adored drawing Kirk, usually feminized with that errant lock, dimples and those eyelashes! I swoon before those eyelashes and especially when I found out he really had then, they were not just the invention of K/S, there was proof positive in the photographs where the eyelashes literally case shadows on his cheeks. I can see now, too, how Kirk and Spock are opposites in some ways and a perfect pair in others, I mean, you have the dark and the light, the tall and the compact, the intellect and the strength, the commander and lieutenant… I could go on. And what’s wonderful is that all these things make for a whole, they complete each other. Although as I’ve always said before, I think that Kirk completes Spock more than the other way around. Of course, drawing their bodies was always fu because their masculine features and accoutrements are great and their feminine features such as Kirk’s ass are definitely great.

The K/S Press 66 (February 2002)

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The K/S Press 69 (May 2002)

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