Beside Each Other

Fan Art
Title:	Beside Each Other
Artist:	Shelley Butler
Date(s):	1996
First Published:
Medium:
Genre/Style:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
External Links:
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Beside Each Other is an illo by Shelley Butler.

It portrays Spock and Kirk from Star Trek: TOS.

It was printed in Beside Myself #4.

This illustration was revised and called Prince Spock.

Author's Comments: The Worldcon Scene

Butler was harassed about this illustration and others at the 1996 Worldcon.

1996

I must relate to you my recent experience with prejudice and injustice. This experience is all about my becoming complacent about K/S. I literally forgot that people out there are against the very idea of Kirk and Spock as lovers, let alone homosexuality. Looking back on this experience, I realize I had begun to think that all was well with this world. No one cared about any homosexual aspect to Star Trek. All was fine—it wasn't really a very big secret. Maybe just a little secret—like from my mother or my father or some of my neighbors or my real estate agent.

After all, I had already shown my drawings to my wonderful woman neighbor who thought they were just fine, thank you, and even expressed surprise that anyone would find them the least bit offensive. Also, for a long time now, I've been associating with the inner circle of K/S—not too many of my other types of friends or acquaintances.

Well, into the vast auditorium of the WorldCon art show I marched -- suggestive drawings in hand and [Mr. B, husband] at my side, blithely ready to hang my art for all to see.

We had a great time arranging, designing, clipping and preparing the art on the panels provided, all the while discussing the wonderful reaction (read: slightly shocked at the mildly scandalous portrayals of Kirk and Spock.) from the auction audience and attendees.

After two hours of work, we headed for the front desk and were met with one of the art show directors (whose name is Gay, how ironic) who informed us that three pieces were taken down and that I would not be allowed to show them.

At the time, I was so shocked that as the arguments flew about, fast and furious, I couldn't really believe what was happening. I had very little insight into the blasphemous, licentious, libelous and obscene nature of my artwork. One piece that was removed because it fell under the aforementioned category was the cover of Beside Myself which shows Kirk, in a white shirt, standing next to a long-haired Spock with arms crossed over a bare chest, looking forward. After the smoke cleared, I was to meet with the art show director the next morning.

[Mr. B] was absolutely wonderful. He joined into the fray with great relish, reminding me of Kirk jumping gleefully into a barroom brawl. Later he said he loves controversy and that my art was too beautiful to dismiss or censor.

The next morning, after a sleepless night, tossing and turning with what I was going to say and all the thoughts and feelings I had about censorship, the SciFi community, freedom of expression and the fact that there was a multitude of sexually explicit artwork portraying females (underline females) in extremely compromising positions, I met with Gay.

In fact, five pieces out of eleven had been taken down and there was no negotiation. I expressed my utter dismay at the unexpected and surprising parochial, narrow-minded and ridiculous attitude that prevailed here, especially in light of the huge, full-color paintings of big-breasted nude and semi-nude women in extreme sexually positions. I pointed up that in none of my artworks is there any genitalia or any compromising positions. The most extreme drawing showed Spock holding Kirk against his chest, but certainly no explicit sexuality — only love and caring.

One of my favorite comments was made by a guy with a beer belly and very bad breath who insisted that in one drawing "The looks on their faces was like they just had sex."

Nothing I said or pleaded or cried made any difference whatsoever. The bottom line was that Paramount might sue the convention committee for having a representation of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as Kirk and Spock in such a defamatory nature. Or even that WS and LN would be upset by it and sue. Well, someone might sue. They sure didn't want to chance that. Can you imagine? In the midst of a huge sea of massive oil paintings of outrageous sexual art, there's my little Kirk and Spock drawings where they're embracing each other and multi-billion dollar Paramount with its cadre of highly-paid lawyers might sue.

Of course I know that the con committee can set any policy they want to and that they don't want to put themselves on the line for one minor artist. But what happens next? Will some other studio or organization protest some other representation displayed in their art show? In the rules and regulations that I received, the word "libelous" is used. I looked it up in the dictionary and the definition is: "A defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression". And: "Blasphemous, treasonable, seditious or obscene writings or pictures". What can you say? How sad.

Oh well, so much for my blissful ignorance of the real world attitude toward K/S. Boy, have I ever learned my lesson. Back into the closet I go. And I'm not coming out until the 23rd century.

1998

I, too, have experienced some prejudice and ignorance concerning K/S. The most shocking and surprising incident for me was at WorldCon in LA of all places. I was so astonished that the seemingly free-thinking community of science fiction aficionados turned out to be one of the narrowest, most ignorant of thinkers that I will never forget it.

They looked upon my K/S artwork (only the tamest, most non-suggestive works, mind you) with great horror and disgust at such obscene subject matter. One miserable moment that’s frozen in my memory was my sitting there in tears arguing with some stupid committee member. I wish I had sat stoically and expressed myself articulately instead of crying: “Why are you doing this?”

So one never can tell where one will find ignorance and it isn’t just the bible-belt, for sure.

Fan Comments: The Worldcon Scene

Shelley’s experience with censorship at the World Con art show. World Con bureaucrats are like all other bureaucrats. They have small regulation-bound minds and they enjoy exercising what little power they have. Think of them as analogous to the desk-commanders at Starfleet Headquarters.

I, too, was shocked by your report of your experience at World Con in LA!! Being in contact with many nice and open-minded women I often tend to forget that this is only a part of real world and that our opinion and tolerance is not the same like in the rest of society.