By Any Other Name (Star Wars meta)

Meta
Title:	By Any Other Name
Creator:	Kathleen B. Retz and Catherine A. Siebert
Date(s):	March 1982
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Wars
Topic:	explicit fanworks, George Lucas
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

By Any Other Name is a March 1982 essay by K.B. Retz and C.A. Siebert. It was printed in SLAYSU #4, the zine they edited together.

The topic was Open Letters to Star Wars Zine Publishers (1981), a decree sent to fanzine editors by Lucasfilm forbidding "inappropriate content."

Introduction

By now, all of you have probably heard of, if not read, Lucasfilm's ban on pornography in the Star Wars universe. Below are our reactions. We are calm (like the Emperor in Barbara Wenk's "Imperial Soliloquy"). Still we felt we had to give our readers our views. For those of you who have read too many of these diatribes, be assured ours is different. As different as we are.

We first learned of Lucasfilm's ideals when our new roommate, Shirley, received a copy of the infamous letter to zineds. So we have finally been made aware (legally)of Lucasfilm's position.

We were, until this time, unaware that Lucasfilm had such extreme standards. I (Cathy) had heard rumors that Lucasfilm was against pornography. I (Kathy) had not, until after SLAYSU #3 was in reprint.

We have decided not to pull the stories in SLAYSU #1-3 because it would cost us money we can ill afford and besides it would be unfair to those fans who do like to read our stories.

Now we feel we must explain why we didn't see the handwriting on the wall, as it were. We have decided to handle our reasons separately each making comments on the others ideas and ideals.

Conclusion

Because we don't want trouble, SLAYSU will not print any SW or TESB stories that carry any sexual overtones. I (Cathy) will continue to write them, so if you happen to know me or see me at a convention and we get to talking about erotica, then you can always obtain a copy, for what it cost me to make it.

Our apologies to Mr. Lucas and to you, the reader, who is really the one who suffers.

Peace and long life.

Cathy

I did not, and do not, consider the stories in SLAYSU pornographic because my idea of what is pornography differs somewhat from Lucasfilm's idea. Let me explain and give a definition. To me, pornography is using sex to hurt, degrade, or abuse someone physically or mentally, either to enhance one character's status or to demean another. I feel that sex and violence is pornography. The only time violence is used in any of our stories in connection with sex, we pull back and view it from a distance and there is always a reason. There are only two scenes in all the X rated stories that could conceivably be considered pornographic under the above definition and even those are iffy because there was a reason for the violence.

So it is easy to understand why I felt Lucasfilm would not be unduly upset with our stories. There is, as far as I am concerned, sufficient pornography available. Most of it is in TV commercials or on billboards. Since women are usually the only ones injured by these advertisements I don't many people would be interested.

I'm sure Lucasfilm means to be liberal and is trying very hard to be open-minded but it is very difficult to realize that things which you consider natural and normal are actually demeaning to another person. The feelings of many slaveowners prior to the Civil War is a good example. They simply didn't realize their slaves had the potential to be equal.

Today, many people unconsciously assume things about women which place them in a semi-hunan, sexual-pet status. That is one thing SLAYSU does not do, and I have rejected stories which tend to perpetuate the traditional feminine role of submissiveness.

You may think I'm getting off the subject. Maybe I am. My point is, that in SLAYSU I have tried to treat women, as well as men, as human beings, not sex objects. I an not trying to get even. I have written some anti-male stories but they have not, and probably never will be, published. I wrote than because I couldn't contain my anger and had to express it some how. It was necessary. Now I no longer feel the need to return all the evil done to me by a male-dominated society, nor do I ask for indulgences. I know how to live in this society and I am fairly successful in social situations. By that I mean I don't cause (or get into) trouble.

Back to sex, which is what this whole foofaraw is about. I enjoy sex. I don't enjoy the politics involved and try to avoid than as much as possible. It's not always possible, so I write erotic stories (I like to read erotica, but there is so little sexual material which I consider erotic that I find it difficult to satisfy my own needs). I write erotic stories for myself and for other women who will not settle for being less than human. Perhaps I have lost something in demanding more of myself than society deems necessary (my innocence and certainly the happy security of a slave), but I have also gained respect for myself. I no longer see every problem in a relationship as being my fault, or somehow attributable to some evil in me because I am female.

Again I hear cries of "What does this have to do with Lucasfilm's ban on pornography and erotica?" Very simply, Lucasfilm is saying, "You must enjoy the characters of the Star Wars universe for male reasons. Your sexuality must be correct and proper by my (male) definition."

I am not male. I do not want to be. I refuse to be a poor imitation, or worse, someone's idiotic ideal of femininity. Lucasfilm has, in essence, said, "This is what we see in the Star wars films and we are telling you that this is what you will see."

That's fine for professional publications which are available to anyone. Fanzines are not readily available (as any true fan who has tried to find a copy of a short lived zine can tell you).

Lucasfilm professes to worry that some underage person will get hold of a pornographic fanzine and the parents will sue. This is unlikely for several reasons. The only way to find out about most fanzines is to know someone who is already a fan and reads and enjoys fanzines.

You can buy fanzines at science fiction conventions, but the pornographic stuff is not sold to minors. I sell zines, and I know most youngsters are interested in professional artifacts. They want buttons, bubblegum cards, pictures of the stars, etc., etc., (Not that I'm knocking these things. Many fanzine readers like than too).

Minors rarely stop to look at large, cardstock-covered magazines which are not slick and don't have fancy lettering. Fanzines don't draw their attention. If they do ask, I tell them straight out; these are fan (female) written stories. Most turn away. Some politely, some not. So, I doubt very seriously that the flower of American youth is in danger of being corrupted. I can also tell you who reads pornographic fan zines; women ranging in age from late teens upward. Girls usually aren't interested. Their thinking is somewhat restricted by society (females tend to change their views on life at a later age than males in our culture); It's not socially acceptable for girls to read pornography in the same way it is for boys.

... Lucasfilm may think Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are G/PG rated and technically that's true. There is no explicit pornography, (though much is implied). There is also, whether they want to admit it or not, a great deal of erotica. Fortunately for them, erotica is one of those things,(like sex) that if you know what it is, there's no need to explain and if you don't, there's no way to explain. My suggestion: If you don't believe in pornography (and if you include erotica in your definition of pornography), then lock yourself away from the world. That's the only way you can avoid it.

Kathy

I was unaware that Lucasfilm had a stand on pornography. If I had, I probably would've given Cathy hell for trying our luck in this zine. I've no love for big corporation over little entrepreneur, but I do have some sense under my bed somewhere. Don't fuck around with God, Rene. And don't mess around with George. If he says "no", then he, and his money, says no. So we don't. This doesn't make Lucas right, it just makes him omnipotent.

So, there will be no more R or X-rated STAR WARS stories (sexually that is) in future issues of SLAYSU. Hear that, George???? I adamantly refuse to pull any story printed so far and for different reasons than Cathy. Finances aside, I feel it is morally wrong to pull them.

[snipped]

We will, however, continue (at least Cathy will, I don't write the stuff) printing the erotic Trek and Galactica stories. There has been no legal objections from THOSE producers so far. Furthermore, if Lucasfilm gets their hands on an issue of SLAYSU, we want it known that we were unaware of their policy before August of 1981. I know I'm being repetitive, but I think it had to be said.

Now, do I really want to get into the reasons for erotica? Cathy says yes, but I think she will kill me when she reads this. So, here goes. I will not write the stuff. And as long as my future writing career lasts, I will probably never write it unless threatened with abject poverty. Besides, one does need some experience in order to write about anything. Granted, I write about military situations (parodies!), psychology (mostly common sense and one class), aliens (imagination!), and love stories. The only thing I write without any real knowledge is — can you believe it? — love stories.

Surprised?

I'm not. Like most women who have never fallen in love, I have an ideal, perhaps an unattainable ideal, on the relationship between two people in love. I may be a fool to believe it, but it does keep me out of trouble. Try telling a guy that you don't sleep with someone who can't cook, sew a straight seam, read three books a week, and understand Shakespeare and Mallory. They usually disappear before I can tell them about King Arthur and the Eternal Triangle of literature. And what if you happen to mention your lack of affection for children, especially your own?

Bye...

Needless to say, I'm single, virginal, and totally content.

So, what about pornography? Knowing me, I'd screw it totally up. (Pun not intended) I wouldn't know how to write it. I do read the sexy zines, but I wouldn't be able to write about sex, except in the only form I know — the classical literature style reminiscent of the Middle Ages, the Golden Age of Greece and the Age of Enlightenment. My sex was learned from Sir Gawain, Alcott, Hawthorne, Homer, and Mallory. I didn't read Chaucer until I was seventeen, too late, sigh.

I'm not condemning pornography or erotica. In some cases I find it necessary. Many times I feel it useless in a story. Pouring it on thick gets terribly trying after a while. And the dead seriousness! Ugh, I thought sex was fun, pleasurable, nice! Why must some authors use it as mental torture. Especially in Trek lit. To me, that particular use of sex is against the philosophy of Trek to begin with. Against the philosophy of life in my experiences.

[snipped]

Perhaps my greatest regret with doing this zine is the responses we get from the stories. Cathy writes extremely graphic, controversial, angry stories. Mine are not. I write humour, love, frustration, regret. I'm not into guilt trips, so very few of my characters feel guilty very long. Sex is not a plot device in my stories. My themes are not overly controversial. The mail we get, however, rarely mentions any of the stories except The Star That Beckons.

[snipped]

Why must it be only the sex-oriented stories that are worthy of a fan's notice? That, to me, is the most offensive aspect of erotic fanlit, the idea that if it doesn't have sex in it, then it cannot be good.

Oh, by the way, don't let Mitchner, Caldwell, King, McCaffery, or even Heinlein hear that. What? Heinlein writes sex? Yeah, but what type? And is it the sole or main plot device? And exactly how explicit is it? Think about it. Then try to find me to lynch me.

SLAYSU is unusual in that the editors have such extreme view points on this, and most issues. But

somehow it works. And we hope that the combination balances out the erotic with the sublime, the terror with the comic, and the hurt with the laughter. I think this balance makes a zine worth reading not just once, but over and over.

Fan Comments

I never thought I'd be writing a letter like this. Mainly because being a Trek fan I don't usually read SW stories, and having limited zine budget I don't usually buy mixed media zines (not enough Trek to make it worth the money for me). Also, although I was shocked and disgusted at the idea of anyone censoring fan literature (or any literature for that matter) I never thought it would affect me in any way. The very idea made me even less of a SW fan than I had been....

I can stand series' that aren't finished because the authors lose interest or move on to other things, but to have a series be terminated by arbitrary rules of censorship galls me no end.

You two have to be two of the gutsiest people are aren't many who would write several pages of editorial that give such a clear view into your respective psyches.

Cathy — while we haven't always agreed in the explicitness of some of your writing please know that it wasn't the subject that bothered me, just the approach. I am deeply disturbed by Lucasfilm's attitudes. Star Wars, and Empire both held a lot of violence. Empire especially...just think back on the torture scene, and the placement of some of those electric probes...and they object to loving sex? It just emphasizes our peculiar society. Raiders, as enjoyable as it was. should have been rated at least R due to the graphic violence! And yet...Lucasfilm is calling sex pornography. ..sigh! From what I understand, anything up to the bedroom door is OK, as long as nobody's nude... after that, we aren't supposed to see past the door... and please notice that it's a sound-proof door...

Actually, for a skillful writer, erotica really doesn't need physiologically explicit sex. Some of the most effective erotica that I've ever seen hasn't been explicit sex. Take that, George! Think back to the movie, Tom Jones, and the eating scene. THAT had to be one of the most arousing scenes in movie history, a all they were doing was EATING, for Sagaan's sake!

We're going to have to be careful, and clever...and who knows, better writers! It's in-between-the-lines-time, folks. Cathy, your writing is excellent. The

people are people and their conversations and thoughts are so good. You can get around this. Show George what good writing is.

I'm having a little difficulty understanding exactly what this deal is with Lucasfilm. Are you telling us that you were legally contacted and advised not to do any more X versions of you SW/TESB stories? What a bunch of bullshit! I am upset that one man can have that much power. (Is big brother watching us? I didn't think that happened until 1984!). I appreciate the fact that you attempted to define your individual viewpoints on the subject but I sincerely hope that

you will continue keeping your own standard intact and not change SLAYSU's format. Yes I understand that you will have to cease publishing R & X rated SW/TESB stories... please don't let this affect the rest of your zine!

In general, I feel that Lucasfilm is going about this the wrong way. You're right; most young kids have no interest in fanzines. But I have seen kids in early adolescence (twelve to fourteen) reading them. Actually, the policing of reading material available to this age group belongs in the hands of the parents. And I strongly doubt that a parent who finds his/her child in possession of an explicit story is going to blame Lucasfilm, or the SW films. Ptost adults are intelligent enough to realize that Lucas cannot con trol the fans' reactions to his movies.

I may not agree with Lucasfilm, but I do know that St. George of San Rafael can afford the lawyers and time to keep this sort of thing in courts for as long as it takes. The average fanzine editor cannot. So, bitch and moan as much as we like, we simply are going to have to comply with the request. And, frankly, I don't think that it's such a tough one to comply with. If you're looking for erotica, sit through TESB again, and pay close attention to the initial kiss of Han and Leia. That is one of the most erotic scenes in modern cinema, and they are both clothed and it's obvious that nothing much can happen in the immediate future. (I don't care how much of a stud Han is, he's smart enough to know that getting the ship repaired and out of the asteroid field is more important than a quick tumble with Leia!)

I have only two questions, neither of which has been answered to my satisfaction. First, how does Lucasfilm feel about perfectly clean, innocent stories surrounded by "pornography" from other universes? (The mythical parent will react the same way if it's a nude of Han or a clean story surrounded by an explicit ode from Spock to Kirk and a full frontal nude of Cmdr. Adama... make that Capt. Apollo — anyone in their right mind would be nauseated by the former.) The second question, how far is too far? I think that it is very difficult to write an adult (in intelligence I am not implying sexual) story without some sort of adult talk. Is it okay for Han to tell Lando to go fuck a tree? Can Luke say "Oh, shit"? Can conversation obviously refer to an act that has already happened (such as Leia sleeping with Han on the way to Bespin) without actually showing the scene? Can one character refer to another's physiology as long as it does not result in dropping of trousers or a hop in the sack? Lucasfilm was remarkably obscure on this matter, and it's very important.

I definitely take exception to St. George's (no offense intended) new policy on fan fiction. It's limiting and one of the things that I love about fan zines is their freedom. Much of what's written in them could never be done officially. It bothers me no end, but he does own the copyrights, so I guess there's nothing to be done. I can even understand some of it. Occasionally, explicit sex has been used to degrade characters, and I hate that no matter what the means. I still don't see the harm of a little sex. It's normal for pity's sake. The movies appeal to a large audience so must be fairly clean. Fanzines go to a much smaller one. They're even non-profit. Enough on this no-win situation.