That K/S Essay
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | That K/S Essay |
| Creator: | Linda Frankel |
| Date(s): | December 1985 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
That K/S Essay is a 1985 essay by Linda Frankel.
It was printed in K/S & K.S. (Kindred Spirits) #17.
The first part of the essay is a response to Joanna Russ' essay Pornography by Women, For Women, With Love.
The second part of the essay is an self-examination of why this fan writes slash.
The author sent a copy of this essay to Joanna Russ.
Some Context
The First Part of the Essay
First, I am relieved to see that Russ doesn't conclude that Spock is symbolically female. Many have ascribed this to her. She isn't really that simple-minded. In fact, she says that in K/S both Kirk and Spock exhibit the traits stereotypically ascribed to both genders. In other words, they are whole people.
I rejoice that Russ used the word "androgynous". Many feminists have condemned the use of this word including Russ herself. As best I can determine, the reason is that sexists have arrogated the concept of androgyny for their own purposes giving it a sexist connotation. If feminists don't want to use words with sexist connotations they must stop speaking every known language except possibly Laadan, the woman's language that SF writer Suzette Haden Elgin has just invented. Since no one is prepared to speak Laadan just yet, the only reasonable approach is to reclaim words in the languages we do speak, and give them feminist connotations. I did this with androgyny a number of years ago in my first article for the SEXISM ON DARKOVER series for the fanzine JUMEAUX, I said that androgyny can be defined as the opposite of sexism. Sexism is the theory that non-biological traits can be divided by gender. Androgyny is the theory that both sexes share many of the same traits. Surely this is a crucial concept for feminism. If androgyny as the opposite of sexism acquires greater currency, this may make the sexist definition of androgyny an anachronism. More feminists should follow Russ's example in her use of this word.
Unfortunately, Russ proceeds to a much more dubious premise — the idea that all K/S fans regard male-male relationships as superior to male-female or female-female relationships, I would like to propose instead that most K/S fans regard men as totally inadequate in their relationships with everyone — whether it be other men or women, and that K/S is the attempt to rectify that inadequacy. The theory that K/S fans are hooked into the male-male relationship myth doesn't explain the form that typical K/S takes. The larger than life male-male relationship is all about competition amid combat. For these, K/S writers substitute romarice and eroticism. These run contrary to the essential spirit of male camaraderie which represses emotions and sexuality. Russ even points this out later in the essay without realizing that this subverts her Original premise that K/S fans worship at the same altar as Hemingway. Her own evidence proves my theory that K/S exists to criticize and improve upon men as they are.
I was amused to learn that Russ seems to believe that none of us can possibly conceive of a heterosexual relationship on a grand mythic scale, I can conceive of one. There is an intensely beautiful male-female relationshio that I have seen in fan fiction. The woman is a highly independent innovator who is also very passionate. The man is a charismatic leader who is also extremely empathic and senisitive,, The two are equals and their relationship is nearly unparalleled in intimacy and level of commitment. I speak of Amanda and Sarek in the NTM universe. I don't believe I'm the only NTM fan in K/S fandom either. This is ideal heterosexual romance as we would like it to be, and like K/S it is by and for women.
So, yes there is NTM, but I still want to write K/S.
I hope that this essay that Joanna Russ has written will not be considered the gospel of K/S interpretation, I see signs of this and it worries me. I am sure that Russ knows that these are only her opinions, but many K/S fans seem to believe that there is only one valid way to see K/S and that is how Russ sees it. The Russ analysis should be a beginning, an opening of the door. Now we can all start thinking about the motivations of K/S writers and the values expressed in K/S fiction. Russ's essay should not cause us to stop thinking and examining. This essay is macroanalysis. It deals in broad themes expressed in typical K/S, My concern is with microanalysis — particular stories and particular writers.
The typical can tyrannize over us. There are exceptions to the typical and if the exceptions are studied, new trends can be found.
The Second Part of the Essay
Why do I write K/S? I know that I am unusual, but I wanted to deal with issues of gay and lesbian significance in a Trek context. (My first published Trek story had lesbian characters. My women characters are in general strong and self-sufficient. For this reason, the contention that I write K/S because I am incapable of dealing with women is absurd; I can and do write about women in and out of Trek fan fiction.) I am finding I am not quite so unusual as I thought.
Recently, I read a K/S novel that contains an incident where K and S are attacked by fag bashers. I also remembered that long ago I read a series of stories dealing with institutionalized homophobia in Starfleet. I was reminded of this when I read an excellent English K/S story that was based on the same concept and in addition dealt with the abuse of homosexuals in prison and the torture of gay men and lesbian women in psychiatric institutions. Yet another English K/S story dealt with the scapegoating of one gay man by another in order to maintain his cover and with the difficulty of maintaining a monogamous relationship in the context of the highly sexualized gay male community. [1] (I might also point out that not all K/S is monogamous. There is beginning to be a sub-genre of stories in which K and S are two partners in a committed working triad. I applaud this as I applaud all departures from the conventional in K/S.) I have also discovered any number of K/S stories dealing with various stages of the coming out process — to self, to relatives, to shipmates and to institutions.
There really is gay identified K/S.
I am not saying that all K/S should reflect my concerns. There should be room for diversity. My kind of K/S fan can exist side by side with those of you who pant for truly hot sex scenes without redeem or social importance. We can respect one another and admit that we all belong in K/S fandom. We all belong here because we all write out of love for the characters and STAR TREK.
May K/S live long and prosper.