Terminology assistance, please!

[graculus]

Someone over on OS is claiming that Trek fandom was responsible not only for the terms 'slash' and 'MarySue' (neither of which can be disputed) but the term 'ship' as well, when used to describe m/f fic.

I was under the impression this term originated in X Files fandom and that 'adult' was the preferred terminology prior to that for fic which had a m/f relationship and sex.

Anyone out there who's been in fandom longer than me (or those fandoms in particular) care to share their opinion?

Comments

[emony.livejournal.com]

I don't recall ever having referred to my pairing of obsession as a "ship" when I was in Trek fandom, but that was pretty late down the line - DS9, not TOS, or even TNG - so I don't know how relevant it is to the argument in question.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

There's nothing like a dogmatic statement to provoke head-scratching. I'd never seen this claim before, hence my asking those who've actually been in Trek (of any variety) since all my knowledge is secondhand...

[emony.livejournal.com]

I was a 14-year-old fangirl at the time, so although my memories of the time are a little faded these days, and my involvement wasn't that great either, if I was a shipper in DS9 fandom, I probably would've been a loud and proud one *g*

[lexin.livejournal.com]

I was in Trek fandom, and I don't recall 'ship' until around the time of the X-files/Due South.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

It was all either 'slash' or 'adult', right, for explicit stuff?

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Yes, when I first came into fandom there were three types of story, 'gen', 'het/adult', and 'slash'. Gen for stories with no sex (though they could be violent and weren't necessarily suitable for all readers), het or adult for stories with straight sex in and slash for male/male sex. The / mark denoted the pairing. And as there weren't all that manay fandoms, that was all we needed.

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

yep that's pretty much as I recall it from the late 70's early 80's...

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Actually the term originated from Star Trek. When Star Trek was first cancelled was when fanfiction first really boomed online, and most of the terminology we use (including "Mary-Sue," "Slash," and "Ship" which is short for Relationship) came from.

Uh huh. Except for the part where there was no such thing as online fandom when Trek was cancelled because the internet was almost 20 years away, and that the term 'ship' didn't get used in fandom till the 1990's, you're perfectly correct! :P

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

No darling, I agreed with the previous poster's recollections.

I hadn't heard the word "ship" till very recently.
The terms were Adult, Gen & Slash.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was quoting. ;)

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Oh, should have said, I got into slash fandom in around 1990, ST:TOS and Blake's 7, and I don't recall seeing 'ship' before...well, 2000 at the earliest.

[amycooper.livejournal.com]

As far as I know "ship" came from the X-Files.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

That seems to be the commonly-held opinion, which is why I was so surprised when someone popped up and claimed otherwise (and not only otherwise but so distinctively otherwise). Hmmm.

[vamysteryfan.livejournal.com]

I go back to TOS days. "Ship" was never used in anything I ever saw. First place I saw it was X-Files.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Well, considering this person was talking about online fandom at the time of Trek, I think their grip on reality is decidedly shaky. ;)

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

I agree. What planet are they from?

No ship that I can recall before X-files and certainly not early Trek. And I've been around 20+ years.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

I definitely recall 'shipper' originating in the X-Files fandom - directly or indirectly after a kerfuffle over whether Mulder/Scully could be classified as 'slash'. I also remember the unsuccessful attempt at installing 'slipper' to mean a non-explicit slash pairing :-P

[graculus.livejournal.com]

That's always been my understanding of where it came from, even though I've never been in that fandom - I thought it was universally accepted as being from X Files...

Still, there's nothing like someone being dogmatic. ;)

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

As you know, I am not nearly old enough to know the answer to this question, *young and snotty look* however, I have asked several older classic fans, and they all report that there was no such catagory as ship back in the day (ship originates with X-Files). There were some fics that focused on Kirk/BOTW or Kirk/ThatBlondeEnsignWazzername or Spock/Chapel, but they were very small in number.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Well, after the mocking for their comment about how there was 'a growth in online fandom after the cancellation of Trek' (sorry, run that by me again, timetravel boy!?), they're now insistant that the term was being used in that fandom.

They seem to have backed down on the 'we invented it' thing and I have no idea where they got that from in the first place.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Seems like this fellow is captain of the ignorance squad.

I saw someone claim HP4GU coined "ship." Lots of folks seem to think whereever they stared out in fandom is the end-all-be-all. Whatever, people.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

If not captain, then certainly a card-carrying member. ;)

I thought HP fans invented a) the internet, b) fanfic, c) all of fandom, d) slash... [the list continues]

The response to being questioned about how the hell they got from there to here? 'I did a presentation on the history of fanfic!'. Uh huh. Well that doesn't mean you weren't wrong.

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

or...

"I have my degree in fanfic!"
;)

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Well that doesn't mean you weren't wrong.

Just makes it all the more sad, doesn't it?