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

[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.