Shipping (derived from the word relationship) is the desire by followers of a fandom for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters (in film, literature, television series, etc.), to be in a romantic relationship. Shipping often takes the form of unofficial creative works, including fanfiction and fan art.

Fan art of Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Members of fandoms often create pieces of fan art depicting fictional characters that they ship in romantic situations.

Etymology

edit

The usage of the term "ship" in its relationship sense appears to have been originated around 1995 by Internet fans of the TV show The X-Files, who believed that the two main characters, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, should be engaged in a romantic relationship.[1][2] They called themselves "relationshippers" at first;[1][3][4] then "R'shipper", and finally just "shipper".[4][5][6]

The oldest recorded uses of the noun ship and the noun shipper, according to the Oxford English Dictionary,[7][8][9][10] date back to 1996 postings on the Usenet group alt.tv.x-files;[11] shipping is first attested slightly later, in 1997 and the verb to ship in 1998.[12]

Notation and terminology

edit

"Ship" and its derivatives in this context have since come to be in widespread usage. "Shipping" refers to the phenomenon; a "ship" is the concept of a fictional couple; to "ship" a couple means to have an affinity for it in one way or another; a "shipper" or a "fangirl/boy" is somebody significantly involved with such an affinity; and a "shipping war" is when two ships contradict each other, causing fans of each ship to argue.[13][14] A ship that a particular fan prefers over all others is called an OTP, which stands for one true pairing.[15][14]

When discussing shipping, a ship that has been confirmed by its series is called a canon ship or sailed ship, whereas a sunk ship is a ship that has been proven unable to exist in canon, or in other words, will never be real nor confirmed.[13][16][17][18]

Naming conventions

edit

Various naming conventions have developed in different online communities to refer to shipped couples, likely due to the ambiguity and cumbersomeness of the "Character 1 and Character 2" format.

The first method was using a slash,[14] first used for Kirk/Spock.[19] This is today mainly used for same-sex ships; fanfiction with these pairings is known as slash fiction.[20][19]

Name blending is often used to refer to a couple, like 'Reylo' for Kylo Ren and Rey in Star Wars franchise, 'Destiel' for Dean Winchester and Castiel in the Supernatural TV series, and 'Bubbline' referring to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time.[21][22][23] Portmanteaus and clipped compounds are used not only to abbreviate character pairings but also to create a name for the ship itself. For example, 'Klance' forms a clipped compound, and an abbreviated form of the complete names Keith and Lance in Voltron: Legendary Defender.[24] 'Sculder' in this case Dana Scully and Fox Mulder in The X-Files, is an example of surnames being blended, although most X-Files fans use the term "MSR" (Mulder-Scully Relationship), as is "MoonBoon" to stand for Zarya Moonwolf and Kitty Boon in Mysticons.[25][26] In other cases, first names of characters are merged, like the ships for Marcy Wu and Anne Boonchuy (Marcanne), Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu (Sasharcy), and Sasha Waybright and Anne Boonchuy (Sashanne) in Amphibia.[27] These combinations of names often follow systematic phonological principles, in which the first character in the ship's name is seen as the 'dominant' partner.[28] Japanese ship naming conventions often attach names together without slashing or blending by using an XY name-name format. This format is ruled by boy-girl ordering, or seme-uke (top-bottom) in Yaoi. In many East Asian countries there is a distinct difference between the pairing of XY and YX. Such as the pairing names of 'MomoYuki' (where Momo is dominant) vs. 'YukiMomo' (where Yuki is dominant) from the series Idolish7.[29][better source needed]

Many fandom-specific variants exist and often use fandom-specific terminology.[30][14][31] These often employ words that describe the relationship between characters in the context of the fictional universe and simply add the word "Shipping" to the end (For example, AmourShipping in Pokemon). Other terminology include using a combination of the characters' names and codes as a ship name. For instance, ship names for characters in RWBY include "Bumbleby" (Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long) and "White Rose" (Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose).[32][33]

Types of ships

edit

Same-sex

edit

Within shipping, same-sex pairings are popular; they are sometimes known as "slash and femslash".[19][34][35] Within the anime/manga fandom, borrowed Japanese terms such as yaoi and yuri may be used.[36][37] In the context of Chinese TV series, related same-sex pairings are also referred to as "Tanbi CP".[38] A person who supports same-sex pairings and reads or writes slash fiction may be referred to as a "slasher",[39] although the Japanese term "fujoshi" for women who like same-sex stories,[40] and "fudanshi" as the male equivalent of that,[41][42] are also commonly used within the community, especially by fans of yaoi (boy on boy) and fans of yuri (girl on girl).[citation needed]

The term "slash" predates the use of "shipping" by at least some 20 years. It was originally coined as a term to describe a pairing of Kirk and Spock of Star Trek, Kirk/Spock (or "K/S"; sometimes spoken "Kirk-slash-Spock", whence "slash") homosexual fan fiction.[43][44] Other early slash pairings came from characters in Starsky & Hutch and Dirty Harry."[45] For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, "K/S" was used to describe such fan fiction,[46] regardless of whether or not they were related to Star Trek, and eventually "slash" became a universal term to describe all homosexual-themed fan works.[47][48] It now refers to a genre of fan fiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex,[49][50][51] Even so, the slash mark itself is a shorthand label for a romantic relationship, regardless of whether the pairing is heterosexual or homosexual, romantic, or erotic.[52]

The first K/S stories were not immediately accepted by all Star Trek fans.[53] Early slash fans in England feared that they would be arrested, because slash violated the obscenity laws there at the time.[54] Many early slash stories were based on a pairing of two close friends, a "hero dyad", or "One True Pairing", such as Kirk/Spock or Starsky/Hutch; conversely, a classic pairing between foils was that of Blake/Avon from Blake's 7.[52] With the advent of the Internet, slash fiction writers created mailing lists (which gradually took the place of amateur press associations), and websites such as FanFiction.Net[55] (which gradually started taking the place of zines). With the Internet, the number of fandoms represented increased dramatically, especially those devoted to science fiction, fantasy, and police dramas.[56] The Internet also increased the level of reader interaction, making it easier for fans to comment on stories, give episode reviews, and discuss comment on trends in slash fandom itself. Websites and fanzines dedicated to fans of The X-Files, Stargate, Harry Potter, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer became common, with tens of thousands of slash stories available.[55]

Due to the lack of canonical homosexual relationships in source media at the time that slash fiction began to emerge, some came to see slash fiction stories as being exclusively outside their respective canons and held that the term "slash fiction" applies only when the characters' same-sex romantic or erotic relationship about which an author writes is not part of the source's canon and that fan fiction about canonical same-sex relationships is therefore not slash.[52] Femslash, a subgenre of slash fiction which focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships between female fictional characters,[57] on the other hand, are typically heterosexual in the canon universe, but when fictions focus on lesbian characters, the stories are often labeled as femslash for convenience.[58] Original slash stories are those that contain male/male content, based on perceived homoerotic subtext between fictitious characters.[59] This can be sourced from a variety of media content, such as manga, TV shows, movies and books amongst others. These works are now generally published online[60] and use the same forms of rating, warnings and terminology that is commonly used by slash writers.[citation needed]

In May 2020, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power showrunner ND Stevenson said that while shipping has been a great tool for fans, he does not want films or shows with just occasional glances, or for all same-sex relationships to be portrayed as shipping.[61] He argued that the Catra/Adora relationship in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is not an example of shipping, since it is "central to the plot" of the story.[citation needed]

Polyamory

edit

Love triangles are commonly used as a plot device to cause conflict in the story. The easy way around this is to pair all three together, or one member with both potential romantic partners.[62][63][64] This is not to be confused with a harem, which is usually just a single character being sought out by many others. Situations such as that may be the one to cause a polyamorous relationship or characters may be in such a relationship.[65][66] Polyamory is not always caused by love triangles,[67][68] but those that don't tend to be less accepted by the fandom.[14] In some fan fictions, characters are given a polyamorous identity, including warning "poly readers that the central characters are monogamous."[69]

Interspecies

edit

Interspecies shipping, which is usually displayed in fandoms of media consisting of animals of various species or supernatural, mechanical, extraterrestrial and fantasy beings,[70] is usually not problematic until a human is paired with a non-humanoid, sapient character.[71] Shipping a human character with an animal or furry character can be controversial as it treads a contentious line with bestiality.[72][73]

Age difference

edit
 
Wikipe-tan and an adult Commons-tan, unofficial moe mascots of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons respectively, sitting together in a romantic subtext. Such significant age gaps in fan works have been subject to shipping discourse.

Controversial age differences have a wide range. An elderly adult with a young adult, anyone with an immortal or slowly aging being, teenagers with young adults, or even ships involving fictional children are all part of this category.[5][74][75][76] Connected to this are continued arguments about which ships are "best" and "right," with inevitable shipping wars.[77][78][79]

Love–hate

edit

Romances between two characters who canonically hate each other also occur.[80][81][82] It is often interpreted that the characters share sexual tension between each other, having a love–hate relationship. An example would be pairing Daniel LaRusso and his bully and rival Johnny from The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai.[83] This is one of the most popular types of shipping.[84][85]

Notable fandoms

edit

Daria fandom

edit

Daria was marked throughout its run by shipper debate, primarily over whether the title character should have a relationship with Trent Lane.[86] A common argument was that it would signal a turning away from the more subversive aspects of Daria's character, such as bitter criticism of romantic relationships.[citation needed]

In a later episode, Tom Sloane, who became Jane's boyfriend, is introduced, drawing a wedge between Jane and Daria, for instance.[87] Daria and Tom warmed up to each other throughout the fourth season, leading up to its finale.[88] With Jane and Tom's relationship in crisis, a heated argument between Daria and Tom led up to a kiss in Tom's car. In the TV movie Is it Fall Yet?, Daria decided to begin a relationship with Tom, and Daria and Jane patched up their friendship. This caused an uproar, and conversation turned to whether Tom was more appropriate than Trent had been. The debate was satirized by the show's writers in a piece on MTV's website.[89]

In interviews done after the series' run, series co-creator Glenn Eichler revealed that "any viewer who really thought that Daria and Trent could [have] a relationship was just not watching the show we were making,"[90] Tom came about because "going into our fourth year... I thought it was really pushing credibility for Daria to have only had one or two dates during her whole high school career," and "teaser" episodes like "Pierce Me" were "intended to provide some fun for that portion of the audience that was so invested in the romance angle. The fact that those moments were few and far between should have given some indication that the series was not about Daria's love life."[91]

Harry Potter fandom

edit

The Harry Potter series' most contentious ship debates came from supporters of various potential pairings:

Author J.K. Rowling appeared to refute the first possibility before the debates got started following the release of Goblet of Fire in July 2000, when she stated in October 1999 that Harry and Hermione "are very platonic friends" after the release of Prisoner of Azkaban in July 1999.[102] An interview with Rowling shortly after the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in 2005 caused significant controversy within the fandom. An interviewer stated that Harry/Hermione fans were delusional, to which Rowling responded that they were "still valued members of her readership", but that there had been "anvil-sized hints" for future Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny relationships incorporated in the book itself,[103] and that Harry/Hermione shippers needed to re-read the books. This caused an uproar among Harry/Hermione shippers, some of whom claimed they would return their copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and boycott future Harry Potter books.[104] Rowling's attitude towards the shipping phenomenon has varied between amused and bewildered to frustrated. In that same interview, she stated that she was a "relative newcomer to the world of shipping" and that it was "extraordinary" to meet the shippers, calling it a "huge underworld" seething beneath her.[105] Rowling stated in an interview conducted by Emma Watson in February 2014 for Wonderland Magazine, however, that she thought that realistically Hermione and Ron had "too much fundamental incompatibility," that they were written together "as a form of wish fulfillment" to reconcile a relationship she herself was once in.[106] She admitted to thinking she could have paired Hermione with Harry: "in some ways Hermione and Harry are a better fit", and that "Hermione's always there for Harry." However, in the same interview she later clarified. "Maybe she and Ron will be alright with a bit of counselling, you know. I wonder what happens at wizard marriage counselling? They'll probably be fine. He needs to work on his self-esteem issues and she needs to work on being a little less critical,"[107] Watson later clarified that Rowling's comments about pairing Hermione up with Harry were taken out of context and that she was actually joking.[108]

Xena: Warrior Princess fandom

edit

The 1995–2001 action/fantasy TV series Xena: Warrior Princess produced "shipping wars," with spillover from real-world debates about homosexuality and gay rights.[37] The show spawned various websites, online discussion forums, works of Xena fan fiction and several unofficial fan-made productions, with members of the fandom writing numerous fanfiction stories of the series, numbering in the thousands, and popularized the term altfic to refer to fanfiction about loving relationships between women.[109][110][111]

Shortly after the series' debut, fans started discussing the possibility of a relationship between Xena and her sidekick and best friend Gabrielle.[112][113] According to journalist Cathy Young, the quarrel between fans about a relationship between Xena and Gabrielle had a sociopolitical angle, in which some on the anti-relationship side were "undoubtedly driven by bona fide bigotry", while some on the pro-relationship side were lesbians who "approached the argument as a real-life gay rights struggle" in which "denying a sexual relationship between Xena and Gabrielle was tantamount to denying the reality of their own lives".[112] She argued that the fact that staff paid attention to fan opinions may have led to problems, with an "incentive for the rival groups to out-shout one another to make themselves heard," leading to shipping wars.

In 2000, during the airing of the fifth season, the intensity of the "shipping wars" was chronicled (from a non-subtexter's point of view) in an article titled "The Discrimination in the Xenaverse" in the online Xena fan magazine Whoosh!,[114] and numerous letters in response.[115] The wars did not abate after the 2001 series finale. With no new material from the show itself, the debates were fueled by various statements from the cast and crew. In January 2003, Xena star Lucy Lawless told Lesbian News magazine that after watching the finale, she had come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was "definitely gay".[116] In March 2005, one-time Xena screenwriter Katherine Fugate, an outspoken supporter of the Xena/Gabrielle pairing, posted a statement on her website appealing for tolerance in the fandom, telling people to "allow everyone the grace to take what they need from the show and make it theirs," whether they see Xena with Gabrielle, or Xena with Ares.[117]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Owen, Maggie (June 29, 2018). "The Sweet Science of Shipping". Fandom. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "How The X-Files helped shape modern fandom — including shipping". SYFY. March 20, 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Kircher, Madison Malone (August 3, 2015). "'I ship them' — the strange concept that's changing the way people talk about relationships". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Wax, Alyse (May 21, 2020). "The potency of Fox Mulder's sportswear, from the red Speedo to Georgetown sweats". SYFYaccess-date=May 31, 2021. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Etman, Colleen (June 28, 2018). "Why We Need to End Toxic Shipping As A Fandom Community". ComicsVerse. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Iovine, Anna (November 20, 2019). "It's time to add Internet slang 'ship' to the dictionary". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "ship, n.3". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  8. ^ "shipper, n.2". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. ^ "shipping, n.2". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. ^ "ship, v.2". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  11. ^ Morton, Ella (December 29, 2015). "The X-Files "I Want to Believe" Poster's Origin Story". The New Republic. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. ^ Zimmer, Ben (January 29, 2016). "As the 'X-Files' Returns, So Do 'Shippers'". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Gonzalez, Victoria M. (2016). "Swan Queen, shipping, and boundary regulation in fandom". Transformative Works and Cultures. 22. doi:10.3983/twc.2016.0669.
  14. ^ a b c d e Romano, Aja (June 7, 2016). "Canon, fanon, shipping and more: a glossary of the tricky terminology that makes up fan culture". Vox. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  15. ^ "Words We're Watching: 'OTP'". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  16. ^ Johnson, Ruth (March 26, 2021). "FANDOM FLAMES: Rarepair shipping, the loneliest game". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Balkind, Nicola (2014). "Consumption Becomes Production: Fan Creations and The Hunger Games". Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games. Bristol, United Kingdom: Intellect Books. pp. 133, 143. ISBN 978-1783202843.
  18. ^ Frank, Allegra (December 20, 2016). "New Overwatch comic may have sunk your favorite 'ships'". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c Callis, Vera S. (2016). "Homophobia, heteronormativity, and slash fan fiction". Transformative Works and Cultures. 22. doi:10.3983/twc.2016.0708.
  20. ^ Cuntz-Leng, Vera (2014). "Twinship, incest, and twincest in the Harry Potter universe". Transformative Works and Cultures. 17. doi:10.3983/twc.2014.0576.
  21. ^ Haasch, Parker (December 7, 2020). "A straight Star Wars pairing topped Tumblr's overwhelmingly queer 2020 relationship list". Insider. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  22. ^ Tenbarge, Kat (November 19, 2020). "'Supernatural's' queer fandom kept it alive for 15 years, but the show never gave them what they really wanted". Insider. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  23. ^ Rude, Mey (September 5, 2018). "Bubbline Is CANON: 7 Gayest Moments From Adventure Time's Cutest Relationship". .them. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  24. ^ Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (November 28, 2018). "Fandom infighting dominated Tumblr in 2018". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  25. ^ Rosenfield, Kat (January 21, 2016). "A Brief History of Mulder and Scully's Once-Controversial Romance". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  26. ^ White, Abbey (June 15, 2021). "TV animators were forced to scrap LGBTQ-inclusive storylines due to a culture of fear. Experts say fans are changing that". Insider. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  27. ^ King, Jade (May 22, 2022). "Amphibia's Finale Has Shown The True Potential Of Headcanons". TheGamer. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  28. ^ DiGirolamo, Cara M. (2012). "The Fandom Pairing Name: Blends and the Phonology-Orthography Interface". Names. 60 (4): 231–243. doi:10.1179/0027773812Z.00000000034. S2CID 62182458.
  29. ^ @chronoa01 (May 18, 2019). "Naming ships is a sensitive fandom culture in Japan and Korea.(I'm not sure about cases in other countries) Many fr..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Bothe, Gemma (July 2014). 'If fandom jumped off a bridge, it would be onto a ship': An examination of conflict that occurs though shipping in fandom (PDF). Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Conference (ANZCA) 2014. Melbourne, Australia. p. 7. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022.
  31. ^ Williams, Rebecca (May 2011). "Containing the Audience: The 'Room' in Stand-Up Comedy" (PDF). University of Kent, UK. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies. 8 (1): 271–272, 275–278. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  32. ^ Hale-Stern, Kale (December 5, 2019). "Let Us Gaze Upon 2019's 20 Most Popular Fandom Ships on Tumblr". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  33. ^ Grimes, Hannah (March 1, 2021). "RWBY: 15 Stunning Weiss Cosplay You Need To See". CBR. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  34. ^ Russo, Julie Levin (2017). "Femslash goggles: Fan vids with commentary by creators". Transformative Works and Cultures. 24. doi:10.3983/twc.2017.01026.
  35. ^ Pande, Rukmini; Moitra, Swati (2017). ""Yes, the Evil Queen is Latina!": Racial dynamics of online femslash fandoms". Transformative Works and Cultures. 24. doi:10.3983/twc.2017.01026.
  36. ^ [https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/the-daring-appeal-of-yaoi-and-yuri-manga The Daring Appeal Of Yaoi And Yuri Manga The Culture Trip. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  37. ^ a b Ng, Eve; Russo, Julie Levin (2017). "Envisioning queer female fandom". Transformative Works and Cultures. 24. doi:10.3983/twc.2017.01168.
  38. ^ Zheng, Guang-Quan; Lee, Ya-Ching (2022). "Do Only Fujoshi Enjoy Tanbi? A Study of Chinese Fudanshi's Motivations for Liking Tanbi CP in Domestic TV Series". Mass Communication Research. 153 (153): 141–194. doi:10.30386/MCR.202210.0019.
  39. ^ Allington, Daniel (March 2007). ""How Come Most People Don't See It?": Slashing the Lord of the Rings". Social Semiotics. 17 (1): 43–62. doi:10.1080/10350330601124650. S2CID 143324395.
  40. ^ Wang, Yiran (2017). Resistance and Compromise under Power Structures of Sexuality: A Case Study on Real Person Slash Fans in China (Masters). Lund University. pp. 1–3, 8–10. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  41. ^ Ingulsrud, John E.; Allen, Kate (2009). Reading Japan Cool: Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7391-2753-7.
  42. ^ Kazumi Nagaike (2015). "Do Heterosexual Men Dream of Homosexual Men?: BL Fudanshi and Discourse on Male Feminization". Boys' Love Manga and Beyond : History, Culture, and Community in Japan. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. 192. ISBN 9781626740662.
  43. ^ "Fanfic: is it right to write?". The Age. January 2, 2004. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010.
  44. ^ Woledge, Elizabeth (August 2005) "Decoding Desire: From Kirk and Spock to K/S1" Social Semiotics, Volume 15, Issue 2 August 2005, pages 235–250 doi:10.1080/10350330500154857
  45. ^ Watson, Zebbie (May 27, 2016). "Exploring the First Frontier Of Slash Fiction". Inverse. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  46. ^ "Star Trek: Spock, Kirk and Slash Fiction". Newsweek. May 4, 2009. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  47. ^ Morrison, Evan (August 3, 2012). "In the beginning, there was fan fiction: from the four gospels to Fifty Shades". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021.
  48. ^ Davies, Morgan Leigh (September 19, 2013). "A Brief History of Slash". The Toast. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  49. ^ Bacon-Smith, Camille. "Spock Among the Women." New York Times Sunday Book Review, November 16, 1986.
  50. ^ Norman Bryson; Michael Ann Holly & Keith P. F. Moxey (1994). "Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and Popular Culture". Visual Culture: Images and Interpretations. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 304–305. ISBN 978-0-8195-6267-8.
  51. ^ Döring, Nicola (2021). "Erotic Fan Fiction". In Lykins, Amy (ed.). Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender (Living ed.). Cham: Springer. pp. 1–8. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-59531-3_65-1. ISBN 978-3-319-59531-3. OCLC 1109843175. S2CID 229183598.
  52. ^ a b c Tosenberger, Catherine (2008). "Homosexuality at the Online Hogwarts: Harry Potter Slash Fanfiction". Children's Literature. 36: 185–207. doi:10.1353/chl.0.0017. S2CID 143937185.
  53. ^ Sinclair, Jenna (October 15, 2013). "Short History of Kirk/Spock Slash". Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  54. ^ Falzone, P.J. (2005). "The Final Frontier Is Queer: Aberrancy, Archetype and Audience Generated Folklore in K/S Slashfiction". Western Folklore. 64 (3/4): 243–261. JSTOR 25474751.
  55. ^ a b Laura, Marcus; Peter Nicholls (2004). The Cambridge history of twentieth-century English literature. Cambridge University Press. p. 798. ISBN 978-0-521-82077-6.
  56. ^ Kustritz, Anne (September 2003). "Slashing the Romance Narrative" (PDF). The Journal of American Culture. 26 (3): 371–384. doi:10.1111/1542-734X.00098.
  57. ^ Lo, Malinda, ed. (January 4, 2006). "Fan Fiction Comes Out of the Closet". AfterEllen.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  58. ^ Herzing, Melissa Jean (April 2005). The Internet World of Fan Fiction (Masters). Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  59. ^ Hellekson, Karen; Busse, Kristina (2006). Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays. Jefferson: McFarland.
  60. ^ Thomas, A (2006). "Fan fiction online: engagement, critical response and affective play through writing". Australian Journal of Language & Literacy. 29: 226–239.
  61. ^ Elderkin, Beth (May 18, 2020). "She-Ra's Noelle Stevenson Tells Us How Difficult It Was to Bring Adora and Catra Home". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  62. ^ Steele, Amanda (February 7, 2021). "MCU: 10 Polyamorous Fan Fiction Ships We Wish Were Real". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  63. ^ Lawrence, Briana (March 10, 2021). "Super Mario Brothers Is the Story of a Polyship in the Middle of an Epic Roleplay, in This Essay I Will—". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  64. ^ Steele, Amanda (April 29, 2021). "Lord of the Rings: 10 Polyamorous Fan Fiction Ships We Wish Were Real". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  65. ^ Mandelo, Lee (August 31, 2010). "Queering SFF: Where's the Polyamory?". Tor.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020.
  66. ^ Shawl, Nisa (August 29, 2016). "Five Books about Loving Everybody". Tor.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021.
  67. ^ Mandelo, Lee (September 20, 2018). "Life for Death for Life: Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton". Tor.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  68. ^ Polo, Susana (October 16, 2019). "X-Men #1 might have solved the longest-running mutant love triangle". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  69. ^ Hampton, Darlene Rose (2015). "Bound princes and monogamy warnings: Harry Potter, slash, and queer performance in LiveJournal communities". Transformative Works and Cultures. 18. doi:10.3983/twc.2015.0609.
  70. ^ Kies, Bridget (2011). "One true threesome: Reconciling canon and fan desire in Star Trek: Voyager". Transformative Works and Cultures. 8. doi:10.3983/twc.2011.0248.
  71. ^ Rayne, Elizabeth (February 14, 2020). "11 interspecies couples who prove love is love". SYFY. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  72. ^ Zekany, Eva (December 30, 2015). ""A Horrible Interspecies Awkwardness Thing": (Non)Human Desire in the Mass Effect Universe". Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society. 36 (1): 67–77. doi:10.1177/0270467615624565. S2CID 147533261. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  73. ^ Roberts, Sharon; Plante, Courtney; Gerbasi, Kathleen C.; Reysen, Stephen (December 2015). "The Anthrozoomorphic Identity: Furry Fandom Members' Connections to Nonhuman Animals". Anthrozoös. 28 (4): 533–548. doi:10.1177/0270467615624565. S2CID 147533261. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  74. ^ "Roundtable: Age-gap relationships in fiction". Anime Feminist. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  75. ^ Tsintziras, Aya (December 3, 2019). "Dawson's Creek: 5 Couples That Are Perfect Together (& 5 That Make No Sense)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  76. ^ Bulten, Izak (March 13, 2020). "Demon Slayer: 5 Pairings That Would Make A Lot Of Sense (& 5 That Would Be Awful)". CBR. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  77. ^ Steele, Amanda (April 15, 2020). "Shipping Discourse: Do Ships Need to Be Unproblematic?". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  78. ^ Wyatt, Cat (December 17, 2019). "InuYasha: 5 Relationships Fans Got Behind (& 5 They Rejected)". CBR. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  79. ^ Peters, Megan (July 28, 2020). "Avatar Fans Are Going to War Over Katara Ships All Thanks to Netflix". ComicBook. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  80. ^ Wyatt, Cat (February 10, 2020). "My Hero Academia: 5 Potential Romances Fans Love (& 5 They Can't Get Behind)". CBR. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  81. ^ Wyatt, Cat (October 9, 2019). "Pokémon: 5 Relationships Fans Were Behind In The Anime (& 5 They Never Want To See)". CBR. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  82. ^ Cohen, Sarah (June 22, 2017). "15 TV Show Couples NO ONE Saw Coming". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  83. ^ Ridgely, Charlie (December 20, 2020). "Cobra Kai Season 3:Ralph Macchio Addresses if Johnny and Daniel Will Work Together". Comicbook. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  84. ^ Torn, Simone (January 15, 2020). "Harry Potter: 5 Ships That Every Fan Can Get Behind (5 That Make No Sense)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  85. ^ Daley, Katerina (October 31, 2019). "Star Wars: 10 Fan Fiction Relationships We Wish Were Real". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  86. ^ Hair, Michelle (July 3, 2018). "6 Things We Want in the 'Daria' Reboot". Fandom. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020.
  87. ^ Chavez, Danette (September 13, 2016). "10 episodes of Daria that prove she gave a damn". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  88. ^ "Episode #413: "Dye! Dye! My Darling"". Outpost Daria. August 2, 2000. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  89. ^ "DARIA Definitive Chapter 3". MTV. March 9, 2006. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  90. ^ "Twenty (Nineteen) Questions with Glenn Eichler". The-wildone.com. March 16, 2005. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  91. ^ "Follow-up Questions (Set #4) with Glenn Eichler". The-wildone.com. January 2, 2006. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  92. ^ Redding, Shane (April 14, 2021). "Harry Potter: 10 Scenes That Prove Ron & Hermione Were Soulmates". Screen Rant.
  93. ^ Graceling-Moore, Rose (April 16, 2021). "Harry Potter: Tracing Harry & Ginny's Relationship Timeline, Movie By Movie". Screen Rant.
  94. ^ Sanderson, Sara (March 18, 2021). "Harry Potter: 24 Crazy Revelations About Snape And Lily's Relationship". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  95. ^ Sharp, Nathan (July 14, 2020). "Harry Potter: 10 Important Details You Didn't Know About Sirius and Remus's Friendship". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  96. ^ Littlechild, Chris (February 1, 2020). "Harry Potter: 10 Reasons Why Sirius & Lupin Aren't Real Friends". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  97. ^ Sims, Andrew (July 31, 2013). "J.K. Rowling reveals detailed story of how Tonks and Lupin met, Remus' patronus". Hypable. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  98. ^ Steele, Amanda (December 20, 2019). "Harry Potter: 5 Reasons Harry and Draco Would Make a Great Couple (& 5 They'd Be Awful Together)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  99. ^ Leroy, Kath (February 15, 2021). "Harry Potter: The Best Harry/Draco Ship Memes". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  100. ^ Tanjeem, Namera (December 11, 2019). "15 Must-Read Erotic Dramione Fan Fictions". Book Riot. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  101. ^ Moghbelpour, Zarreen (April 17, 2021). "Harry Potter: 10 Best Fremione Ship Memes". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  102. ^ "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". C-Span. October 20, 1999. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2012. Quote at 34:15.
  103. ^ Brown, Stephen (2011) [2007]. "Harry Potter and the Fandom Menace" (PDF). In Cova, Bernard; Kozinets, Rober V.; Shankar, Avi (eds.). Consumer Tribes (PDF) (Third ed.). London: Routledge. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7506-8024-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2021.
  104. ^ Chonin, Neva (August 3, 2005). "If you're an obsessed Harry Potter fan, Voldemort isn't the problem. It's Hermione versus Ginny". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  105. ^ Anelli, Melissa; Spartz, Emerson (July 16, 2005). "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two". The Leaky Cauldron. Archived from the original on July 23, 2005. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  106. ^ West, Kelly (February 7, 2014). "What J.K. Rowling Actually Said About Hermione's Relationships With Ron And Harry". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  107. ^ Flood, Alison (February 10, 2014). "JK Rowling backtracks on 'Harry Potter heresy'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  108. ^ Erbland, Kate (March 2, 2014). "Emma Watson Defends J.K. Rowling's Controversial Ron And Hermione Comments". MTV.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  109. ^ "Xena Virtual Seasons". Archived from the original on September 14, 2008.
  110. ^ "Xena Fanfics" (in Spanish). Eidel. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  111. ^ "Xena Fanfics out of the closet". Lo. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  112. ^ a b Young, Cathy (September 1, 2005). "What we owe Xena". Salon. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008.
  113. ^ Leonard, Andrew (July 3, 1997). "Who Owns Xena". Salon. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  114. ^ Lorenz, Nancy (2000). "The Discrimination in the XenaVerse: News and Views from the Great Divide". Whoosh!. No. 43. Online. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  115. ^ "Letters to the Editor". Whoosh!. No. 44. Online. 2000. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  116. ^ "Lucy Lawless [Interview]". Lesbian News. Vol. 28, no. 6. lucylawless.info. January 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  117. ^ "Katherine Fugate Responds". Katherine Fugate Online. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2009.