Is my story slash? Or not?

#NSFW
So we often have lively discussions on Facebook about what constitutes a slash story. In fact, we’re having a discussion right now which you might have seen. That discussion prompted me to write this post (and also, because I’m trying to avoid washing the dishes).

One of the things we talk about is how does an author decide how their story should be tagged on AO3. How do we determine if it’s gen or slash? Is it still slash if it doesn’t contain a sex scene?

One of the things we’ve noticed is there seems to be a misconception among some fans in the general fandom who refuse to read slash or give it legitimacy because they assume that slash always includes graphic sex scenes. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Not that there’s anything wrong with having graphic sex scenes.

According to Fanlore, Wikipedia, etc., the definition of slash is: “A type of fanwork in which two characters of the same sex or gender are placed in a sexual or romantic situation with each other.”

Notice it says sexual OR romantic? And even the “sexual” situations aren’t necessarily graphic. For example:

Non-graphic sex scene:
“We gotta find this thing; I won’t be able to sleep knowin’ it might jump on me in the middle of the night!”

“I’m sure it has no interest in doing that Starsk, although I might wanna jump on you in the middle of the night,” Hutch said with a wink.

“Hmm,” Starsky considered, “Do I hafta wait ‘til the middle of the night?”

“First one to the bed gets to top! And go!” Hutch shouted as they both ran towards the bed and leapt onto it, landing together with a hard bounce.

Here’s another non-graphic one:
In the morning they wake to golden light streaming through the greenhouse windows and hold each other in bed, smiling as they remember the night before. The gentle kisses, the soft caresses, the feeling of ecstasy as they made love and called out each other’s names in the darkness.

Graphic sex scene:
Starsky couldn’t help himself. He moved his hand down to the bottom of Hutch’s t-shirt, then gently pushed his hand under it and began to caress his partner’s smooth bare skin…His heart thudded as his cock stiffened against his partner’s warm body as he kissed the back of Hutch’s neck. (Note that in this scene, the guys are in bed together, but they are fully clothed).

Really graphic sex scene:
My cock swelled in his mouth as he moved his head up and down, slowly at first, then faster. Despite our short time frame, I didn’t want him to rush, because fate could decide that this could be the first and last time for both of us.

Then Hutch took his hand and gripped and squeezed the hard shaft of my cock. I made no sound except loud breathing through my nose. I didn’t know if anyone was in the room next door who might possibly hear us. But I think the sound of my breathing turned Hutch on, because he began to move faster up and down, up and down, but not too fast, didn’t want it to be over too quickly.

Moving his head up and down rhythmically. Then licking me with his tongue, all around. Squeezing and gripping my cock. I began to make little moaning noises, I couldn’t help it.

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And then there’s the romance part. This could be a story where the guys share their first kiss or fantasize about sharing their first kiss. Or it could be a story where one of the guys is pining for the other and doesn’t know if his partner feels the same way. Or a story where they just briefly hold hands or give each other a quick kiss.

It could even be a story where one makes dinner for the other, or they’re investigating a case, and there’s no mention of sex, kissing, hand-holding, or anything else, but it’s either stated or implied that they’re a couple.

Consider these scenes from various stories:

1. I love you too, Ken, his mom said. Hutch smiled and blushed a little at the thought. Oh, how he longed to hear those words coming from his partner, but would that ever happen? Could it happen?
2. Starsky smiled as he dug in his jacket pocket and produced a sprig of mistletoe. Then he held it above their heads as they kissed. As they pulled away, Hutch looked into Starsky’s eyes. “Merry Christmas, buddy. I love you.”
3. I know he’s in love with me, because he laughs at me when I’m humiliated but then eats pie off my face. No one else would do that. He phones me late at night when he needs me. And goes to me late at night when I need him. He calls my jeans “crummy” and we bicker like an old married couple.
4. The owner, who went by the rather endearing name of Huggy Bear, was tending bar that night because he had given most of the waitresses time off to spend with their families. Sitting at the bar chatting with him were two men whom we knew to be cops. We also knew them to be lovers, but none of us minded. They were strangers to us; it was none of our business. Some people would say it was wrong. But not us. I mean, don’t we all wish we had someone who loved us even half as much as those two loved each other?

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When determining whether a story is gen or slash, it’s ultimately up to the author, but all of the scenes I quoted are from stories that I tagged as slash (i.e. M/M on AO3).

For the ones with graphic sex scenes, I also rated them either Mature or Explicit (depending on how graphic I felt they were). For the ones with non-graphic sex scenes, I rated those either Teen & Up or Mature, depending on the nature of the situation and what words were used. For romance without sex scenes, I tagged them Teen & Up.

So back to the question. How do you know when it’s slash? My rule of thumb: who is my intended audience? Would the people who don’t read slash, for whatever reason, want to read this story? If the answer is, “probably not,” then it’s slash. But what if the answer is, “I have no idea.” Then it’s probably still slash.

Also, think about what your goal for the characters is, even if it’s not mentioned in the story. Do YOU want them to end up together? Will your audience?

But it can get complicated, because what if it’s a story where one pines for the other, tells him he loves him, and is met with unrequited feelings? Or worse, what if they break up their partnership over it? Is it still slash, even then? I’d say yes, because most likely, you identify with, and are heartbroken for the one whose feelings are unrequited. And also, the gen-only readers probably wouldn’t want to read it no matter what.

Here’s the opposite question: How do you know when a story is gen?
Answer: When it’s not slash.