What is the opposite of slash? 'Shipping? I once thought so, too, but now I realize how wrong I am. The opposite of slash is "hetting." "Huh?" you might say. Well, it's actually rather simple. Slash is putting two same sex characters, supposedly straight, into a romantic relationship, right? Hetting, then, is putting two opposite sex characters, definitely gay, into a romantic relationship. Inherently, there might be nothing wrong with that. Fanfiction is about exploring limits, about exploring UST -- Unresolved Sexual Tension, to those less informed. If the viewer saw chemistry between two characters and wanted to write them together, go for it, right? After all, that's what slash is all about, no?

Sorry, but the answer really is no. Why? 'Cause we're still living in a racist and sexist society full of discrimination, even if our characters are living happily on Risa. The consequences of this are a) there are so few gay shows that it's damn frustrating; b) it's easier to write a 'straight' character as bisexual than a gay character as straight (or bisexual). The most important consequence of all is that for anyone to sleep with a member of the same sex, this person has to come out to at least himself or herself, even just as a bisexual. The simple act of sex will then be an act of rebellion, recognized or not. It is a conscious choice between following one's true desires and conforming to societal standards.

In this day and age, for an author to write a gay character into a heterosexual relationship will then smack of the religious right's vicious and malicious 'ex-gay' movement. That might not be the author's intentions, but it will seem so by almost any standards. Unless that writer is a well known slasher, or acknowledged to be liberally minded, the story will seem like a vile display of homophobia. It will be a repression of individuality, an enforced conformation, and a robbery of the most valued American quality: the freedom to choose.

- Little Alex (litalex@yahoo.com)