Come as you are: Sex, race, and writing in f/f slash fan fiction communities

Abstract

Writers of f/f slash fan fiction are a significant and growing presence within online fan communities. Fan fiction studies, however, pays little attention to f/f slash and even less to the queer women and nonbinary writers who create these works. To address this gap, I present the results of an in-depth interview study of twenty-three adult f/f fan fiction writers from diverse racial, national, and fandom backgrounds, with specific focus on sexually explicit writing. Drawing extensively from interview data, I explore the ways that f/f slash writers create and navigate community online, as well as the joys and challenges of writing sex that aligns with lived identities. Rooted in intersectional analysis, I pay close attention to the perspectives of writers of color and document their contributions, insights, and experiences. In doing so, I present a fuller picture of fan fiction communities than is typically reported and highlight the considerable labor that f/f slash writers contribute to the field.