Just for the record, I always assumed Sulu was gay. That was a lot more fun than assuming Kirk and Spock were lovers.

Just for the record, I always assumed Sulu was gay. That was a lot more fun than assuming Kirk and Spock were lovers. is a 2016 Facebook post by David Gerrold.
While the essay's topic and comments discuss Sulu's sexuality, they are equally focused on Kirk/Spock (TOS) fanfiction, the misguided women who think about that relationship and create fanworks, and very disparaging comments about Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath (referred to only by the initials "M" and "C").
At times, the essay is unclear on whether "they" refers to Marshak and Culbreath, or to women in general who create slash fanworks.
The vast majority of comments support Gerrold's views, which makes sense, as it is his Facebook page.
==Some Topics Discussed in Gerrold's Essay==
* Sulu's sexuality
* Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath and their "deliberate subversion of the Trek universe"
* Marshak and Culbreath's personal behavior
* Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath's pro Star Trek novels, mainly The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of the Phoenix
* Gerrold uses and explains the use of the disparaging term fubba-wubba: "fat ugly broad with unbelievably bad attitude"Gerrold seemed to conflate slash fans with being overweight, see DraftTrek Interview with David Gerrold (1985) where he stated: "When these so-called ‘Star Trek fans’ (and I don’t consider them Star Trek fans--I think they are fat ladies with a sexual dysfunction, when they come forth and want to prove their moral position, let them do something that makes a difference on the planet....So, yeah, I’m controversial! When creating Star Trek, from 1966 through 1969, we were not writing masturbatory fantasies for fat ladies with sexual dysfunctions, and those of you reading this can stick it." Also, in the 1983 edition of The World of Star Trek he refers to a woman who allegedly went around various conventions -- reading to presumably unwilling listeners her 150-page single-spaced study of Spock and Vulcan -- as "a charter member of size-nineteen Star Trek fandom."
* Gerrold's stated expertise and insider knowledge of what Star Trek is really about
* hurt/comfort: " In their view, male homosexuality had a lot of hurt-comfort in it. One gets hurt, the other comforts, it turns into love, they jump into bed. Um, no -- that's not love, that's a variation on Stockholm Syndrome. It's the patient falling in love with the doctor or the nurse." 
* Gene Roddenberry's authorial intent, and how fans who speculate and create fanworks (especially slash) are "scratching their initials into someone else's furniture"
* slash and Kirk/Spock fiction as being out of character and well as not "really gay"
* females writing about experiences they can never have
* some mansplaining about slash fanfiction
* Gerrold's disgust and horror that slash fiction has spread and now exists in other fandoms!
* sure, gay men can watch shows and speculate that characters are gay (Gerrold lists several fandoms), and he himself has done this, but Kirk and Spock are apparently off-limits
* Gerrold has at least three objections to Kirk/Spock fanworks: 1) "First, these weren't the characters that Gene Roddenberry had created." 2) "[Marshak and Culbreath] were bullying other fans with the idea that their interpretation was the only possible interpretation of who Kirk and Spock really were and what Star Trek fandom was really about. " and 3) "...[Marshak and Culbreath] projection of how homosexual men behaved was so far removed from the actual experience of gay men that it was as inaccurate as straight men writing lesbian porn." 
* the speculation that there were deleted or "lost" chapters to the pro books, ones which Gerrold described as "pornographic" At least one fan believed that these chapters were published in slash zines: "It's my understanding that blackmarket K/S "bonus chapters" for all four of their ST novels were available in the "slash" fanfic circles." -- from Therin of Andor at Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath: Discussion in 'Trek Literature' (April 25, 2013); "I was assured by K/S fans in the 80s that "bonus chapters", printed up in fanzine format, were available for all four M&C novels." -- from Therin of Andor at Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath: Discussion in 'Trek Literature' (February 19, 2015); "I was told by some "K/S ladies" once that there are "missing chapters" of all four Marshak & Culbreath Trek books that used to circulate. Whether written by M&C or other slash fanfic writers, I'm not sure. I suspect more Omne stories are out there." -- Therin of Andor at Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath: Discussion in 'Trek Literature' (January 29, 2019). Note: It's possible that these lost chapters are a reference to Never Mourn Black Omne. 
* Gerrold's view that slash was an attempt by women to co-opt the homosexual and lesbian experience
* slash is a "subset of fanfic and in the hands of a talented practitioner, it can be a lot of fun."
* since Sulu tries to sexually assault Uhura in the Mirror, Mirror episode of Star Trek: TOS, this is evidence that Sulu was straight
* "I can pretty much understand why millions of Trek fans want to know that gay people are included in the Trekverse. And the idea that it's Sulu -- that's a recognition of George Takei's honesty. Sulu was never closeted -- we just didn't know until now."
==From the Post==
== Excerpts from the Comments: Gerrold's Post==
===Topic: General===
 
===Topic: Culbreath, Marshak, and FUBBA-WUBBA===
 
===Topic: Gay Sulu===
===Topic: Slash and K/S===
===Topic: Fan Behavior===
== Excerpts from the Comments: The Trek BBS ==
==Notes & References==
===Notes===
===References===
Category:2016 Meta
Category:Slash Meta
Category:Star Trek TOS Meta
Category:Star Trek TOS K/S Meta
Category:Meta on Journal Sites
Category:Sexism & Fandom 
Category:Pro Author Meta