The Wave Theory of Slash/Fan Discussion and Meta

The Wave Theory of Slash, a 1993 essay by Lezlie Shell, is a highly-influential and oft-discussed fanwork.
 
In the essay, Shell theorized that there are clusters of tropes and styles in slash that a given fandom (or a given fan) progresses through in the same way that feminism is said to have progressed through various "waves".
The essay was posted to Virgule-L on April 7, 1993 with the title Catch A Wave. It was also printed in Strange Bedfellows in May 1993, and it had the title in that apa of I am not Alone or The Four Waves of Slash Fandom. 
The Wave Theory of Slash was one of the first "big hits" of fannish meta fandom, and it has elicited conversations and analysis from the time it was first posted, and continues to do so.
==Fan Comments==
====Comments: Virgule-L====
The essay was posted to Virgule-L in April 1993 and generated some discussion, though not as much as in Strange Bedfellows APA.
Some excerpts are below. They are quoted anonymously, except for when fans have given their permission. 
===Strange Bedfellows APA===
The Wave Theory of Slash Revisited by Gayle F was an essay was published in Strange Bedfellows APA in May 1993.
====Comments: Strange Bedfellows APA #2: August 1993====
 
 
 
 
====Comments: Strange Bedfellows APA #3: November 1993====
 
===Comments in Other Places===
 
====Comments: 2005====
* , post by flambeau, the original "Wave Theory" is posted in the comments by palo-verde who appears to be the publisher of Oblique Publications (May 13, 2005)
====Comments: 2006====
* Old Fandom, New Fandom, and melodrama by elspethdixon (December 7, 2006)
====Comments: 2007====
 
In 2007, the theory was discussed in a post by torch to shift the focus away from the stories per se and onto the writers and readers, suggesting that the same person might want to read or write different waves in different fandoms, depending on how involved they are in a given fandom (i.e., they may be fourth-wave in their primary fandom, but first- or second-wave in an unfamiliar fandom). See Pairings, wave theory, interpretive communities by torch (March 22nd, 2007).
====Comments: 2008====
In 2008, Sandy Herrold reposted one of her responses to Lezlie's Wave theory: 
The theory was also discussed in 2008 by princessofgeeks and focused on the way people were coming into fandom via the Internet. Some clarification was made that fans could drop into the various phases at any point, rather than always starting with phase one. See: more on "wave theory" in slash fanfic.
The theory was discussed in the comments to something's lost in translation, a post by seperis.
The theory was discussed by princessofgeeks in 2008 in the essay another section of the slash puzzle.
====Comments: 2011====
==Meta/Further Reading==
* The Wave Theory of Slash Revisited by Gayle F (May 1993)
* Old Fandom, New Fandom, and melodrama by elspethdixon (December 7, 2006)
* Pairings, wave theory, interpretive communities by torch (March 22nd, 2007) 
* something's lost in translation by seperis (July 5, 2008) 
* another section of the slash puzzle by princessofgeeks (July 8, 2008)
* more on "wave theory" in slash fanfic by princessofgeeks (July 14, 2008)
* Explanation of waves theory in slash by unovis for hl_chronicles (July 15, 2008)
==References==
Category:Slash Fandom
Category:Discussion