The Wave Theory of Slash

The Wave Theory of Slash, often referred to simply as "Wave Theory", originates from a 1993 essay by Lezlie Shell.
In the essay, Shell theorizes 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".
One thing Shell emphasized was that "EVERY wave has quality stories and writers. EVERY wave has bad stories and poor writers.
What you consider good and bad depends on which wave you rode in on."
 
The Wave Theory was one of the first "big hits" of fannish meta fandom. It has elicited conversations and analysis from the time it was first postedexecutrix's Meta: Drowning in Waving, dated July 14, 2008; WebCite. Also unovis's post Explanation of waves theory in slash dated July 15, 2008;WebCite., and continues to do so. 
Also see Meta Essays, List Surveys and Notable Discussions on Virgule-L.
==Publication History==
The essay was posted to the Virgule-L mailing list on April 7, 1993 with the title Catch A Wave. It was also printed in the Strange Bedfellows APA in May 1993, with the title I am not Alone or The Four Waves of Slash Fandom.
This essay was printed with permission in the program book for Red Rose Convention # in 2002.
== Overview ==
The essay sparked a lot of interest as it classified a fandom's fanfiction according to four sets of characteristics: explicitness of a sex scene, relationship of the story to canon, sexuality focus within a sex scene, and the writer's perceived relationship to the fandom. 
Because the essay was originally on a private mailing list, its contents could not be directly passed around to other fans, but had to be alluded to and discussed without accessing the original text; this led to fannish drift. 
The essay was discussed at a panel at the slash convention Escapade, and the theory was one of the first pieces of meta where fans attempted to describe their own processes and culture. 
== The Four Phases or Waves (from the original posting)==
==Applicability For Today's Fans==
When it was first released, the Wave Theory produced significant discussion from fans who felt it did - or did not - apply to them or their particular fandoms. 
Some fans have commented that the Wave Theory - being a product of 90s fandom - still fits the patterns of slash fandoms from that time; but the activities of slash fans and the way they interact with canon have since changed to the point that the model no longer applies.
As fandom has grown exponentially on the Internet, the 'lines' between wavers have blurred as fans jump into and out of fandoms more quickly. A better example in this instance might be a model in which concurrent 'waves' spread out from multiple locations, to be absorbed simultaneously (or not absorbed) depending on the content of the wave.
===Waves of Meta===
Wemblee suggested in 2008 that metafandom can be mapped similarly.
==Fan Responses to the Theory==
See MUCH discussion at The Wave Theory of Slash/Fan Discussion and Meta.
== References ==
Category:Media Fandom Category: Discussion Category:Slash Meta
Category:Slash Fandom
Category:1993 Meta
Category:Meta in Print
Category:Meta on Mailing ListsCategory:2018 Featured Articles