Where No Man Has Gone Before

Mark Anbinder, a coordinator of STARFLEET, the International Star Trek Fan Association, as well as "a founding member of USS Accord," the Ithaca, N.Y., chapter of the same organization, isn't interested in slash himself, but he does understand it. "Even if it would never occur to some viewers that these characters could be lovers," he says, "there was an obvious bond between them that everyone could see." Shelley believes the romantic relationship between Kirk and Spock was "written into the show." Charlotte is less sure, noting that Gene Roddenberry reportedly believed Spock was asexual. Anbinder thinks it was more pragmatic: "Roddenberry was a really open-minded guy, but he also knew a good thing when he saw one."

No matter what the new movie means to "Star Trek" fandom—the mind reels at what slash writers might make of virile, 20-something Kirk and Spock as played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto—K/S will undoubtedly continue to flourish, in part because the community has such strong empathy for the characters. Charlotte, who lives "in the Southeast, in a state where gay relationships have absolutely no rights," will be visiting Massachusetts this June to marry a woman she met through K/S, and she says Kirk and Spock have provided an example for their relationship. "K/S has it all: friendship, relationship drama that gets resolved, enormous expressions of devotion through sacrifice, trust and commitment over a period of decades. It's really hard to find another fictional couple that did all that, and did it as well." She adds that they will not dress in "Trek" uniforms at the wedding.

© 2009