The thing with that, Indefatigable, is that is not a defining characterization of straight fanfic. In slash fiction it is the defining characterization.
Well yes, because that’s what the term “slash fic” means. Okay, the precise definition varies a bit depending on who you ask, but standard use of the term indicates a story about a homosexual romantic/sexual pairing that is non-canonical (i.e. not a pairing officially established in the original text). Some extend the term to include any non-canonical pairing at all, or any homosexual pairing even if canonical, but that’s getting into some really geeky debate territory. 
“Straight fanfic” is not really a term used in fandom, but plenty of romantic/sexual fanfics about heterosexual couples use non-canonical pairings. Indeed, these seem more popular than fanfic about canonical pairings, perhaps because fanfic is the only outlet for those interested in non-canonical pairings while the original text itself should provide much to entertain those interested in canonical pairings.
That said, the majority of male/male slash fic is written by and for straight women.
Back to the OP, as Eats_Crayons says, Naiad publishes plenty of cheap lesbian romance novels. I’ve never dared read one (I have a low threshold for bad novels), but they do appear to be pretty much the lesbian equivelant of the dimestore romances targeted at straight women. Some even have those awful curly-letter titles and schlocky cover paintings and everything.
I can concede that and see the parallel with slash fiction, but I still stand by my initial post. However, this type of fanfic is just fan fiction, I don’t think it is lumped over into it’s own genre like slash fiction is. If this fanfic that specifically caters to straight people with non-canonical pairing is its own genre, it would have its name similar to how slash fiction has its own name. Not that it really matters because the initial point was to show that slash fiction has its own sexual side and is targetted largely towards gay and/or gay friendly audiences.
I know that in X-Files fandom the terms “shipper” and “non-shipper” emerged to describe whether or not the fanfic was about or contained a romantic/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully, although I couldn’t say if the names have crossed over into other fandoms. And as I noted before, some people use the term “slash” to apply to any non-canonical pairing.
In fact, I did try to read one once. Oh, my dear Og, it was dreadful. It was as bad as I expected it to be. I have an extremely low threshold for trash-bin novels as well, but I’ve always wondered exactly “how bad are they?” Now I know. I’m assuming the straight ones are just as stupid.
went to a reading by Jamie O’neill of exerpts from"At swim, two boys".
havn’t got round to reading it yet, but it definitely is on my list.
Reminds me of the time I tried to read The Well of Loneliness. I thought it my duty to read “the world’s first lesbian novel” (as it said on the cover). I eventually gave up, as I feared I’d lapse into a coma otherwise. I now refer to the book as The Well of Boringness.
The term is “shippy.” It’s short hand for relationshipper, then becomes an adj to describe the story rather than the viewer. Google it and you’ll find thousands of stories based on that idea from various shows with that label.
I found it odd at first that, as Lamia noted, that XF fans call stories about Mulder and Scully shippy (and Doggett/Reyes stories DRippy etc), since “shipper” usually a generic term that is qualified (ex: one is a buffy/spike or dawson/joey shipper)by fans of other shows instead of meaning something specific.
Around 1980, I remember reading a gay gothic-type romance novel–I believe the title was Gaywycke (I am not making this up).
As I recall, it was very much like the het romances of the genre: innocent young lovely (in this case, male) meets up with dark, mysterious stranger in a big, old house and there is some dark, family secret that keep them apart `til somewhere near the end. It was set around 1880, and there was a good bit of Walt Whitman quoted in it. It must be long out of print by now, but I’ll see if I can find any information about it.
Actually, it’s spelled Gaywyck. I found it on Amazon, and I hope the link works. Two copies left if anyone’s interested!
A gay mystery novel?
You mean other than a Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot story?
Peace.
Anal retentive confirmed bachelors, indeed! :dubious: