an equal relationship was challenging to write into a heterosexual model, and K/S united masculine and feminine traits of both characters to create an “androgynous” combination. Then K/S slash fiction is about transcending gendered norms and relationships. Falzone has suggested that K/S “queers” the original Star Trek narrative, which serves to liberate one from traditional beliefs and, specifically with regards to Star Trek, better imagine the prejudice-free utopia that was envisioned in Star Trek: The Original Series. It also enables fans to push back against corporate media’s control of accepted narratives in the Star Trek universe. On the other hand, some academics have argued for other reasons why K/S slash fiction is written. Camille Bacon-Smith speculates that K/S is a way for women to "openly discuss sexuality in a non-judgmental manner." Kirk and Spock's depiction in K/S zines has been described as "two equal individuals who complement each other", and a key theme has been that they can continue working and still be a couple, their relationship enhancing their ability to perform competently in their jobs. A fan has said of the pairing: "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." Bacon-Smith also speculated that as Kirk and Spock portray stereotypically feminine traits in K/S slash fiction, this allowed the predominantly female writers and readers of slash fiction to explore their own sexual fantasies. Constance Penley argued the women who write K/S slash fiction become “popular scientists” by taking figures from mass media (Kirk and Spock) to create their own productions from a marginalized position relative to patriarchal society and corporate media norms. Reasons why heterosexual women may write male homosexual slash fiction include: identifying oneself with the hero due to the original’s focus on a hero rather than a heroine, giving men emotional responsibility by rewriting male characters, or to reorder typical sexual norms, through which the female writer could reconceive their own sexual role. K/S could also serve as a kind of “Mary Sue” that implied the writers’ wish to include homosexuality where it had been neglected in the source material. Although there is no consensus on how homosexuality is depicted in Star Trek, Woledge suggests that as K/S stories draw on many particular events