The first Star Trek zines were published in the 1970s. They contained stories and drawings by amateur authors, and went under headings like "Spockanalia", the first known zine. Some of them were bound and laminated; others were merely photocopies, or stories written out and sent around in mailing circles.

Although some men did write fan fiction, the vast majority of writers and editors were - and still are - women. According to Camille Bacon-Smith writing in 1992, these women are predominantly white and middle-class, though members of racial minorities are also present.

Why women? Perhaps in the growing feminist era of the 1970s, women wanted a television program which would reflect their issues, hopes, and dreams as well... and they did not find it in Star Trek, though there's evidence that the series did try. But women who tuned in might have seen Lieutenant Uhura acting as ship's secretary, or perhaps Captain Kirk kissing the alien-babe-of-the-week just before she was killed off. Kirk, Spock and McCoy had all the fun, and shared all the bonds. It's no wonder, really, that women looked at a show they saw so much promise in - after all, it was supposedly a universe of equality - and wanted to add more. Many fans adopted the "Vulcan philosophy" of IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

Of course, none of this quite explains the urge some women had to write slash...