Review of Warrior Lovers: erotic fiction, evolution and female sexuality: “Did Starsky have a thing for Hutch? Was Kirk in love with Spock? What if Bodie got it on with Doyle? These

unlikely plots are standard in a cult literary phenomenon known as ‘slash literature’: a genre of romance fiction

that pairs heterosexual characters from television and film in fantasy romantic relationships. (The term ‘slash’

refers to the punctuation mark — Starsky/Hutch — that unites the lovers.)

In Warrior Lovers, Catherine Salmon, an evolutionary psychologist and slash author, and Donald Symons, a

world expert on the evolution of sexuality, place ‘slash’ in the context of our evolved sexual psychology… Sticking close to the science, Catherine and Donald argue that slash provides a unique insight into human

sexuality. By comparing slash with mainstream romance, they reveal the essential ingredients of women’s

sexual fantasies. The ideal is a relationship in which the man does not lose interest as the woman’s looks

fade. Instead the relationship is a lifelong, shared adventure with a committed equal, based not on ephemeral

lust, but on enduring loyalty and trust.” AlphaGalileo