Chapter Text
Introduction
The study of the role of the internet in identity-based social issues has grown in recent years into a wide and diverse field (Roberti, 2022, p.2). However, the role and characteristics of online fandom spaces have largely been neglected and dismissed. Online fandom spaces are community-organized internet platforms, like Tumblr and LiveJournal, formed around the interests of the users which largely consist of popular culture from books, TV, film, and music (McInroy and Craig, 2020, p.236), with popular fandoms including Star Trek, Star Wars and Harry Potter. They have generally remained subcultures although in recent years many fandoms have joined the mainstream and faced outsider scrutiny due to the popularisation of franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I picked this topic because it has largely been dismissed as ‘cringe’ and for teenage girls. After all, most use of this label is rooted in purposeful or subconscious ableism, sexism, and homophobia because it looks down on behaviour deemed as different. This is despite the mainstream popularity of many of the media fandoms form around. Also, I engaged in online fandoms growing up, so I am particularly interested in this topic. The impact of mainstream academic and non-academic dismissal of online fandom is that many people in online fandoms believe they are far more inclusive and diverse than ‘real-life’ media and fandoms.
Furthermore, online fandom is best explained through a gendered lens because, as Mendel and Carter noted (2008, p.1712), the internet can be a source of liberation or oppression for gender minorities. Relating to the topics discussed in class. It is important to examine online fandom spaces through the lens of intersectionality because they are inherently community spaces where the exchange of ideas and opinions takes place, especially between young people who are still forming their beliefs and identities. Paying more attention to how different identities in online fandom spaces are represented, included, and engaged can contribute to a more modern understanding of how people use the internet to perform their identity, to the academic field of gender studies.