Fandom

[vampiresincowboyboots]

From what I'm gathering on various friending communities, 'fandom' is a very big thing in these here parts.

It's not a term I'd heard before and the internet tells me that it is
The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people.

Which sounds great. Sign me up. I'd love to get to know people who love the same things I love. That's one of the reasons I came online the other month. Because so few people in my real life enjoy the same things that I do.

But what does it mean to be IN a fandom? There are musicians and books and tv shows and movies that I adore and can happily talk about and lose myself in for hours. I'm not sure I understand if there's a difference between being a fan of, say Supernatural or The Vampire Chronicles and being in the fandom.

Comments

[angelofthenorth]

Hi there, found you by my network page, so this is a bit of a drive by comment.

Being in fandom, I would say, is about an immersive experience, where you form connections with people because of shows or books you have in common, and share in the interpretation of those base texts in creative ways.

[vampiresincowboyboots]

Drive by comments are always appreciated, welcome to my page :)

I do like the idea of forming connections with people because of shared loves. I'm definitely down for that!
thank you

[kimmieann]

For me it's about actively engaging with other fans (for me it was on LiveJournal), generating new content, keeping up with news, etc.

For instance, ten years ago I was very involved in the Harry Potter fandom. I was a member of several roleplays, wrote fanfiction, read The Leaky Cauldron religiously. But that's not something I have kept up with, so I don't consider myself to be *in* the fandom right now.

[elynne]

To me, "fandom" means a community, to whatever degree you choose to be a part. If your fannish activities don't really involve other people--you watch/read/listen alone, make fan-art of whatever kind for yourself, don't talk about it with others--then you're not really part of a "fandom," though I've known people who don't participate directly but lurk extensively around the edges of fandoms and consider themselves a part of the community. It's also entirely self-defined, in my opinion--if you don't want to be in a fandom, then you don't have to, even if you cosplay at conventions, write 50k-word fanfics, and have extensive discussions about minutiae of the subject matter (I very much do not consider myself part of the Marvel movie franchise fandom, despite 50k words of fanfic about the Marvel movie Loki, fr'ex).

In my experience, anybody who tells you "you must do X, Y, and/or Z to qualify for fandom of ($SUBJECT)" is engaging in icky gatekeeping, and is best ignored. ... on reflection, I tend to have the same opinion for pretty much every other aspect of life, so take it with a chunk of salt.

[kimmieann]

I like your point about it being self-determined.

[divinemusings]

Being IN a fandom usually means finding fanfic and discussing the work, etc. It's been a long time since I've been IN fandom, but I'm certainly a fan of a lot of things. If it's something you want to explore, just kind of wade in and see what you're comfortable with and go from there. :)

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

Fandom is like family to me-- it is a place that you go in order to connect with others about something you love; be it a book-- a show or a video game. And sometimes you may disconnect from the fandom, but you are still a little bit a part of it-- it's like disconnection but something my light a fire for you with it again. Talking with people about the things you like-- that is what makes fandom-- it's that squee you feel.

It's really hard to explain and yes as a poster said, the term 'fandom' means many different things to many different people

[eclips1st]

So after reading people's answers I must say I am not necessarily part of a "fandom" either, but I am a fan of many things. I can discuss it, and enjoy doing so, but I don't seek it.