Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2014
Degree Type
Capstone Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies (BA)
Department
Cultural Studies
First Advisor
Carmelo Esterrich
Second Advisor
Robert Watkins
Third Advisor
Steven Corey
Abstract
Using notions from fan blogs and fan theory, this project analyzes the inconsistencies surrounding the phenomenon of so-called fangirls in the Doctor Who and One Direction worlds. The term fangirl is usually defined as an irrational adolescent female who is only a fan of very specific types of entertainment because of factors that are perceived by other fans as superficial and irrelevant. In contemporary music and television fandom, these fangirls are often criticized and policed by other fans, many times disregarded as not ‘true’ fans. The project studies this distorted perception and how it leads to misconceptions about the wider spectrum of contemporary fandom. The essay looks specifically at fan labor production and unpacks these inaccurate assumptions about what it is to be a fan, and how what ultimately counts as fangirl behavior actually opens up the potentialities of fan subjectivity itself.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
VanCant, Brianna, "Whovians and Directioners: Challenging the Fangirl Identity" (2014). Cultural Studies Capstone Papers. 6.
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cultural_studies/6
Included in
American Material Culture Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Cultural History Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Women's Studies Commons