Category: Fandom

Black Fans Deserve Space Too: The Battle for Inclusion

4/1/2026

by Janaye Roberts

Photo by Daniel Lombraña González on Unsplash

Fandoms have always been my comfort zone. They are spaces where I could embrace my interests without fear of judgment. When I entered high school and joined the anime club, I thought I had finally found a community where that passion could thrive. It wasn’t just about anime; it was about connecting with people who shared the same enthusiasm.

During my junior year, one of the biggest conversations in the club was about a new animated pilot on YouTube. Everyone was buzzing about it, so naturally, my curiosity kicked in. I went home, watched it, and instantly fell in love. I couldn’t wait to talk about it with my peers, to share my excitement and join the discussion. But when I told them I’d finally watched it, the reaction wasn’t what I expected. Instead of smiles or questions, I was met with confusion and silence, and then a comment that still echoes in my mind to this day:

“Oh. You watched it? But you’re Black."

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How Swifties Will Bring Back Media Literacy

4/1/2025

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by Sophia Nigro

Nowadays, misinformation and conspiracy theories run rampant, especially online. More and more people take what they’re reading at face value, not realizing they’re being deceived. This is due to the fact that media literacy is at an all time low. According to The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), media literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.”

Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour. Photo by: Paolo V via Wikimedia Commons

Basically, instead of only analyzing works in school, like in an English course, we take those skills we learned and apply them to any content we consume on a daily basis. Studies have shown that many people are not learning these skills, and therefore can be more susceptible to conspiracy theories and fake news. It seems that teens are the ones mainly affected by this misinformation, as multiple studies revealed they are more likely to fall for these things compared to adults. It’s incredibly concerning that so many people, especially the younger generation who is our future, cannot correctly analyze information and tell what is real and fake. This is only made worse by the introduction of AI, as now we also have to worry about the spread of fake images and videos. So, how exactly can we combat this media literacy drought? In our desperate time of need, I think we should look to possibly the largest and most influential fanbase in history: the Swifties.

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Don't Stop Writing Fanfiction

12/1/2024

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by Bethaney Randazzo

“Stop writing fanfiction, and go get published.”

I often wonder where I would be if a twenty-three-year-old me had listened to that creative writing professor. Would I currently be in a masters in writing program, while teaching first-year college writing, on my way to transforming some of nearly eighty stories I’ve written over the decade since that comment was made into publishable works? Probably not.

via Canva

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Queerbaiting: Victim or Villain?

6/1/2024

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by Emily Langford

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

As a queer, “elder millennial” who watched as personal computers suddenly took root in our homes, I experienced the rise of online fandom firsthand. Prior to the internet, my experience with fandom was a solo one, I didn’t know anyone who had the same obsessive passion for stories and characters like I had. I was the annoying kid who would, unprompted, spew out tidbits and theories about books and movies, the weirdo who was off in her own little world where all her characters existed at my day-dreamy little whims. I was tolerated at best and I eventually learned to keep my fervor to myself. I remember the first time I entered the titles of my favorite obsessions into the search bar. Suddenly, I was very much not alone. Each of my hyperfixations had a dedicated chat room or message board with other people who understood, who shared my passions. I finally found a place of acceptance.

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Stop Sleeping on Fanfiction

12/1/2023

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by Cat Reed

Photo by Laura Kapfer on Unsplash

Many of us are familiar with the fact that Fifty Shades of Grey began as fanfiction of the Twilight series. A few of us might have also been there for the controversy of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series being called a fanfiction of Harry Potter. As discussed in “Publishing in the Age of Fanfiction” by Mikaela Langdon, Clare deleted her original fanfiction, “as if her fanfiction past is something she considers shameful.” Both of these book series (Fifty Shades and Mortal Instruments) were hugely successful, hot off the shelves, money-making ventures; so why all of the stigma, shame, and downplaying the validity of fanfiction?

Those were the roots that the newly created stories ventured forth from, but it would seem that instead of embracing that part of the history, authors would rather avoid the fanfiction they used to write as one would avoid a dog in desperate need of a bath.

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Black Fans Deserve Space Too: The Battle for Inclusion

How Swifties Will Bring Back Media Literacy

Don't Stop Writing Fanfiction

Queerbaiting: Victim or Villain?

Stop Sleeping on Fanfiction

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