The truth is, for a vast majority of people, fandom is a positive experience. They are partied to some bad fannish behaviour, but it never escalates above a slight argument over differing opinions. It wouldn’t be enough to sour their overall experience. A majority of people like fandom because they feel safe to become caught up in the object of their affection. They see others sharing their enthusiasm and they feel permitted to express themselves within the relative safety of the fandom confines. In Real Life, this sort of diversion over an actor or television show is rarely encouraged, so of course anyone would seek out a place full of other like-minded individuals. Fandom offers the chance to indulge in interests that are wholly separate from Real Life and is often used as a form of escapism.

Many are willing enough to put up with the seemingly unending set of unknowable rules, the elitist hierarchies and the bad fannish behaviour if it affords being part of an active, lively community, where they are able to interact with people and be appreciated for their enthusiasm, rather than criticised.

The anonymity (the very aspect that serves as a catalyst for much of the negative sides of fandom) can also serve to bring people out of their shell and encourages and nurtures self expression and social communication with others, which some people may have trouble with In Real Life. People make lasting friendships and get to express themselves creatively (fanfiction, graphics, songvids) and are able to receive feedback and encouragement from a diverse and (mostly) accepting audience. When it’s working well, there is a comraderie in fandom that you are unlikely to find anywhere else.

It can be argued that people are often drawn to online fandoms because they are running away from something else, but that isn’t always the case. Fandom (when it’s not trying to be Serious Business) can be a lot of fun. It can be exciting, creative, hilarious, irreverent, welcoming and dynamic. It’s a culture all of its own, one that is constantly evolving. It’s like anything in life, you take both the bad and the good. And while people looking from the outside in may not see a whole lot of good (and anything that is good they may not ‘get’ anyway) there really is a lot to recommend about fandom.

In the interests of fairness, I have picked a shirt that would appeal to a wider range, so without further ado I give you:

What: Xavier Institute X-Men t-shirt

Where: WeLoveFine.com

Sizing: XS-3XL

Colours: Black, Royal Blue

Price: $25 US

How: Link to buy here

It’s only natural then, that within this tiny slice of pop culture there are wars raging over territory. People are constantly jostling for ‘prime position’, trying to carve a place – and a name – out for themselves. Something that will separate them from the faceless, nameless anon masses.

Writers want to be the fanfiction writer that everyone reads and (even more importantly) everyone reviews. Graphic artists want to adorn fandoms with their work. Even those within fandom who come up with charitable endeavours at least partly do it for some form of acclaim and attention, and not out of pure altruism alone.

In some ways it is indicative of the fact that many people people find comfort in fandom because their ‘place’ outside of it is so unsatisfactory. They are able to find importance and a voice within this unreal situation in a way that they can’t elsewhere. But fandom exists due to these kinds of people, who drift aimlessly through it.

Fandom feeds these kinds of people, and these people feed fandom.

It sounds odd to think of Fandom as an object, a thing that exists but to my mind it does. I’ll delve into this in more detail again soon, but to me fandom has a tangible presence, like nationality or religion.

If a person feels isolated and devoid of meaningful space in real life this want of territory within fandom becomes greater. In my own experience (and this is just my own observation) it is often the people who are the loudest and most vocal within fandoms who are the ones who have less ‘territory’ outside of fandom. They put great currency in their place in fandom because it gives them a sense of purpose and importance.

On one extreme end we have the Anti-Fan. TVTropes.org refers to these as Anti-Fans as being part of Hatedom. These fans outlay as much energy and passion as a Fan does, but they actively hate the object of the fandom. They spend their time analysing and provide commentary, even going so far as to invest time in making graphics and websites, livejournals or tumblrs (eg. Reasoning With Vampires on Tumblr). But their aim is to show how much they dislike the fandom object. It’s odd then, that the yardsticks for what constitutes a good Anti-Fan are much the same as those used to measure a Fan – an in-depth knowledge of the object/fandom and an ability to analyse and critique the text. The end result and outcomes may be different, but the methods are the same.

Typically, works that are more well-known are more likely to produce a Hatedom. After all, it’s much easier to ignore more obscure works that you happen to dislike — and, if not many people have not even heard of the work, then finding a fellow hater to commiserate with would be next to impossible. Thus, this trope is closely related to Hype Backlash. (‘Hatedom’ TVTropes.org)

In the middle is the Casual Fan. Say the object of the fandom is a particular actor. A Casual Fan may form a tenuous ‘bond’ with the actor in that they might find them attractive, or admire them for some reason and so they may make a habit of seeing a movie or tv show on the strength of Said Actor being in it. They may take a cursory interest in what the actor is up to but this interest will wax and wane and eventually burn out of its own accord with little fanfare. (These Casual Fans are arguably the ones that movie execs/tv networks cater to, but more on that later). The majority of audiences would fall into this midpoint category.

On the other extreme end of the fan spectrum is the Fan. A Fan (capital F) of that same actor prides themselves on being more than a casual fan. Their bond with a particular actor or tv show or book series is part of their identity. It remains tenuous (because it can only ever be one-sided) but it is a link that is continuously fed and shaped by ever increasing investment on the part of the fan.

Take our example of the actor. A Fan will see every film/tv appearance (even the really hard to find ones) and will see everything they make in the future, regardless of career trajectory and the quality of the role. A Fan is never stuck trying to remember the actor’s name. A Fan may have an extensive photo library on their computer, and a message tone on their mobile that features the actor’s dulcet tones. A Fan can rattle off birthday, star sign, height, mother’s maiden name. What might seem trivial information to some is a badge of honour to a fan. Within fandom, knowing the minutiae is all-important. A Fan has the actor’s Best Interests At Heart and firmly believes in their own ability to know exactly what that is.

A modern Fan has blogs, twitters and tumblrs and their voices and opinions can be heard on podcasts and blog talk radio shows. Their adoration crosses multimedia outlets, oceans, genderlines, sexuality, age, religion. As said previously, the level of devotion is subconsciously linked to a Fan’s own identity.

But just because people fall into one category in one instance, doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to fall into different parts of the spectrum at different times. A person may find themselves a Fan of a television show when they are a teenager, but gradually find that they become just a Casual Fan of the same show as they grow older, more out of feelings of nostalgia than anything else. By the same token, someone who was previously only a Casual Fan of television may feel overwhelmed by a new show and find themselves identifying more with the Fan category.