In Defense of Fanfiction (discussion)
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The Topic Discussion
Use of the Phrase
‘’’In Defense of Fanfiction’’’ is a popular title for many essays, news commentary, and posts. While the topic is on-going and ageless, the phrase itself appears to be a relatively new one.
While there were sporadic essays and articles that were titled “In Defense of Fanfiction” (or small variations: “In Defense of Fanfic”) beginning in 2004, the phrase, and subsequent essays, discussions, news commentary, and posts really begins to take off after mid-2013. This is likely due to several things: as fanfic became more visible via the Internet and in popular culture, more people felt like they had to “defend” it. In addition, like everyone bringing hummus to the potluck, people began to feel they needed to address the topic (whether out of actual interest or because it was attention-getting and current), and used a phrase they’d consistently heard or read.
As one tracks the number of posts and news media commentary with this title, there is often a corollary to either an event in fandom (usually involving a rant of a pro author against fanworks that utilizes the phrase), or a much-distributed, high profile article or post that spurs on the use of the phrase and the views behind it.
Examples of Use
2004
2005
- In Defense of Fanfiction: Guestblogger Justin Goes Robin Hobbnobbing, Archived version, November 09, 2005
2011
- In Defense of Fanfiction by “Contributor” at Spark Life (May 6, 2011)
2012
- An Academic's Defense of Fanfic by Emily for Tosche Station (April 18, 2012)
2013
- In Defense of Fan Fiction by Alex Willging (July 2, 2013)
- In Defense of Fanfiction: getting beyond a weird bias by Brent Newhall for I.M.H.O. for (November 11, 2013)
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Rebecca Coffindaffer (December 16, 2013)
2014
- 365/365 Day 112: Defending Fanfiction by Will Watson at gameinformer (April 22, 2014)
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Kat Giordano for Geek Insider (May 27, 2014)
- A guide to fanfiction for people who can't stop getting it wrong, by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw and Aja Romano, "The Daily Dot" (June 17, 2014)
- In Defense of So-Called “Bad” Fanfiction by Emmy Ellis for The Mary Sue (August 7, 2014)
2015
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Mckelle George (January 15, 2015)
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Matthew Bowman at Novel Ninja (March 10, 2015)
- "It's a Fanmade World". Archived from the original on 2015-03-18., comments that begin about the article It's a Fanmade World, but diverge later into a big discussion about fanfiction (March 2015)
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Brianna H. for Electronic Literature (March 15, 2015)
- In Defense of Fanfiction, Archived version by Jenna Burne at Geek Mom (April 10, 2015)
- Imitation is Flattery: In Defense of Fanfiction, Archived version by Vanessa Willoughy at Book Riot by (November 18, 2015)
2016
- Sleeps With Monsters: In Defence of Fanfiction, or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Trust Myself by Liz Bourke for Tor (January 5, 2016)
- In Defense of Fanfiction by Kaitlyn Booth at WatchPlayRead (January 18, 2016)
- In Defense of Fanfiction: Part 1 + In Defense of Fanfiction: Part 2 by Carlyn Greenwald at Neon Tommy (February 2016)
- Killing Literary Snobbery: In Defense Of Fanfiction -- Why I chose to celebrate the "black sheep" of the literature family., Archived version by Andy Krouse (August 1, 2016)
- In Defense of Fanfiction – A Convert’s Tale by Ryan (November 22, 2016)
- In Defense of Fanfic by Sophia Simon-Bashall for Spark Movement (November 28, 2016)
2018
- In defense of fanfiction, a 2018 essay post by LightningStreak