Metafandom (glossary term)
| Synonyms: | Fandom Fandom, Fanon Fandom, secondhand fandom |
| See also: | fandom-in-law, Blorbo From My Shows, Fanon, Any Two Guys, Fannish Butterfly, Multifandom, Media Fandom, Multimedia (multiple fandoms), Blank Slate |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Metafandom is a term that has had several different meanings in fandom over time and across different communities. Some people use it as an expansion of meta -- that is, non-fiction writing about fandom (which can be analyzing the source text and/or the fandom around the text).[1] This meaning is the source of name for the prominent Livejournal comm metafandom.[2]
On Tumblr by at least the 2020s (possibly earlier?[citation needed]), "metafandom" came to refer to fans or fandom activity that was primarily engaged in fan content and not interacting with the source material the fanworks arose from. Many large fandoms develop a metafandom contigent, because people will follow fan creators they like into the new fandom, or because they start seeing a lot of content for a new fandom when it becomes popular. "Second-degree fandom" is another term used for this type of fan or fanac (see Second-Degree Fandom).
Ya’ll have a Fandom that you’re not a part of but they have a massive overlap with a Fandom you are a part of, so you know a lot about it despite never having consumed the actual media?? I call it my fandom-in-law.strangeswift on Tumblr [3]
A similar meaning seems to have arisen independently in Baseball fandom. [4]
Particularly with serial fandoms such as long-running TV shows or manga, a common development is that as the story goes on fans may become unhappy with or disinterested with new developments, and stop keeping up with the source material, but still engage with fandom content or memes. Particularly exciting events in the original fandom may draw people back into the fandom who had been ignoring it for years -- for example Destielgate with Supernatural fandom,[5] or the confirmation that Dabi is a Todoroki for BNHA fandom.[note 1] There isn't necessarily a distinction between these returning fans and the metafandom/second-degree fandom that never engaged with the source material in the first place, but sometimes people draw such distinctions.
Good night supernatural metafandom (the fandom where we watch the supernatural fandom lose their minds [without] ever seeing the show ourselves)stupid-dyke on tumblr [6]
- a meme about the SPN metafandom, Archived version, also from November 2020
Sometimes, the metafandom becomes so big, active, or develops away from the source material such that it basically becomes a separate fandom from people engaging with the source material. Many feel that this has happened with Worm fanfiction,[7] to the point that some communities of Worm fanfic readers and creators are proud of their disconnection from the canon story and discourage people from reading canon.[citation needed]
Some fans who become engaged through metafandom may worry about contributing to fandom without being "properly" familiar with the source material. Example discusison:
Is it wrong to write for a fandom of a source that you haven't actually interacted with properly? I'm not really a video game person but I ended up getting into a videogame fandom and I'm so fond of all of it: I've read fanfictions, watched amvs, watched cutscene compilations and read wikis. Sometimes I read a good fic and it makes me want to write one but I still havn't played the game so my characterization would be way off the real stuff.[8]
Some may encourage these fans to engage with the source material before creating their own fanworks, while others think its fine to make works based on one's fanon-only understanding of a fandom.
Second-Degree Fandom
Second-degree fandom refers to a subset of fans who primarily or exclusively interact with fan works, rather than the actual canon source that is nominally the focus of that fandom.
Second-degree fandom may be contrasted with "first-degree fandom", comprised of fans who are concerned with the original source material.
Second-Degree Fandom Community and Discussion
Many "first-degree" fans consider second-degree fans as "fake fans", and express negativity toward second-degree fans for being ignorant of the thing.
Some second-degree fans accuse first-degree fans of gatekeeping the free enjoyment and creativity of fandom experience.
Some first-degree fans are fine with second-degree fans, but are frustrated that the general community space becomes so clogged and muddled with broad-stokes fanon, to the point that "canon-faithful" fan works and discussions are difficult to find.
Some users on r/FanFiction advertise that they're willing to sample fan fiction "fandom-blind", meaning that they are interested in reading fan fiction even from unfamiliar fandoms.
Some people have humorously compared second-degree fandom to Plato's allegory of the cave.
- https://divineandmajesticinone.tumblr.com/post/663567637068038144/thats-what-being-on-tumblr-is-like
- https://normal-horoscopes.tumblr.com/post/663512997489180672/my-headcannon-for-frisk-undertale-is-that-theyre
More Fan Comments
Being a fan-in-law is a nice bit of fun. For me it’s different from just “valued mutual likes something and I like to see them have fun,” sometimes I do develop a genuine fondness towards the thing in question. I recognize that it is probably very different from the fondness an actual fan has but like, it’s fun anyway. Like, no I will not watch that show but yes I do want to see your gijinkas of the characters. I hate that band’s music but I LOVE to see how you stylize their faces. god bless or whatever1percentcharge [9]
anyone else have like a “fandom-in-law” ? like, you’re not in the community at all but your close friend or several of your friends talk about it so much that you’re essentially familiar with the plot and the characters@Scepticskeptic1 [10]
having a favorite character from a piece of media you haven’t seen but one of your mutuals is unwell about is like. that’s my nepo blorbo from the gifsets,sighonaraa [12]
Examples
Fanworks
- Tumblr post, Archived version by pendragonsgallery, 2022
So I’m not in the Hetalia fandomBut my best friend @roszabell is.
So that means that I get to use my extremely limited knowledge of the show to make the dumbest headcanons I can think of.
- uQuiz by fortheloveofchuck: Answer some random questions and I'll assign you an anime character i know nothing about, Archived version, 2021
- with accompanying explanation: Six possible answers. I don't know anything about anime.
Fandoms:
- a noted portion of Worm fanfic readers, as discussed above
- The sizeable Hazbin Hotel & Helluva Boss fandom has been called "a fandom based on 30 minutes of content", due to the relatively small amount of canon compared to its prolific body of fan work tributes, as of 2021.
- Apparently, the creator(s) of the fan game HetaOni discontinued the work due to feeling that the fan game fandom was eclipsing the Ao Oni and Hetalia fandoms.
- The Accidental Warlord and His Pack
- possibly also Dreaming of Sunshine and Snipers solve 99% of all problems are examples of fics that generate their own second-degree fandom?
- As of 2021, a considerable share of Batfamily, DP × DC, and Maribat fan work creators are mostly familiar with the Batman mythos through fan works and general pop culture references.
Meta and Further Reading
Notes
- ^ [BNHA Chapter 362 Spoilers] Actually I was thinking Bakugou's apparent death in Chapter 362 of the manga might be a clearer, more recent example (~August 2022). I saw a ton of people saying things like "I haven't paid attention to BNHA in years but this is hilarious, might read this chapter". TODO: find some examples.
References
- ^ What is meta?, Archived version. Tumblr post by nobodysuspectsthebutterfly, 2013. Archived 2 January 2020.
- ^ see the Fanlore page.
- ^ Tumblr post, Archived version by strangeswift. Posted 13 September 2022. Archived 19 September 2022.
- ^ Calcaterra, Craig (18 February 2011). "What is "metafandom?"". MLB | NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021.
- ^ Tumblr, Archived version kind of an example .
- ^ Tumblr post, Archived version by stupid-dyke, posted 12 December 2020. The post accrued over 49,000 notes as of September 2022.
- ^ Has anybody read fan fiction without reading Worm? If so, what’s stopping you from reading Worm?, Archived version. Posted to R/Parahumans by u/ethicalhamjimmies on 18 October 2018. Some other dicsussions on that subreddits: [1] [2] [3]
- ^ Anonymous ask, Archived version posted to olderthannetfic. Posted 21 November 2022. See also the replies in the notes for a variety of opinion about how anon should proceed.
- ^ Tumblr post by 1percentcharge, Archived version. Posted 18 December 2022.
- ^ Tweet by @Scepticskeptic1, Archived version. Posted 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b Tumblr Post, Archived version. Posted 28 December 2022. (The quote format "not a, not b, but a secret third thing" is a current meme on Tumblr.)
- ^ Tumblr post by sighonaraa. Posted 17 August 2023.