OTW Guest Post: Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | OTW Guest Post: Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen |
| Date(s): | July 23, 2016 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Supernatural, Acafans |
| External Links: | OTW Guest Post: Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
OTW Guest Post: Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen is a 2016 interview with Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen.
It was done as part of a series. See OTW Guest Post.
Introduction
Lynn Zubernis, PhD, West Chester University and Katherine Larsen, PhD, George Washington University are authors of the books ‘Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls’ ‘Fan Phenomena: Supernatural’ ‘Fandom at the Crossroads’ and Fan Culture: ‘Theory/Practice’. They also run the blog Fangasm The Book [1]
Excerpts
During your research for your books, was there anything that was particularly surprising or interesting to you?
Kathy: The most surprising thing to me was the way we were treated when we identified ourselves as academics rather than fans. Doors opened for us that would have remained closed had we just identified ourselves as fans. In hindsight I realize this wasn’t all that surprising, but at the time the power of an academic title was unexpected.
The other thing that surprised me, and still surprises me is the level of shame and derision leveled at fans. I just don’t get why passion – for anything – brings out that response in people. Or rather I do, but understanding it doesn’t mean that I understand it.
Lynn: The most surprising thing was the level of shame and secrecy that existed in fandom at the time. Certainly I was not immune, so perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising, but the pervasiveness of that internalized shame was unexpected.
Kathy often admonished me for viewing fandom through rose-colored glasses as a utopian community in those first years of research, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the other thing that was unexpected was the intra-group fighting in that seemingly utopian community. As someone who has studied group dynamics, that also should not have been surprising –- but I think I didn’t want to see it at first. Fandom wank and fan-on-fan attacks and policing have not diminished; in fact, there may be more opportunities in the multiple online spaces offering a degree of anonymity. There is jockeying for position and influence in any group, and fandom is no exception. The fact that fans passionately love what they love (and want what they want) means that the in-fighting will be…well, passionate.
The recent flurry of articles following Devin Faraci’s piece about Fandom being ‘broken’ saw some fans protesting his conclusions, but others attacking segments of fandom they perceived as ‘other’ (different ships, different canon wishes, etc.) as indeed broken. Some of this is classic in-group/out-group behavior, but it still makes me yearn for those rose-colored glasses sometimes.
Has being academics in fandom changed either your perspective on fandom or academia? Or how you approach either?
Lynn: My perspective on fandom has changed – evolved – since I first became fascinated with the topic almost a decade ago. At the time, I knew nothing at all about fan studies, including that the field even existed. I threw myself into the research by getting my hands on everything I could find that was published so far (which was doable at the time, amazingly) and gave myself a crash course in fandom. Interacting with others in the field and reading their interpretations of fandom has challenged me to look at fandom differently and perhaps more realistically. However, I think anyone who reads the Fangasm blog regularly would say that I’ve managed to hang onto my relentless optimism about fandom as well as my passion for Supernatural.
My perspective on academia has not changed nearly as much, largely because I don’t teach courses in fan studies at my university. My dean and colleagues are 100% supportive of my research (even if they sometimes still go “huh?”) but the classes I teach are in psychology and counseling, not fan studies. That said, fandom is one of my two major research lines, and I credit that research and those publications and presentations with getting that all-important tenure and promotion. In fact, the second people I thanked (after family) were Supernatural actors Jensen, Jared and Misha, whose support and accessibility made much of that research possible!
What was your first brush with fandom?
Lynn: I have always been fannish, in the sense of being an enthusiastic viewer of Star Trek as a kid, right through X Files and Buffy –- but I didn’t discover organized fandom until I fell for Supernatural in 2007. I went online to share my infatuation and was immediately drawn into the fandom community on the predominant platform of that time, Live Journal. As a writer, LJ in 2007 was a glorious place to be if you were a Supernatural fan. I read lots and lots of fanfic, and then wrote lots and lots of fanfic.
Kathy and I fell in love with the show simultaneously, so we shared the giddy experience of finding this supportive community with such different norms for self expression, emotionality and sexuality. We became so fascinated by the life changing experience of finding fandom that we both altered the trajectory of our academic careers. As a psychologist, I wanted to know more about what being a fan offered in terms of identity development, self expression, and the healing power of community support and validation. Earlier psychological theories about fandom were pathologizing, and that had not been my experience at all! Hence, Fandom At The Crossroads and Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls.