Ogi Ogas Survey on The Cognitive Neuroscience of Fan Fiction

Fan Survey
Title:	Ogi Ogas Survey on The Cognitive Neuroscience of Fan Fiction
Surveyor:	Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam
Date(s):	August/September 2009
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):
External Links:
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banner ad used to advertise Ogi Ogas fan fiction survey

In late August 2009, two researchers -- Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam -- instigated a survey about women's desire and fandom, with an eye toward publishing a book called Rule 34: What Netporn Teaches Us About The Brain.

See much more about the disingenuous, misleading, and insulting disaster this survey became at SurveyFail.

The Questions

The following copy of the survey posted by Ogi Ogas on August 29, 2009 at http://fanficsurvey.appspot.com/ (now offline) and was accessed on August 31, 2009. Note: some of the multiple-choice options were changed from the original version of the survey first posted, but since that is now offline, the differences will remain unknown.

1. What was your biological sex at birth?

• Female.
• Male.

2. What is your current gender?

• Female.
• Male.
• Transgender.
• Other:

3. What is your age in years?

4. What is your sexual orientation?

• Exclusively straight.
• Mainly straight.
• Leaning straight.
• Completely bisexual.
• Leaning gay.
• Mainly gay.
• Exclusively gay.
• Other:

5. What is your relationship status?

• Married.
• Single.
• Committed long-term relationship.
• Other:

6. What is your education level?

• Less than high school.
• High school.
• College.
• Graduate.
• Post-graduate.
• Professional degree (Law, MD, etc.)
• Other:

7. What is your ethnicity?

• White.
• Hispanic.
• Black.
• Asian.
• Other:

8. In what country do you reside?

• USA.
• Canada.
• Great Britain.
• Australia.
• Other:

9. What was your Verbal SAT score, or ACT English score? (If not American, you may enter your score on a similar academic test of verbal ability. If you can't recall, leave blank.)

10. Do you follow multiple fandoms at once or a single fandom at a time?

• I tend to follow multiple fandoms at once.
• I tend to follow a single fandom at a time.

11. How many fandoms have you been actively involved with so far?

12. What fandoms are your current favorites? (Please separate with commas.)

13. At what age did you first become interested in fan fiction?

14. At what age did you read your first slash story? (Leave blank if you don't read slash.)

15. How often do you visit fandom-related sites?

• Several times a day.
• Daily.
• Several times a week.
• Weekly.
• Less often than weekly.

16. Do you mainly visit one fan site?

• I mainly spend time on one specific fan site.
• I mainly spend time on a few specific fan sites.
• I spend most of my time on one specific site, but often visit other sites.
• I spend most of my time on a few specific sites, but often visit other sites.
• I am always visiting new sites.

17. What is the longest period of time you've actively devoted to a single fandom?

18. What is the shortest period of time you've actively devoted to a single fandom that you liked?

19. Which fan sites do you visit regularly? (Check as many as apply.)

• FanFiction.net.
• LiveJournal.
• At least one other LiveJournal-style social network.
• Fandom-specific websites (not a social network).
• A multi-fandom archive other than FanFiction.net.
• An author-specific website (contains stories by a single author).

20. Which of the following can you remember? (Check as many as apply.)

• The name of your 3rd grade teacher.
• Your favorite TV show in 6th grade.
• The location where you first kissed someone.
• The first time a good friend betrayed you.
• The first person you had a crush on.
• The first time someone laughed at you or made fun of you.
• The first time you earned money working for someone other than a family member.
• The first movie that scared you so much you had nightmares.
• The first time you felt guilty about a sexual feeling.

21. If you had to choose one of the following, which is the most important aspect of fandom for you?

• The relationships I make.
• The stories I read.
• The stories I write.
• Other fandom activities:

22. How many hours a week do you spend reading fan fiction?

23. How would you describe your interest in reading fan fiction?

• Sometimes I have a strong urge to read fanfic, but sometimes I'm not interested at all.
• My interest seems to have regular ups and downs, though it's usually there.
• I have a fairly steady interest in fanfic.

24. Which types of fan fiction do you read? (Check all that apply.) Slash. Het. Gen.

• Slash.
• Het.
• Gen.

25. Which specific types of fan fiction do you actively seek out to read--for example, crackfic, hurt-comfort, humor, first-time, real-person fic, etc.?

26. Do you read (professionally published) romance novels?

• I've never been much interested in romance novels.
• I used to read romance novels, but not any more.
• I read a romance novel once in a while.
• I really enjoy romance novels.

27. How often do you read a recommendation or review before you read a story by an author you don't know?

• I will only read a new author if I get a positive recommendation first.
• I usually want to hear a recommendation before I will read
• Sometimes I read new authors even without a positive recommendation or after reading a negative review.
• I don't care much about others' reviews or recommendations.

28. If you had to choose one of the following, what do you like the most about slash?

• I don't read slash.
• The development of the emotional bond between the characters.
• The development of the characters' personalities.
• The thrill of the pairing.
• Enrichment of my fantasy life.
• Identifying with a masculine character.
• The characters experiencing new situations that are not in the canon.
• The characters experiencing situations that society generally does not allow.
• The erotic elements.
• A character that I like.

29. Which of the following do you *ALWAYS* look at before deciding to read a slash story? (Check all that apply.)

• I don't read slash.
• The fandom.
• The pairing.
• The category of the story. (Hurt-comfort, darkfic, AU, etc.)
• Loyalty to the canon.
• Kinks (erotic situations that you like).
• No squicks (erotic situations you don't like).
• Promise of a satisfying conclusion.
• Author I like.
• Positive recommendations.
• An clear summary of the plot.

30. How do you feel about real-life people used as characters in fan fiction?

• I don't care.
• I don't like it.
• I can enjoy it.
• I frequently read stories with real-life people.

31. What specific fan fiction story would you most like to live out as one of its characters? (If possible, please provide the name of the story, fandom, and author.)

32. Which fictional character do you think could be your ideal mate?

33. Why do you think this character could be your ideal mate?

34. Do you enjoy fan fiction that involves a character changing his or her gender?

• I don't care much one way or the other.
• No, I don't like it.
• I can enjoy it sometimes.
• I like it.
• I frequently seek out gender transformation fiction.

35. Do you use alcohol or illicit non-prescription drugs (e.g., marijuana) while reading fan fiction?

• Never.
• Rarely.
• Sometimes.
• Often.
• Always.

36. If you read slash, what types of slash do you read?

• I don't read slash.
• m/m only.
• m/m mostly.
• Both m/m and f/f.
• f/f mostly.
• f/f only.

37. If you read slash, do you identify with the characters while you're reading?

• I don't read slash.
• I don't identify with either character.
• I tend to identify with the dominant character.
• I tend to identify with the submissive character.
• I tend to identify with the character whose point-of-view the story is written in.
• I tend to identify with both characters.
• I don't know.
• I tend to identify with a specific character I like, in any position.

38. What proportion of the fanfic that you read contains explicit sexual content?

• None.
• Some.
• Half.
• Most.
• All.

39. If you read erotic fan fiction, what kinks (erotic situations) do you enjoy?

• I'm skipping this question.
• I don't read erotic fanfiction.
• I focus more on the relationship than the kinks.
• I enjoy these kinks:

40. When you are reading a story with sex scenes, how often do you skip ahead?

• I usually read stories straight through.
• Sometimes I skip over the sex scenes to continue with the plot.
• Usually I skip over the sex scenes to continue with the plot.
• Sometimes I skip over the plot to get to the sex scenes.
• Usually I skip over the plot to get to the sex scenes.
• Sometimes I skip the sex, sometimes I skip the plot.

41. Do you ever watch gay male porn or read graphic erotica authored by gay males, like the stories on Nifty.org (i.e., not slash)?

• I'm skipping this question.
• No.
• Sometimes I read gay erotica.
• Sometimes I watch gay porn.
• Sometimes I watch gay porn, sometimes I read gay erotica.

42. In real life, what is your attitude towards monogamy in a long-term relationship?

• I believe if you truly love someone, you will be monogamous.
• I believe it's important to do your best to be monogamous, but people weren't really designed for monogamy.
• I believe it's possible to love someone and have a non-monogamous relationship.
• I don't believe in monogamy or long-term relationships.

43. Do you think there's a big difference between the kind of sexual relationships you like to read about and what you'd like to experience in real life?

• Yes.
• No.

44. Which types of fanfic do you usually write?

• Gen.
• Het.
• Slash.

45. Which sub-categories of fan fiction do you write (for example, crackfic, hurt-comfort, humor, real person fiction, bandom, etc.)?

46. How many fan fiction stories (not including drabbles) do you estimate you've written?

• 0
• 1-5
• 6-25
• 26-100
• 101-250
• Over 250

47. How many slash stories (not including drabbles) do you estimate you've written?

• 0
• 1-5
• 6-25
• 26-100
• 101-250
• Over 250

48. Do you write OTP (One True Pairing) stories? (These are stories with a preferred pair of characters who you believe belong together romantically.)

• I don't write.
• No.
• I've written OTP stories in the past, but now I write many different pairings.
• I sometimes write OTP stories, and sometimes other pairings.
• I frequently write OTP stories.

49. If you enjoy m/m slash, which best describes your feelings about sexual relationships between two males who appear heterosexual?

• I don't read m/m slash.
• There was always something special about the idea, even before I heard of slash.
• I never even thought about the idea until I encountered slash, but I immediately knew I liked it.
• It took some time for me to warm up to the idea of m/m slash.
• Other:

50. Which do you prefer? Critiquing others' writing, Having my writing critiqued by others. I don't write.

• Critiquing others' writing.
• Having my writing critiqued by others.
• I don't write.

51. Have you written a Mary Sue/Marty Stu story, or a fan fiction story that included a character based upon yourself?

• Yes
• No.

52. Do you write stories with characters that have sexual relationships with more than one other character?

• I don't write.
• Never.
• Rarely.
• Sometimes.
• Often.
• I only write stories with characters that have sexual relations with more than one other character.

53. How important is it to you that society recognize alternate genders like transgendered and intersexuality?

• I don't really think about this.
• Not very important.
• Somewhat important.
• Very important.

54. If you write m/m slash, how do you study male physiology in order to write more convincing stories? (Check as many as apply.)

• I don't write m/m slash.
• I use ideas from other slash stories.
• I ask gay men for information.
• I research details on the internet.
• I watch gay porn for insight.
• I'm a man, and can use my own experiences.
• Other:

55. Would you be jealous if your partner thought a fictional character was very hot?

• Yes, I would be jealous.
• No, I would not be jealous.
• I would find it hot.

56. Do you have any specific kinks or fetishes that you enjoy in real life?

• I'm skipping this question.
• No.
• Yes, but I'd rather not share them.
• Yes:

57. After you watch the latest episode of your favorite show, which are you usually the most excited to do:

• Watch the next episode.
• Read stories that explore the emotional nuances not directly addressed in the show.
• Write stories that explore the emotional nuances not directly addressed in the show.

58. Which do you think is more influential on shaping sexual identity? Nature. Nurture.

• Nature.
• Nurture.

59. Did you play role-playing games as a youth?

• Yes.
• No.

60. When you watch television shows and movies that you enjoy, how often do you feel there is an unexplored emotional subtext?

• I never really think about this.
• I usually only feel this way when I don't like a show or movie.
• Sometimes I feel there's an unexplored emotional subtext.
• Often I feel there's an unexplored emotional subtext.
• For me to enjoy a show or movie, I need to feel there's an unexplored emotional subtext.

61. Do you sometimes have rape fantasies?

• I don't read m/m slash.
• Other:

62. What is the gender of the icon/avatar you use to represent yourself on LiveJournal or other communities?

• Exclusively male.
• Usually male.
• Sometimes male, sometimes female.
• Usually Female.
• Exclusively female.
• No gender.
• I use many different icons for different situations, so can't really categorize their gender.

63. Which of these best describes your childhood?

• I liked girl activities almost exclusively.
• I liked mostly girl activities.
• I liked some girl activities and some boy activities.
• I liked mostly boy activities.
• I liked boy activities almost exclusively.
• I don't agree with labeling any childhood activities as 'boy' or 'girl' without explanatory qualifiers.

64. What is most important in a relationship?

• Emotional sincerity.
• Passion.
• Mutual trust.
• Shared interests.
• Commitment.

65. How often do you enjoy visual erotica?

• I'm skipping this question.
• I don't enjoy visual erotica.
• Less than once a month.
• A few times a month.
• A few times a week.
• Daily.

66. Do you ever become aroused while reading erotic fan fiction?

• I'm skipping this question.
• I don't read erotic fan fiction.
• Rarely.
• Sometimes.
• Often.
• That's why I read erotic fan fiction.

67. Do you masturbate as a result of reading fan fiction?

• I'm skipping this question.
• Never.
• Rarely while reading a story.
• Rarely after I finish reading a story.
• Sometimes while reading a story.
• Sometimes after I finish reading a story.
• Often while reading a story.
• Often after I finish reading a story.

68. Do you masturbate as a result of writing erotic fan fiction?

• I'm skipping this question.
• I don't write erotic fan fiction.
• Never.
• Rarely.
• Sometimes.
• Usually.

69. Has reading fan fiction ever improved your erotic relationship with a partner? (Check as many as apply.)

• I'm skipping this question.
• No, never.
• Indirectly, by making me more excited about my partner.
• Indirectly, by providing me with new ideas to try out.
• Indirectly, by improving me as a sexual person.
• Directly, when I shared the details of a story with my partner.

70. Do you believe in true love?

• Yes, absolutely!
• I think it's possible, but most people never find it.
• I think true love only exists in fiction.