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{{GlossaryTerm

{{GlossaryTerm

|synonyms= [[wank]]

|synonyms=

|seealso= [[RPF]], [[RPS]], [[Lord of the Rings RPF]]

|seealso= [[wank]], [[RPF]], [[RPS]], [[The Lord of the Rings/RPF]]

}}

}}

Derived from the stereotype of conspiracy theorists and other paranoid people wearing tin foil hats to protect themselves from radio transmissions or the government, a fannish '''tinhat''' is a person who believes that their favorite celebrities are really a couple, forced by [[The Powers That Be]] to keep their relationship a secret.  This is generally because the celebrity couple they adore is two men, giving rise to both [[RPF]] (real people/person fiction) and [[RPS]] (real people/person [[slash]], explicitly disclaimed as not true), and to fantasies of closeted actors unable to be openly gay in their profession.  The term can refer to the stylish accessory or, by metonymy, to the fan who wears it.

Derived from the stereotype of conspiracy theorists and other paranoid people wearing tin foil hats to protect themselves from radio transmissions or the government, a fannish '''tinhat''' is a person who believes that their favorite celebrities are really a couple, forced by [[The Powers That Be]] to keep their relationship a secret.  This is generally because the celebrity couple they adore is two men, giving rise to both [[RPF]] (real people/person fiction) and [[RPS]] (real people/person [[slash]]), explicitly disclaimed as not true), and to fantasies of closeted actors unable to be openly gay in their profession.  The term can refer to the stylish accessory or, by metonymy, to the fan who wears it.

==Origins==

==Origins==

[[Versaphile]] invented <ref>[http://www.journalfen.net/community/dl_anon/4387.html versaphile in journalfen DL_Anon thread, 2003-04-01] in answer to a request by [[Cesare]] for "a snappy sobriquet for the hardcore tru believas". (accessed 2008-10-02)  </ref> the term '''tinhat''' to refer to the fanatical [[shippers]] of [[Lord of the Rings]] actors Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan on the DataLounge discussion boards. <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DataLounge#The_Tinhats.2FPrancing_Ponies Wikipedia entry] (accessed 2008-09-30)</ref> On that forum, in early 2003, anonymous posters who claimed to be movie industry insiders promised inside information on "the boys" and message passing by subtle gestures and James-Bond-style secrets. Then, ''the words 'charchuse' (sic) and 'burnt sienna' were mentioned, amongst other colours. When pictures of Dom and Lij at a Sims party in yellow and light orangish brown shirts (respectively) turned up, euphoria abounded. The threads exploded, and people who had hitherto wavered on the fringes started to get sucked in''<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030803194729/sanityplease.diversesouls.com/history.html Sanity, Please page, on archive.org] (accessed 2008/10/03). Note that [http://web.archive.org/web/20030803194729/sanityplease.diversesouls.com/ Sanity, Please]  was specifically created to argue against the tinhat gay romance theory.</ref> That is, started to believe that these actors really were "shouting out" to their supporters by their color choices, ring wearing or non-wearing, and song choices.  Expectations were high that these two men would eventually "come out" as a gay couple.  

[[Versaphile]] invented <ref>[http://www.journalfen.net/community/dl_anon/4387.html versaphile in journalfen DL_Anon thread, 2003-04-01] in answer to a request by [[Cesare]] for "a snappy sobriquet for the hardcore tru believas". (accessed 2008-10-02)  </ref> the term '''tinhat''' to refer to the fanatical [[shippers]] of [[Lord of the Rings]] actors [[Elijah Wood]] and [[Dominic Monaghan]] on the DataLounge discussion boards. <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DataLounge#The_Tinhats.2FPrancing_Ponies Wikipedia entry] (accessed 2008-09-30)</ref> On that forum, in early 2003, anonymous posters who claimed to be movie industry insiders promised inside information on "the boys" and message passing by subtle gestures and James-Bond-style secrets. Then, ''the words 'charchuse' (sic) and 'burnt sienna' were mentioned, amongst other colours. When pictures of Dom and Lij at a Sims party in yellow and light orangish brown shirts (respectively) turned up, euphoria abounded. The threads exploded, and people who had hitherto wavered on the fringes started to get sucked in''<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030803194729/sanityplease.diversesouls.com/history.html Sanity, Please page, on archive.org] (accessed 2008/10/03). Note that [http://web.archive.org/web/20030803194729/sanityplease.diversesouls.com/ Sanity, Please]  was specifically created to argue against the tinhat gay romance theory.</ref> That is, started to believe that these actors really were "shouting out" to their supporters by their color choices, ring wearing or non-wearing, and song choices.  Expectations were high that these two men would eventually "come out" as a gay couple.  

===Responses to Tinhat Rumors===

===Responses to Tinhat Rumors===

Dom and Elijah explicitly denied being a couple, making fun of the various rumors. Dom at one point said (paraphrased by fan reporter): <i>they read rumors of a contract they signed with New Line that they wouldn't come out as gay until after ROTK.</i> Laughs again and adds in a sarcastic tone that they're <i>thinking of walking down the red carpet holding hands for Return of the King.</i> <ref>[http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2003/10/05/25326-collectormania-qa-transcripts-2/ Fan report, October 5, 2003] (archived at TheOneRing.net, accessed 2008/10/3)</ref>.  Nothing like that, or any other kind of public announcement ever happened, and the actors have continued to deny any romantic involvement<ref>[http://community.livejournal.com/domreprints/5212.html  Sept. 12, 2005 Newsweek interview with Dominic Monaghan] (accessed 2008-10-24)</ref>.  As of October 2008, these actors have had acknowledged romantic relationships with other people.

Dom and Elijah explicitly denied being a couple, making fun of the various rumors. Dom at one point said (paraphrased by fan reporter): <i>they read rumors of a contract they signed with New Line that they wouldn't come out as gay until after ROTK.</i> Laughs again and adds in a sarcastic tone that they're <i>thinking of walking down the red carpet holding hands for Return of the King.</i> <ref>[http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2003/10/05/25326-collectormania-qa-transcripts-2/ Fan report, October 5, 2003] (archived at TheOneRing.net, accessed 2008/10/3)</ref>.  Nothing like that, or any other kind of public announcement ever happened, and the actors have continued to deny any romantic involvement<ref>[http://community.livejournal.com/domreprints/5212.html  Sept. 12, 2005 Newsweek interview with Dominic Monaghan] (accessed 2008-10-24)</ref>.  As of October 2008, these actors have had acknowledged romantic relationships with other people.

==General Use in Fandom==

==General Use in Fandom==

The term is used by both the shippers and their detractors, for example, about those who think that Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom are secretly in love. A Billy Boyd/Dominic Monaghan community on [[LiveJournal]], [http://community.livejournal.com/tinkilts/profile?mode=full tinkilts], parodies the idea of fans so devoted to their [[ship]] that they read romantic connotations into every interaction between their favorite celebrities.

The term is used by both the shippers and their detractors, for example, about those who think that Viggo Mortensen and [[Orlando Bloom]] are secretly in love. A [[Billy Boyd]]/Dominic Monaghan community on [[LiveJournal]], [http://community.livejournal.com/tinkilts/profile?mode=full tinkilts], parodies the idea of fans so devoted to their [[ship]] that they read romantic connotations into every interaction between their favorite celebrities.

[[Shippers]] in any fandom may be called tinhats, though it's mainly used for partisans of celebrities, such as those who believe in romance between actors Dan Radcliffe and Emma Watson, of Harry Potter movie series (rather than for character pairings).  

 

[[Shippers]] in any fandom may be called tinhats, though it's mainly used for partisans of celebrities, such as those who believe in romance between actors Dan Radcliffe and Emma Watson, of [[Harry Potter]] movie series (rather than for character pairings).  

RPF shippers sometimes use the tinhat terminology ironically or self-deprecatingly; when they are [[squee|squeeing]] especially loudly over some piece of celebrity gossip, they may [[emote]] ''*dons tinhat*'' or ''*polishes tinhat*''. They seldom mean that they really believe that their preferred OTP is a couple in real life.

RPF shippers sometimes use the tinhat terminology ironically or self-deprecatingly; when they are [[squee|squeeing]] especially loudly over some piece of celebrity gossip, they may [[emote]] ''*dons tinhat*'' or ''*polishes tinhat*''. They seldom mean that they really believe that their preferred OTP is a couple in real life.