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

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

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Derived from the [[meme]] that conspiracy theorists and other paranoid people wear 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 the relationship a secret.  This is generally because the celebrity couple they adore is two men, giving rise to both [[Real people fiction]] and [[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 [[meme]] that conspiracy theorists and other paranoid people wear 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 the 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.