Subfandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
| Synonyms: | fandom in a fandom, subdivision fandom, fanfandoms, transmedia spin-offs |
| See also: | fandom, fringefan |
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While the term subfandom/sub-fandom has developed slightly different meanings to different fans over time, it typically refers to a fandom-within-a-fandom in some capacity. A small number of fans use the term sub-fandom to describe particular media within a source type.
Subfandoms can be of any size, though generally they tend to be identified or named when they become substantial enough in size that their presence is notable. Some fans of certain types of subfandoms – those forming around fanworks, for example – may never have engaged with any canon material nor do they want to.
Examples of subfandoms
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Some subfandoms are built out of canonical material, but are heavily influenced by fanon, especially as a means of building on the canonically available information. The Marauders subfandom for Harry Potter is an example of this, where fanworks such as All the Young Dudes and the fanbase for the Marauders on TikTok heavily influenced much of the fanon.
Some subfandoms are specifically focused on a particular fanwork[1], and this is particularly the case for fics which breach containment. Again, there are a number of these works in the Harry Potter fandom, such as the aforementioned All the Young Dudes, as well as works like Manacled. Supernatural also has these kinds of subfandoms, such as Twist and Shout or the Down to Agincourt series, as does Star Wars with some of their Rey/Kylo Ren fanworks.
In Naruto there are the subfandoms of the Era of the Warring States, prior to the founding of Konoha and also the Akatsuki subfandom.
Leading on from that, some subfandoms form around pairings as opposed to the canon media itself; some Reylo fans could be considered an example of this, in part due to the growing number of Reylo authors who have turned their fanworks into original fiction. Some fans of the Reylo pairing do not engage with the Star Wars fandom more generally, coming to the pairing either via searching for ship dynamics or through BookTok or other book related social media.
In the YouTuber fandoms, there are arguably subfandoms within subfandoms. For example, Dream SMP can be considered a subfandom of the Minecraft YouTube fandom, which itself could be considered a subfandom of both the Minecraft and YouTube fandoms[2].
Some fans consider fandom or fannish interest crossovers a subfandom of multiple larger fandoms, for example Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons and SuperWhoLock.
In K-Pop, when fans are more fans of one singer within a group than the group as a whole, sometimes they refer to themselves as being in a subfandom, for example fans of BLACKPINK's Jennie may consider themselves in the Jensetters subfandom or fans of NCT's Jaehyun fans as in the Valentines subfandom[3].
Further Reading
- When fanfiction gets so popular, it spurs its own fandom (and babies) by Kristina Manente for SyFy, Archived version
References
- ^ Fanfics that have their own fandoms? at r/Fanfiction
- ^ comment on Are you a part of any "sub-fandom's"? on r/Fanfiction
- ^ What are your favorite or most creative solo/sub-fandom names? in r/kpopthoughts]. There can be some controversy and discourse arising out of these subfandoms forming around solo artists within a group, with fans of the group as a whole feeling that it negatively affects the fandom<ref>thoughts about enha's subfandom on r/Enhypenthoughts.