The Revolutionary Power Of Fanfiction For Queer Youth
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| Title: | The Revolutionary Power Of Fanfiction For Queer Youth |
| Creator: | Jane Hu |
| Date(s): | May 16, 2016 |
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| Fandom: | |
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| External Links: | https://medium.com/the-establishment/the-importance-of-fanfiction-for-queer-youth-4ec3e85d7519 |
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The Revolutionary Power Of Fanfiction For Queer Youth is a 2016 essay by Jane Hu. It was posted on Medium.com and received 74 "claps" of appreciation.
Excerpts
Fanfic communities are often a safe place for young, queer writers to begin navigating their identity. “Sometimes, the online space is the only place they can be out,” says Kristina Busse, founding co-editor of Transformative Works and Cultures. “They are still negotiating what they want to be called — like what their pronouns are — and coming out as trans online allows them to explore that identity.” Fiction allows writers the space to simulate aspects of their own lives, to think through fraught issues, and to even “try on” different scenarios that could comprise their future. It’s a modern-day take on an ancient and essential impulse: imaginative play. It’s well known among psychologists that play is crucial for developing social and emotional skills; kids age 3 and 4 who spend more time pretending score better on social tests measuring how well they understand other people’s thoughts and beliefs.
For writers, fanfiction allows for a low-risk way to experiment with characters, scenarios, and dialogue. “[Young writers] often write stories about bullying or not being popular, and about dealing with things like sexuality,” says Rebecca Black (“not the singer,” as her Skype username specifies), an associate professor at University of California at Irvine who has studied adolescents’ participation in fanfiction communities. In the course of her research, Black vividly remembers coming across one story from a young gay man who wrote what the fanfic communities call slash stories — stories that center around a gay relationship. “He hadn’t come out, and fanfic was a space where he was using the characters to work through those issues,” Black recalls.
Psychologist Jennifer Barnes argues that just as kids connect with their imaginary friends, writers develop strong bonds with their fanfic characters. Even though they’re not real, fans feel like they know them. Researchers call these one-sided bonds “parasocial relationships” — the same type of relationship we have with celebrities or Twitter personalities. While there has not yet been explicit research about fanfiction writers’ parasocial relationships, other studies suggest these relationships can improve people’s motivation to achieve their “ideal self.”Beyond parasocial relationships with characters, the fanfic community also offers support from fellow fans. Black says that when the young man she encountered told his community that he was going through the same issues that appeared in his fiction, readers were incredibly receptive to his struggles. “The outpouring of support he got through older kids giving him support and advice were really helpful,” Black says.
It’s this community that encourages fans to keep writing. “It’s the most important part,” says Busse. The community offers feedback on stories — in fact, many participants in fandoms are not writers, but rather avid consumers of fanfic who post thoughtful critiques and enthusiastic praise. Fanfic communities offer a network of people who share a mutual understanding, even if not mutual lifestyles or backgrounds.
And just being part of a group can improve people’s social lives and happiness. Research about online communities suggests that — like other social web activity — participating in fandoms can develop perspective-taking skills in young people, decrease people’s feelings of depression and loneliness, and improve psychological well-being (especially in people with low self-esteem).Over the years, fans have taken these friendships from the virtual realm into their daily lives. Busse says she’s seen a lot of strong relationships forged in fanfic communities. Some fans “move to a new city, looking for a place to live, and become roommates; sometimes three to four fangirls end up living together.” For others, online friendships develop into life-long bonds: “There are fan-met couples — they moved to another country for their girlfriend, then got married.”
We should be striving to create more safe spaces for young, queer writers to feel welcome, but until that happens, online fanfiction communities will remain a safe space for them to gather and connect. So perhaps it’s time we change our tune about how we view fanfic, and its role in young people’s lives.