the difference between being A Fan and being In Fandom.
Yes! I've been thinking about this too. I'm ordering a custom-made thing from Etsy which is clearly made by a fan. But I don't know whether she's "in fandom" as I would recognize it. I wonder to what extent making and selling fannish things might be her form of fannish sociability.
I do agree with Morgan Dawn's point that not every corner of fandom has the same social mores or implicit expectations. I think that's one of the things we're bumping into as we watch this imbroglio with assigning of fanfic (and the assigning of leaving critical comments) as part of a class -- I'm sure the people teaching that class think of themselves as fans; they wouldn't be treating fanfic as worthwhile literature if they weren't! But wherever they're coming from, fannishly speaking, may be different from the corner of media fandom where I was "reared" as a fan.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-24 03:36 pm (UTC)Yes! I've been thinking about this too. I'm ordering a custom-made thing from Etsy which is clearly made by a fan. But I don't know whether she's "in fandom" as I would recognize it. I wonder to what extent making and selling fannish things might be her form of fannish sociability.
I do agree with Morgan Dawn's point that not every corner of fandom has the same social mores or implicit expectations. I think that's one of the things we're bumping into as we watch this imbroglio with assigning of fanfic (and the assigning of leaving critical comments) as part of a class -- I'm sure the people teaching that class think of themselves as fans; they wouldn't be treating fanfic as worthwhile literature if they weren't! But wherever they're coming from, fannishly speaking, may be different from the corner of media fandom where I was "reared" as a fan.