What Is Fandom Culture?

[morgandawn]

1. The focused love of a subject matter (TV, knitting, hockey)
2. Active engagement with the subject matter vs passive consumption. Active engagement can be thinking about the show, discussing it, writing fic, making gif sets etc. Passive engagement is turning on the TV and watching it and then forgetting about it.  Note: one can passively consume the products of active engagement. Media fandom does not only consist of artists or fanfic writers, it also includes readers and lurkers and organizers. Also note that the active engagement does not have to be social - you can still be a media fan if you never connect up with another media fan and all the engagement takes place inside your head.
3.Non-commercial (fanzines were always supposed to be non-profit, artists would often get paid for their fanart prints or originals, and if fans turned their fanfic into pro fic - well it was no longer fanfic.)

Everything else: concrit, (n)etiquette, visibility, 4th Wall, warnings are all community specific and even among communities these "norms' or "rules" vary and are not universally accepted. To argue that someone is violating "fandom culture" is like arguing that everyone in the fandom world belongs to a single faith. In fact it argues that even if there are many fandom faiths, that all members of the faith  hold the same beliefs. While it is true that some faiths will not accept you unless you believe in and adopt their specific tenets, there are always those who claim a religious identity while disagreeing with some (or all) of the doctrines of their faith. 

Fandom is multitudes. Fandom is IDIC. Fandom is wherever you are.

Comments

[catalenamara]

In addition to artists selling prints and originals, I've been buying (or have been gifted) tote bags, coffee cups, a wallet, Tarot cards, etc., with the designs being fan art, through Redbubble, Etsy, a Canadian site whose name I've forgotten, etc., etc. And of course there's the new(ish)? thing of "tip jars", a concept that was very new to me. I've used given a tip to a fan writer who is a particular favorite of mine through one of these sites. (I can't remember the name of the site now, but it had something to do with coffee.)
Everything's truly always a moving target. My definition of the only thing that truly defines fandom - any kind - is the passionate active engagement of the fan with the subject.