Fan Girls and the Media: Creating Characters, Consuming Culture
In the broad spectrum of popular culture, one can be a fan of just about anything: comic books, television shows, fantasy novels, movie franchises, musical artists, and so on. Because fans are fluid and ever-changing, however, defining them poses a challenge. As a result, too few scholars have yet to focus on the impact of gender in media consumption, leading to a limited portrait of what male and female fans look for.
The collection of essays in Fan Girls and the Media: Creating Characters, Consuming Culture, demonstrate the gendered aspect of fandom and explore the ways different forms of media challenge stereotypical ideals of how culture is consumed. Contributors examine a wide range of fan issues—from gendered stereotypes in the Star Trek and Twilight franchises to gender roles in Tyler Perry films and The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Other essays look at the female comedy fan community, the appeal of avenging-woman characters written by men, and the use of social media by women in the video-game culture.
This collection describes how gender is present in fandom, demonstrating the need to combat the marginalization of female identities in various cultural outlets. Fan Girls and the Media will be of interest to anyone studying fandom but also students and scholars of sociology, media, and gender studies.
The collection of essays in Fan Girls and the Media: Creating Characters, Consuming Culture, demonstrate the gendered aspect of fandom and explore the ways different forms of media challenge stereotypical ideals of how culture is consumed. Contributors examine a wide range of fan issues—from gendered stereotypes in the Star Trek and Twilight franchises to gender roles in Tyler Perry films and The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Other essays look at the female comedy fan community, the appeal of avenging-woman characters written by men, and the use of social media by women in the video-game culture.
This collection describes how gender is present in fandom, demonstrating the need to combat the marginalization of female identities in various cultural outlets. Fan Girls and the Media will be of interest to anyone studying fandom but also students and scholars of sociology, media, and gender studies.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Finding Feminist Fandom in Orange is the New Black
Adrienne Trier-Bieniek
Chapter 1- “Sci-Fi and Skimpy Outfits”: Negotiating Objectification, Gendered Boundaries, and Authenticity within the Star Trek Fandom
Sarah M. Corse and Jaime Hartless
Chapter 2- A New Dawn Breaks: Rewriting Gender Wrongs Through Twilight Fan Fiction
Penelope Eate
Chapter 3- Coveting Sarah Jessica Parker: When Postfeminism Meets Commodity Feminism
Gigi McNamara
Chapter 4- Members of the Tribe: Marginal Identities and the Female Comedy Fan Community
Joanne Gilbert
Chapter 5- “When a Man Knows a Woman”: Understanding the Fan Appeal of Avenging-Women Written by Men”
Lara Stache
Chapter 6- Cultural Production and Digital Resilience: Examining Female Gamers Use of Social Media to Participate in Video Game Culture
Kishonna Gray
Chapter 7- The New Housewife: Gender Roles and Perceptions of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Natasha Howard
Chapter 8- Writing Her Story: Matriarchy through the Male Gaze in Tyler Perry’s Film The Family That Preys
Christopher K. Jackson and Adria Y. Goldman
Adrienne Trier-Bieniek
Chapter 1- “Sci-Fi and Skimpy Outfits”: Negotiating Objectification, Gendered Boundaries, and Authenticity within the Star Trek Fandom
Sarah M. Corse and Jaime Hartless
Chapter 2- A New Dawn Breaks: Rewriting Gender Wrongs Through Twilight Fan Fiction
Penelope Eate
Chapter 3- Coveting Sarah Jessica Parker: When Postfeminism Meets Commodity Feminism
Gigi McNamara
Chapter 4- Members of the Tribe: Marginal Identities and the Female Comedy Fan Community
Joanne Gilbert
Chapter 5- “When a Man Knows a Woman”: Understanding the Fan Appeal of Avenging-Women Written by Men”
Lara Stache
Chapter 6- Cultural Production and Digital Resilience: Examining Female Gamers Use of Social Media to Participate in Video Game Culture
Kishonna Gray
Chapter 7- The New Housewife: Gender Roles and Perceptions of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Natasha Howard
Chapter 8- Writing Her Story: Matriarchy through the Male Gaze in Tyler Perry’s Film The Family That Preys
Christopher K. Jackson and Adria Y. Goldman
