Move Over Alpha Geeks, Here Come the Fangrrls

This is the most interesting take on the whole fangrrl phenomenon that I’ve ever read.  I’ve been a fringe member of that society for a few years now, and I never fail to be amazed at how far it spreads.  Thanks very much for writing this, I plan to share it and re-read it often!

Comment by Kelly (eaglegirl6) from USA — February 20, 2008 @ 7:14 am

WOW.....this was a great article. I for one was one of the fangirls at Creations Con in November and I absolutely loved every second of it.
I got to meet some of the most amazing women I have met on the CW boards, Jenn, Kaye, Lindsay, Dink, Mel and Lisa to name a few. It was awesome to meet people I feel I have come to know so well online.
And meeting the stars of the show was the icing on the cake. The panels were great, even though I couldn’t think of anything intelligent to ask myself, plenty of fans asked awesome questions.
I am going to another con in April in Orlando for Supernatural and will again be there for the next Creation Con in November. I can’t wait!!!

Comment by Heather from MD — February 20, 2008 @ 9:12 am

Great article!  I just wanted to point out one tiny quibble.  Sweet Charity is a general media fandom thing.  It isn’t specific to Supernatural or any specific show or book. I think Lithium Doll (I don’t know her real name) founded it before supernatural started airing in the UK (which is where she lives.)

Comment by Jackie Kjono from Minneapolis — February 20, 2008 @ 10:17 am

Thank you for writing about this.  Being a Supernatural fangirl, I do think I have a pretty great life and it’s because of not only the show itself, but the fans I share it with.  It’s new, it’s complex, it’s dorky...but it’s us.

Comment by Laivine from Colorado — February 20, 2008 @ 12:21 pm

Really nice article, interesting and well-balanced, and without some of the bias that fans are used to seeing in articles about media fandom.

One note: The vid “Women’s Work” is actually by two vidders: sisabet and Luminosity. It was sisabet’s original conception, and then she asked Luminosity to collaborate.

Comment by elynross from Oklahoma — February 20, 2008 @ 1:25 pm

Really interesting article and very thoughtful. And funny. And um...a great start of a critique of the whole ‘academic’ discussion of fandom too…

Comment by Nancy — February 20, 2008 @ 1:27 pm

Fantastic, fabulous article! Thank you for painting us female fans in such a positive light, and fandom in general. We’re not all crazy people like so many who don’t understand fandom think.

I was at the Creation Con and had the most amazing time, not only meeting Jensen and Jared, but all of my friends, who I met online, because of Supernatural. Fandom brings people together from all over the world, from all walks of life. Pretty amazing, I’d say. :-)

Comment by AgtSpooky from Chicago — February 20, 2008 @ 2:08 pm

A Really Interesting Look at Supernatural Fans

Someone posted a link to this story on the Television Without Pity forums, and I just had to share: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/53031/move-over-alpha-geeks-here-come-the-fangrrls/

I’m always interested in gender studies and criticism, and I am happy to see that someone is commenting on women in sci fi. ...

http://popculturecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/02/really-interesting-look-at-supernatural.html

Comment by Jen — February 20, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

Hi,
Great article.

I thought you might appreciate this comic strip in which I proposed a female version of the “Mac VS PC” ads.

Comment by Amy from Boston, MA — February 20, 2008 @ 4:26 pm

This is the best take on the fangirls i ever read.  It doens’t say we’re crazy (though we are) it shows how much we care, about the show the characters the actors. It was nice.

ps. the reason every chick but Ellen was killed? they all sucked. grr Cassie...JO was okay…

also BOBBY/ELLEN find it learn it love it.

Comment by Sabine — February 20, 2008 @ 4:31 pm

Lovely discussion here, certainly. It’s one of the few media based discussions of the concept that actually involves “true” fan interactions without almost vitriolic denunciations of it in the process.

This kind of sociological community creation is one that’s starting to finally gain attention in academic circles, however, it’s is complex and difficult to begin these studies. As well—though organizations like the OTW and some few others exist to help aca-fen find a place to discuss “transformative works” it is still difficult to find a place in academia where discussions of “non-product” based studies are welcomed fully (especially since much of aca-fen research is based on auto-ethnographic roots which get more and more convoluted as time passes).

Thank you so much for the wonderful article!

Comment by Shay Renoylds from Canada — February 20, 2008 @ 5:38 pm

Thank you for this.  I’m a Supernatural fangrrl and a media scholar, and this is one of the best articles I’ve read about the fandom, or fandom in general.  You’ve really captured the nature of fandom interaction, especially the intensely emotional experience of meeting other fans in person.

I’m going to be giving a paper in April about the female-predominant audience of Supernatural, and if it’s okay with you, I’d like to cite this.

Comment by Lisa Schmidt from Austin, Texas — February 20, 2008 @ 6:10 pm

What a great treatment of a topic too often treated with disdain and sniggering. I think many of us “fangirls” stumble onto fandom out of interest in a particular show or book, but stay for the friendships. Community is intrinsic to fandom. If anyone had told me ten years ago that some of my best “real life” friends would be people I met online, I would have scoffed at them. And yet it is true.

Also important, as you point out, is that fandom is not limited to squeeing teenagers (though adult women are also known to squee), sighing over the “hotness” of characters. While fascination may be somewhat predicated on a character’s “look,” fandom focuses on many different aspects of a show/book/movie. We love the writing, the acting, the production. The “world.”

“Lord of the Rings” fans are adamant about Peter Jackson directing ‘The Hobbit’ not because they adore his good looks and charm, but because they want the Middle Earth he created—along with his production team, Howard Shore, Weta, etc.—preserved—the costumes, the langauge, the music and props and locations. They’re passionate about all of it.

Also, in “Lord of the Rings” fandom men do figure prominently, though their interests are—as you point out—often different than the women.

All of this to say—Thanks! It’s nice to see someone write on this intelligently, not to mention treating LiveJournal with some respect. Though I’m not so sure about being called a “grrl.” But you can have a pass on that ;)

Comment by lisa — February 20, 2008 @ 7:33 pm

Great article! And great pictures of the ladies at ChicagoCon. Lots of insightful info here…

Two quibbles: 1.) I wouldn’t say “most” fans were offended by Dean’s “could you be more gay?” line. I’d say most fans who were offended by it were posting at TWoP. No one I talk to online did anything other than “LMAO” at him saying that… and I myself am usually offended when people say that. But not Dean. Dean is special… and the fact that I like to slash Sam and that line adds fodder to the fire might have something to do with it. 2.) “fangrrl”? I’m almost offended at it being spelled that way here. It’s like Trekkie vs Trekker… the double-r, I dunno, it seems trivializing and demeaning. I can see by the content of your article that wasn’t the intention, but still, it irks me… enough that I had to tell you about it.

But still, thanks for writing it! It’s awesome!

Comment by Lila-Blue from Florida — February 20, 2008 @ 7:49 pm

Thank you for the great article and mention of Fandom Rocks. Personally, I think I came to the online part of fandom late in the game - really getting involved because of Buffy, mid-series - but it is a fascinating place to be.

Looking forward to future articles (and your book!).

Comment by Dana from Illinois — February 20, 2008 @ 9:14 pm

Wish I’d been there - I love Cons! Thanks so much for this article - you definitely summed up the spirit and heart of us fangirls.

Comment by Gillian from Australia — February 20, 2008 @ 10:25 pm

Ok my first reason for liking your article is totally shallow..I’m in one of the pictures you posted:) The lovely blonde lady is in the forefront, but in the background I am standing right next to the lovely creation volunteer in the red jacket.

Secondly as an online journalist myself and a long time convention attendee and obviously a woman, I thought your article was well written and really touched on a lot of valid points about women in scifi fandom and what the reality of Supernatural viewership is vs what the network execs keep thinking their show should be attracting. More than just being women, we are creative, intelligent and strong individuals who have a deep loyality to the show, but we also demand that it not lose its creative force either or try to take the easy way out.

Hopefully articles like this will change the perception of the place of women in fandom for shows like Supernatural and more than that, hopefully it will give women in fandom a better perception of themselves and we won’t have incidents like the unfortunate one that happened to Jensen Ackles in the Asylum convention in England last year.

Thank you for writing it and thanks for the great photos to go with it.

M

Comment by Marla Reed from Cleveland — February 20, 2008 @ 11:58 pm

Absolutely fascinating piece!  I, too, am guilty of fandom.  My first ventures into ‘cons’ were for Star Wars.  They started out small - like the Chicago convention for Supernatural or other local cons - but then I graduated to DragonCon where I learned a thing or two about fandom.  Nothing is held to the imagination!

What you capture so well in this article is not only the passion of the fan, but the need of the fan.  Fandom is a place for people, women in this case, to find themselves.  They search out others who will not judge because of who they are and what they love.  Outside world be damned, for these few hours, this is the norm.  And bless Jensen and Jared for venturing into it to make a few thousand people happy.

I also really like the comments of Samantha Ferris.  There has been more of a trend towards a stronger woman in scifi over the last decade or so.  She has gone from victim to heroine more times than I can count.  Yeah, Girl Power!  And maybe, on some level, the women that chat in these rooms, write these stories, create these vids are trying to find their own inner strength - to challenge something head on in their real lives.

I cannot wait to see your collaboration in the future regarding other women in fandom.  You’ve both captured the reality of the situation through your words and photos.  Congrats!

Comment by Caroline from Chicago — February 21, 2008 @ 9:54 am

I was absolutely terrified when I attended the Asylum Supernatural / Smallville con last year in the UK.  I’d never attended anything like it before, was scared to death of meeting Jensen Ackles (I seriously thought I might puke on his shoes) and didn’t know how I would feel in a room full of 800 screaming fangirlies.  I was talked into it by a friend I met online, and wound up attending with her, and I think we’d only met once in ‘real life’ before!  Such is the bond of the fangrrls!  (I think the first time we met we talked non-stop SN for four hours!)

I needn’t have worried - much like the Chicago con lovingly recreated in this piece, everyone there was ridiculously friendly, and even though the organisation left something to be desired I had a great time.  And I didn’t puke on Jensen’s shoes.  But as the Chicago photographer pointed out in the article, I barely remember having my picture taken with him.  All I remember thinking was “He has a very firm back”.  And then I ran away and melted in a corner.

The interview with Samantha Ferris here simultaneously made me laugh and saddened me.  I loved her take on the whole Dean / Ellen thing, although I see her more as a mother figure.  What saddened me was the fan attitude to Alona Tal, who also appeared at Asylum.  I have to say, she was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and spent so much time talking to fans it was a surprise her line didn’t stretch right round the hotel!  It’s a shame that the fandom treats the *actress* so badly when it’s the *character* they don’t like. 

This is certainly a very opinionated fandom - and there definitely are wide divides over certain topics.  But all in all I think conventions like this leave you with the positive feeling of belonging to something fairly united - with shared experiences that perhaps ‘outsiders’ just wouldn’t ‘get’ (such as screaming when Bad Moon Rising plays on the radio...). 

Thanks for writing such a thought-provoking article ladies!

Comment by Sharron from Nottingham, UK — February 21, 2008 @ 1:13 pm

Great article.. It is nice to hear about the conventions.. I have never been to one, so it is great to find out how they went..

Comment by Shauna from NH — February 21, 2008 @ 6:51 pm

Thank you for the first knowledgeable and positive article on this subject that I can remember ever seeing!

Comment by Stella from los angeles — February 22, 2008 @ 2:08 pm

Great article, I’m not really a Supernatural fan myself but am a fan of many other things considered geeky (Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, LOTR etc.)and have been since a young age. I found your take on “fangrrls” (not a term I’d use)interesting, I’ve never been to a Con but after reading this my interest has been peaked.

Comment by Cheryl — February 25, 2008 @ 1:40 pm

Thank you so much for your article. It is amazing how so much of what you wrote resonated through me. I’m an older fangrrl (no problem with the tag)who came late to this phenomenon mainly due to a lack of broadband internet, once connected though..whoosh. I was in touch with the world and the world was good. A TV show such as Supernatural would, at first glance, be thought to be the domain of the male of our species, but nah, it contains so much in the way of emotional content and family ties that what woman from the girly girl to the toughest tatt wearing, body piercing chick, wouldn’t be caught - hook, line and sinker. Why do we converge over the net to discuss, analyse, laugh and weep together? In my situation, it was a matter of needing that type of contact and outlet. My life, like many of my on-line friends is filled with tasks and routines and not much oportunity to express myself creatively or emotionally. Fandom gives me this. Since the start of Supernatural, here in Australia, I’ve joined new friends to create fanfic, vids, and game play as well as turn my mind to discussion of the intacacies of the storyline and the reasons for the layers of clothes the Winchester men are made to wear. My world has expanded.

Thanks again for your words, highlighting, well, my life. And of course, bring on an All Hell Breaks Loose Supernatural Australia Convention. :)

Regards

Kaz (aka Lamington)

Comment by Karen from Australia — March 27, 2008 @ 5:55 am