“#because omfg #real people reading about real people slash” : fan responses to intrusions into fannish spaces

Abstract

Current understandings of fan responses to intrusions into fannish spaces as expressions of internalized fan shame have been problematized by the variety of responses to recent celebrity interviews referencing real person fanworks. Through a content analysis of fan responses on Tumblr to two such interviews, this paper shows that fan responses to intrusions into fannish spaces reveal competing discourses within fan communities about norms in relation to the acceptability of real person shipping as a fan practice, the necessity of maintaining the fourth wall between celebrities and fans, and fan creators’ expectation of respect from fandom outsiders who interact with their fanworks. These findings reveal boundary-policing practices and strategies to manage the deviantized identity of real person shipper, and provide a more nuanced understanding of fan responses to intrusions into fannish spaces.