The lovely Daniel J Layton did this video as part of VEDA and it got me thinking a little bit. Complete side-note if you watch YouTubers of any kind please subscribe to Dan as he is an absolute gem and he deserves all the love.
I am a person who has very much been a 'fangirl' especially between the ages of 14-16 ...in fairness I'm still a fangirl now really but I keep it mostly internal now rather than tweeting embarrassing things to said people I fangirl over. Yet I never felt a part of any fandom. My twitter account was never dedicated to specifically one thing nor was my tumblr.
I was known amongst my friends as a definite fangirl of many things - Glee, Harry Potter, Starkid, Youtubers, Doctor Who....the list is rather endless. I'm basically just very passionate about things I enjoy...in fact one of my friends recently told me that was one of her favourite things about me; that I do enjoy things so unashamedly.
Yet when I think about it, was I or have I ever really been part of a 'fandom'? I was definitely active within certain fandoms on tumblr/twitter and I made internet friends because of it, some of whom I've had the pleasure to meet which is just wonderful. I always felt like an outsider however because I never actively looked into fan theories, analysed every moment or even felt as a strongly towards it as others do. There is almost a high-schoolesque clique within fandoms which is ironic as you'd think this would be a place a nerd felt comfortable. (I use nerd as a term of endearment and I am basically referring to myself here). But because I didn't necessarily get totally and completely involved with something I'm passionate about does that make my feelings towards it any less redundant?
I would say no. Despite the fact I am definitely a fan of certain things, I never really got into the whole idea of online fandom as to be honest, it's a scary place to be sometimes (cough phandom cough). Yet I know what I enjoy and I will be vocal about it when I want to be. My friends know I'm one of the biggest Harry Potter nerds around....and all you need to do is look at my tumblr to know I adore certain shows, actors/actresses and youtubers. Just because the people in a fandom may not know me nor I them, what I do know is what makes me happy. So I guess what I'm trying to say is it doesn't matter...if you identify as a fan of something or someone, that's great and I'm glad you've found something that makes you happy. If you're actively involved and your twitter is entirely dedicated to a fandom that's also great. I know I will likely always have a place somewhere in a fandom as a passive role (mainly because I'm old now ...I don't need to fit in on the internet to feed validation....sorta....that's a whole other ball park lol) ...I'm in the clique just because I feel things towards that show or person.
Does this make any sense?
I said the word fandom too much here and for that I apologise. Anyway that was a ramble on being a fan of stuff ....I may write more about this because boy did I learn things about the internet from being a 14 year 'gleek' (even the word gives me horrible flashbacks now) (that show will always have a place in my heart I mean but wow we needed a better collective term).
thanks for reading! Laura x
