Transformative Works and Cultures - TWC (Organization for Transformative Works)
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852 research outputs found
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A male idol becoming a girl? Nisu fans' sexual fantasy about male stars
No full textThe emergent movement of reverse Sue (Nisu) in China refers to the practice of (especially female) fans imagining themselves as having a strong male role to their idols' weak female role. In this process, female fans take on a powerful, active role to protect and look after their male idols in female form. Examining how Nisu fans interact with other types of fans and negotiate a mainstream gender discourse dominated by traditional heterosexual norms reveals how, as a burgeoning subcultural group, female Nisu fans express their subversive potential by seeking the power of an imaginary phallus to defy male hegemony. However, their internal divergence and self-contradiction might weaken this defiance
“Are we friends or opponents?” Chinese idol fans’ relationship changes from online to off-line
No full textThis study focuses on how the relationships between Chinese idol fans change in the hybrid space of online and off-line, challenging assumptions about the harmony of fan relationships and highlighting the high fluidity of these relationships. Based on imaginary relationships with other fans, such as competition or cooperation, Chinese fans intentionally control their online and off-line fan identities, which are closely related to their fan activities in different spaces, that is, fans of the same idol cooperate online to enhance the idol's status in the entertainment industry, while off-line these fans need to compete for their idol's attention
"Fan identities in the furry fandom," by Jessica Ruth Austin
No full textReview of Jessica Ruth Austin, Fan identities in the furry fandom. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021, hardback, $xx (192p), ISBN 9781501375439
Regeneration and trans possibility in Doctor Who
No full textIn the long-running BBC series Doctor Who (2005–), the iconic character of the Doctor is able to avoid death through a process of regeneration. Long before the ability of the Doctor to change gender during regeneration was made canonical by the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, transgender fans had interpreted the Doctor's regenerations through a trans imaginary. Trans fans of Doctor Who have been drawn to the series by its heavy thematic utilization of movement, change, liminality, and transformation. Trans fans of Doctor Who have utilized the series as a tool for imagining trans possibility, self-exploration, and viewing gender affirmation and euphoria as possible. The series offers trans fans a way of being in which transformation can be not only possible but lifesaving
Perverse polyjuice: Trans Harry Potter spitefic as a response to J. K. Rowling’s TERF wars
No full textIn the years since Rowling's controversial anti-trans tweets and statements, both the creation and consumption of trans Harry Potter fan fiction has exploded, ironically leading to more trans representation within the Harry Potter fandom than ever before. This paper examines features of trans Harry Potter fan fiction and how it has developed since the "TERF Wars" publication. It concludes that writing and reading trans Harry Potter fan fiction is a more meaningful and authentic form of protest than abandoning the fandom altogether
Fan perspectives of queer representation in DC's Legends of Tomorrow on Tumblr and AO3
No full textDC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022) is a television show with an ensemble cast of existing characters from other DC TV shows, formed into a single, time-traveling team of antiheroes. The show is known for its inclusion of multiple queer characters, particularly Sara Lance, the show's long-running central character and captain of the Legends team and an openly bisexual woman. Fans use Tumblr and Archive of Our Own to discuss queer characters, canonical same-sex pairings, and noncanonical slash pairings. Queer representation in television matters to the show's fan community, and users are appreciative of and invested in canonically queer characters and pairings. Beyond the canon content, users are perhaps equally invested in noncanonical queer pairings and utilize manipulation of the source text in order to appreciate these pairings. Fans simultaneously enjoy watching and blogging about the show while also forming their own interpretations of queer characters and relationships. However, the central canon queer couple of the show is still by far the most popular with fans, and fans pay more attention to white characters and relationships, regardless of canonicity, than to the show's characters of color
"Treat male idols as toys": A case study of Chinese self-centered shipper communities
No full textThe phenomenon of Chinese idol fans engaging in collective promotional actions has garnered significant academic attention, yet the marginalized community of fans who create secondary works and generate less revenue remains understudied. By examining a self-centered shipper community that rejects industry exploitation and instead seeks pleasure through creative fan art, I address the multifaceted ways in which fans engage with media and the complex power dynamics between fans and the idol industry
Artificial intelligence and the production of fan art
No full textArtificial intelligence for image generation has become publicly available. Fans are using it to create fan art, which further blurs traditional ideas surrounding ownership
Dangai fandoms under crossfire: The making of queer love in a permeable and convergent media ecology
No full textDangai web series burgeoned in the People's Republic of China in the late 2010s and introduced mainstream audiences to a brand of semihomoerotic media culture. We develop an ecological analysis of dangai production by surveying the four processes of online literature creation, entertainment production, censorship and regulation, and fan participation. We propose two arguments on media convergence/permeability and on queer fandom disruption. First, permeability and convergence characterize the production processes around dangai, with heterogeneous fandoms communicating intersystematically. Diverse, interconnected networks of fans serve as the infrastructure for dangai circulation among different audiences and uphold an interpretative framework prioritizing participation. Second, the broad circulation of dangai in different fields of cultural production opens an apolitical pathway for queer media representation to gain legitimacy. This pathway hinges on the tension between state control and pleasure-driven participation rather than ideological claims of identity politics
"Dubcon: Fanfiction, power, and sexual consent," by Milena Popova
No full textMilena Popova, Dubcon: Fanfiction, power, and sexual consent. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021, hardcover $30 (216 pp) ISBN 9780262045964