Here’s a roundup of stories on female fandom that might be of interest to fans:
- Columnist Bonnie Gordon felt she was “coming out as a fan girl” in the Los Alamos Daily Post, writing “I think there are a lot of us out there, but maybe we’re afraid we won’t be taken seriously if people find out we spent our vacation at a sci-fi and fantasy convention.” She writes thoughtfully about why genre fiction appeals and speculates that “Maybe because it tackles some really big issues that sometimes get ignored by realistic literature. One of them is that perennial biggie, the meaning of life. Most modern literature talks about life, but you’re on your own as far as the meaning goes.” She adds, “Fantasy writers fill their worlds with swords and goblets and gowns and wood harps — with handmade things that really mean something to the people who own them. You just can’t get that by going to Walmart. The trappings of modern life often don’t seem as satisfying.”
- In Women Talk Sports, another writer complains about heterosexism in sports fandom and questions why a survey she received assumed that not only must she have a man in her life, but that he would be the only one she could bond with regarding her fandom.
- Of course, a shared gender does not always for bonding make, as in this review of Leslie Simon’s “Geek Girls Unite”. The reviewer worries, “Now perhaps this book is skewing towards a younger audience and I’m just too old. As a teenager I would have loved to have found a book that said it’s cool to care about things other than the homecoming game or becoming prom queen…However, these positive elements can’t make up for Simon’s snotty tone. There’s enough divisiveness in the world. Let’s not bring [sic] into the domain of geek-dom. Geek Girls Unite is just “Mean Girls” disguised as “You Go, Girl.” Geek girls of all kinds deserve so much better.”
Regardless of what fandom you’re in, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.
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