“Queer” as a Verb: Let’s Talk About Fandom
Written by Cheryl Chen
Edited by Dylan Adler
Fandom, fanfiction, fanart.
In the common public, these words often elicit a sense of surprise or unease. Why is this term so taboo? From Beatlemania in the 1960s to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter’s gay dad & Co, fandom is repeatedly regarded as effeminate, obsessive, and unproductive. Yet, these very fan spaces are responsible for creating safe digital communities for marginalized individuals and combating harmful, dominant ideologies in popular media. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in the context of queer communities. What, then, does the emergence of queer fandom spaces tell us about the evolution of queer representation and communities?
In the context of sexual and gender identity, the umbrella term “queer” indicates an identity outside of the cis or heterosexual “norm.” As Jamison Keith Warren writes in his thesis on media and queer identity, “rather than merely accepting the dominant ideologies in the representations presented to us, queer fandoms reframe characters and stories by identifying with the queer, queered, or queerable elements of a given narrative.” Warren transforms “Queer” into “queering,” a verb that allows us to see through a perspective that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality; to deconstruct that which is (hetero)normative or the concept of normativity altogether.
For decades, fans of popular media who identify as queer have been deprived of genuine representation. In response to the dearth of queer narratives, fans of book series, TV shows, movies, etc. have taken the act of generating queer stories into their own hands. Take the queering of Harry Potter: The original series, although still widely popular, contains one-dimensional depictions of racially marginalized individuals (I mean, Cho Chang, really?) and no trace of queer representation (Rowling later revealed that Dumbledore was gay all along, an example of retroactive representation). In contrast, however, the Harry Potter fandom is full of queer and trans interpretations, headcanons, and stories (on ao3 – a popular fanfiction site – there are about 700 words under the tag “Trans Harry Potter”).
Through conversation surrounding the issue of TERFism and other anti-inclusionary elements of JKR’s canon, fans are reconstructing their own canon in a way that celebrates queer identity. The impacts of these conversations and fanworks often extend beyond the realms of a fictional world: they are opportunities for real individuals to discover or share how these interpretations may be relevant to them. As Anna Llewwllyn writes in her paper on fanfictions as ‘heterotopias,’ “LGBTQ fans have historically employed queer readings through the subtexts of heterosexual texts, some of which have enabled movements beyond reductive readings of LGBTQ representation. These are always enacted from the position of LGBTQ as deficit or absent.” Queer fans managed to carve out a space where they can celebrate their identity in an otherwise exclusionary culture.
Fandom is often lighthearted and fun, but its unabashed queer narratives and community can mean a whole lot more than one thinks. Many members of the Havergal community identify as queer, and perhaps some of us are even in fandoms ourselves. Whether it be through GSA, ao3, or other communities, queer individuals should have the right to celebrate aspects of their identity without shame or stigma.
With that, keep reading that fanfic before bed (unless you have an assessment the next day).
References
Warren, Keith. “Queering the Looking-Glass Self: Media and Identity in Queer Fandom - California State University, Sacramento.” Sac State Scholars, https://scholars.csus.edu/esploro/outputs/graduate/Queering-the-Looking-Glass-Self-Media-and/99257922963401671#file-0. Accessed 9 March 2024.
Anna Llewellyn (2022) “A Space Where Queer Is Normalized”: The Online World and Fanfictions as Heterotopias for WLW, Journal of Homosexuality, 69:13, 2348-2369, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2021.1940012 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00918369.2021.1940012?needAccess=true
Kaur, Tessa. “Queer representation in media: the good, the bad, and the ugly.” Heckin Unicorn Blog, https://heckinunicorn.com/blogs/heckin-unicorn-blog/queer-representation-in-media-comprehensive-list-breakdown-lgbt?currency=CAD. Accessed 9 March 2024.