Consider not just this week's video/reading but the previous week's podcast- how are female fans depicted? Think back to the very first discussion board for this class, where you talked about the ways in which Trekker fans were depicted, viz. their collapsed, inversion of masculinity. What gender role is being assigned to women and how does this conflict- or fail to conflict with- their position as fans? More to the point, wow are female fans depicted? How does it differ? (Though this discussion board overlaps somewhat with last week, your focus on the depiction here should be more precise). In what ways are all fans bashed? What ways seem to be reserved for women only and what is the great crime that has led to this punishment? Think not just in general terms but in specifics- what concrete examples can you give of women in fandoms being depicted as animalistic or subhuman? What is it that is portrayed as either frightening or stupid? What, exactly, is so scary about women liking things?
What- according to society- are female fans like? Why does society say this? What role does society seem to play in gate-keeping for fandom as a whole?
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