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Post by happyshep on Jul 3, 2009 4:39:31 GMT -5
Bacon-Smith reasoned that intelligent, strong and tomboyish women in the 70s and 80s "found themselves stranded in an alien culture whose values they did not share". They were expected to conduct themselves as subservient women in a male-dominated world. Times have changed, and this arguement is no longer quite as relevant. But Henry Jenkins also said that through personal observation he noticed that most fan-writers were highly educated.
My question to you is whether or not you feel as though cultural alienation has anything to do with writing fan fiction. Perhaps you have experienced times when the need to articulate your thoughts creatively to an intellectual and enthusiastic audience becomes pressing, and for most writers FF may be the only outlet which satisfies this need.
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Post by E Fish on Jul 3, 2009 12:17:23 GMT -5
I suppose it could, but me not fitting into the culture in which I currently live doesn't come out in my fanfiction so much. If it was entirely due to that, I'd be writing stories with characters who shared my values, beliefs and morals...which I don't...mostly.
...but I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking. Cultural alienation as in simply not fitting in and then working that feeling into a story one writes? Or do you mean something more intense? I think my confusion stems from you beginning with observations about women and then moving into educated fanfiction writers. Could you clarify?
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Post by happyshep on Jul 3, 2009 23:39:04 GMT -5
I am wondering if "intelligent, strong and tomboyish women" may feel a disconnection from the society in which they live, thereby being more inclined to write fan-fiction in order to satisfy the desire to be part of a like-minded community.
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Post by E Fish on Jul 4, 2009 12:21:41 GMT -5
I think this is a hard question to answer because it depends mostly on personal perceptions of oneself rather than on simply interests which are still personal but are more projected. From my own point of view, this is not accurate because I would consider myself to be an intelligent woman and strong, I suppose, but I don't write fanfiction because I feel disconnected from my society. I didn't start writing until I discovered fanfiction in grad school. I had never written fiction (unless you count high school English class). I write fanfiction because I enjoy it, not to fill some void in my life which is due to my society having unrealistic expectations for my life. I can't speak for any other woman besides myself, but I would say no...especially when fanfiction itself has a reputation for being written by horny teenagers. I think fanfiction attracts those and then it attracts people for whom writing is a pleasure and writing about a television show one enjoys. I might find my writing cathartic, but that isn't because I am an intelligent female nor because of a need to be a part of a community.
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Post by happyshep on Jul 4, 2009 17:51:07 GMT -5
This is a very helpful answer, thank you E Fish. This isn't the first silly question i've made, but it's important for me to ask them lest I end up saying something even more silly in my final work.
I'm happy with this answer so I'll close this topic while I think of something else to ask you. I'm very nearly at the end of my research. There may be one or two more questions for me to ask and then everything gets written up.
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