Open Access"She's a fan, but this was supposed to be scientific": Fan misunderstandings and acafan mistakes
Author(s) -
Daisy Pignetti
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
transformative works and cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1941-2258
DOI - 10.3983/twc.2020.1763
Subject(s) - presentation (obstetrics) , swift , fandom , transparency (behavior) , social media , media studies , sociology , advertising , computer science , world wide web , political science , law , medicine , business , radiology , programming language
I here reflect on my first forays into fan studies, two separate projects on fans' reactions to Tom Hiddleston's short-lived relationship with Taylor Swift. After discovering live tweets of my 2018 Fan Studies Network presentation that included yet-to-be-published survey research I collected on post-Hiddleswift fannish behaviors, some fans turned to the Anonymous Ask feature of a Hiddleston-focused Tumblr blog to interrogate the results, an article I had recently published, and me. I highlight this experience as a way to reexamine my methodological choices going forward when working with fan populations while writing for academic audiences. Ultimately, I realize future misinterpretations might be prevented by transparency as an acafan on Tumblr and more consistent interaction with fans across social media platforms.