Here's a roundup of stories on fannish histories in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• CNN's Geek Out blog hosted a post by Colette Bennett about how she became a J-Pop fangirl. "In 2008, a friend of mine mentioned that he enjoyed Japanese television dramas - known fondly as J-dramas to the fan community. I had no idea what the J-drama scene was about, but it wasn't long before I sat down to watch one. The opening scene was accompanied by a Japanese pop song from outrageously popular boy band Arashi. Within five minutes, I had two new realizations: I was madly in love with J-dramas, and I was madly in love with Arashi." The Korea Herald recently hosted a similar article by Elizabeth Gwee about her love of K-Pop fandom. "I don’t fit the stereotype of a K-pop fan. I like to think of myself as a mature, normal-functioning, happily married adult. I try not to brainwash my friends into liking it, unless they ask me about it. K-pop happens to be something that my husband, who introduced me to it, and I enjoy indulging in when we need an escape from mundane adult life."
• Romance novel review site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books hosted a discussion about paranormal vs. contemporary romance fans that tried to define how each group participated in their fandom. "[T]he paranormal fans are more likely to click links, rate books, review books and spread the word about a series they love - and connect with other readers. That's not to say that the contemporary fanbase can't be built among readers; I think the limitation is that the contemporary world building is reality-based, and ultimately the connected activities are both based in the real world (knitting, cooking, etc.) and focused on real-world promotion instead of online."
• Today in Comics History posted about the origins of comic book fandom, citing the practice of allowing fans to network among themselves as a turning point. "Now letters pages were not rare before the 1960s, and even letters pages with full addresses (name, street, city, state) were published in comic books back in the 1930s. And there were fans clubs, even if they were mostly company run. But something changed with comic book fans in the early 1960s. There were many factors, but one key was the older, activist fan like Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, and Don & Maggie Thompson. They enjoyed comic books and wanted to tell others about it. And they had the life experience and knowledge to act on that desire."
• Lastly, The Literary Omnivore had some book recommendations about fandoms highlighting "three works dealing with pre-Internet fans."

If you've read zines or are part of the comics, J-pop, K-Pop, or romance book fandoms, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on female fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• While some news coverage celebrates womens' achievements when it comes to their fan activities and occasionally even spotlights the presence of women in fandom, other news stories reflect how women and girls continue to be an afterthought when it comes to fannish activities and products. What's worse, some coverage reflects sexist tendencies when women are the featured fans.
• In a discussion of Korean pop fandom groups this piece reveals a paternalistic tone in approving of new fan practices that have a charitable bent. While spotlighting contributions of rice wreaths in lieu of flowers and community service work in the name of favorite artists, the reporter suggests that "the existence of fan clubs and fandom was not seen in a positive light. It was seen as a community problem, a phenomenon created by delinquent kids who ditch school." The piece suggests that "Fandom slowly matured as adults began to join the communities, balancing out the passions of teenage fans" and the reporter concludes that "experts say fans must maintain this energy and not let it become competitive with rival fans and neglect the initial objectives of these philanthropic actions."
• By contrast, this piece in Gawker on Justin Bieber fans highlighted fans' collective commercial action in promoting the singer through the use of organized CD buyouts. While the reporter was focused on the potential commercial exploitation of teenagers, he also noticed an ugly undercurrent from bystanders. "Grown men seemed particularly put off, shouting things they would never think of saying to a single 13-year-old girl. "Move, you fat bitch!" said one enormous middle aged man as he struggled upstream against the Lilliputian mob." This sentiment was echoed in comments to the piece, such as "I never understood how girls obsess over "teen idols" past middle school age. Shouldn't you just be getting it on with your real boyfriend by then?"
• The suggestion that female fandom misplaces attention owed to nearby men is also reflected in this story about porn star James Deen. "When men do weigh in on Deen, “it’s always these really asshole-ish comments only coming from guys who are clearly super butthurt that girls actually like a porn star for once,” one Deen blogger writes about the negative feedback she’s received from men." Along with feelings of competition there are feelings of territoriality. "When Dunn wrote about Deen on her blog, her male friends were unimpressed. "They thought it was blowing up their spot,” Dunn says. “It was shining a light on something that was supposed to be secret and just for them.”" While female interest in porn is hardly new, the Internet is certainly making it more difficult to overlook women's participation in all spaces. "For his teenage fans, James Deen is a window to a world of sexual expression that had previously been no-girls-allowed. For many, it’s an aspect of their sexuality that they’re exploring exclusively on the internet."

If you are are in K-pop fandom, take part in charity drives, or are a Justin Bieber fan, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fandom nostalgia that might be of interest to fans:

• Writing about book fandom in the mid 1800s, Jennifer Brady recounts research done on fan letters to Susan Warner about her novel The Wide, Wide World. "Though The Wide, Wide World is probably not familiar to many people today, the concerns and claims of these fan letters, rather remarkably, may be." For many, the novel and character kept a hold of them for years, with mothers passing down the book to their children. "For other readers, writing to Warner was an exercise in nostalgia, an opportunity to remember old times: one reader wrote, "I well remember my first introduction to you, some ten years ago, as gathering round a bright fireside in our old ivy covered home, an elder sister read aloud to 'the children'—the 'Wide Wide World.' Those happy, happy hours!—""
• Of more recent vintage is Robert Burke Warren's reminiscence about R.E.M. on the occasion of their breakup. "And I’m glad they told us all about their breakup in autumn. Perhaps it is easier to accept loss as Nature is reclaiming the warmth, the green, and the light, all the while offering up bounties of that which grew in the summer sun. For me, that bounty includes standing next to Todd in the basement of the Biltmore Hotel as four scruffy guys opened up our hearts and minds to a whole new way of playing in a band; sitting on Todd’s bed in his teenager room, marveling at the lush sounds of Murmur, hearing our fluttering, inchoate desires and attitudes given melody and form, if not distinct words, our friendship galvanized by the music."
• Wired hosted the reminiscences of Ahrvid Engholm, a science fiction fan who knew author Stieg Larsson in his fannish days. "But very interesting is also that father (Erland) and brother (Joakim) Larsson were there. I spoke to them a bit and tried to sort of update them about all the activities Stieg had in science fiction and fandom. That was actually quite a lot, but most biographies around miss much of it. My impression is that the family Larsson didn’t have a full view of all that Stieg did. Father Erland said something like “We knew Stieg did something with science fiction, but not exactly what.” This is quite common. Science fiction hasn’t been seen as quite kosher and a person is apt to hide or downplay skiffy activities, and especially fandom activties [sic]".

If you are part of a book, music, or sci-fi fandom, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fans going pro that might be of interest to fans:

• The Urban Wire writes "Last year’s Anime Festival Asia (AFA) attendees may pick out some familiar faces from the I Love Anisong concert line-up – these 4 girls went from greeting customers in frilly maid outfits to performing on stage together as homegrown J-pop band Sea☆A." The band members also revealed how fandom gave them more than a job. "“We learnt basic Japanese mainly from watching anime,” Valerie revealed. “We’ll watch the original Japanese version and pick out certain keywords that we really want to learn, then we learn according to the English translation. We’ve gotten very used to the pronunciation from that.”
• French fan Melanie D'Anna's fan videos got the attention of House M.D. producer Greg Yaitanes who commissioned her to make some videos the producers hoped to use as DVD extras. While this did not happen for legal and budget reasons he wrote "These are exciting times. A talented fan can be recognized by the talent who makes the show and find a way for all to work together...We are across the world but have creativity as our common language."
• Although Frederick Exley never became a football player, he did find success by writing about his fandom. This review of A Fan's Notes quotes "According to his “fictional memoir,” Exley spent his Sundays in a murky bar watching his beloved New York Giants and their star running back/wide receiver Frank Gifford clash with opponents. He would physically act out every play while offering a frantic running commentary on the game, guzzling beers during the huddles as other patrons looked on in amazement." Aside from the success of his memoir, Exley became the subject of two posthumous books. The review concludes "Perhaps Exley is better suited to immortality in fiction than he was to life in reality."

If you are part of football, J-Pop or House fandom, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.