Aca-fan

On this point, I find myself much more solidly aligned with the tradition of female aca-fan than with many male scholars working in this space.

Now, I think all of that work paved the way for a whole generation of aca-fen, as I like to call them; that is, people who are both academics and fans, for whom those identities are not problematic to mix and combine, and who are able then to write in a more open way about their experience of fandom without the “obligation of defensiveness,” without the need to defend the community.

As aca-fen who started our journeys as academics and members of media fandom at almost the same time (in 2002) and in the same place (Mumbai), we wanted to look back at the different experiences we’ve had while coming to terms with our identities as fans, and in particular as fans of color.

Above all, feminist aca-fans of Ginger Snaps add to the general understanding of the film an element of complexity and sophistication.

Perhaps because aca-fen often teach in fields based on the interrogation of media cultures, their status as fans has not, moreover, led to their pedigree as academics being questioned.

The sample was controlled for educational capital to ensure that snowballing would not lead to a narrow sample of 'aca-fans' whose combined scholarly and fan interest might offer a biased sample that does not reflect broader patterns of engagements among ordinary fans.