“Bordering on Excess”: Perceptions of Fan Obsession in Anime Fans, Furries, and Star Wars Fans

Abstract

In the present research, we examine what it means for fans to take their interests “too far” in a multi-fandom, qualitative study. Specifically, we asked self-identified anime fans, furries, and Star Wars fans to describe what, to them, marked the point where a fan could be said to be taking their interest too far. From these responses we extracted five common themes across fandoms: (1) when one’s fan interest negatively impacts their life, (2) when one’s fan interest becomes the sole or defining feature of their personality, (3) when one’s fan-related opinions are pushed on others, (4) when a fan loses touch with reality, and (5) when there is a connection between one’s fan interest and their sexual desire. We also note that anime fans cited a unique, sixth theme, when fans excessively worship Japanese culture. The responses suggest that excessive fan behavior may be ubiquitous across fandoms, although there may be idiosyncratic excesses characteristic of specific fandoms. We discuss these findings in the context of existing fan literature as well as their implications, both practical and for future research.

“They’re just weird”: Cognitive and affective mediators of the association between perceived nonprototypicality of, and prejudice toward, fan culture.

“…Fans are ardent and enthusiastic supporters of an interest whose passion is sufficiently strong that it becomes a part of their social identity (Reysen & Branscombe, 2010; Reysen et al, 2015). Fans’ interests can vary widely, ranging from interest in a particular piece of media (e.g., a TV show, video game, musician, or film franchise) to a specific hobby or activity (sports, model train collecting, knitting).…”

“…Despite the prevalence of prejudice directed toward nonprototypical fan cultures, both in mainstream media and in face-to-face interactions (Plante et al, 2017), there has been relatively little research dedicated to understanding the mechanisms driving this prejudice. As a social identity, there is reason to believe that the social–cognitive processes underlying the treatment of fan cultures should be analogous to the processes at work in other, nonfan groups (Reysen et al, 2015; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). This would certainly seem to be the case when it comes to the link between nonprototypicality and prejudice, which has been observed both in members of racial minorities and in members of nonprototypical fan cultures (Devos & Banaji, 2005; Reysen & Shaw, 2016; Sibley, 2010; Wenzel et al, 2007).…”

“…Not only does this lead to the neglect of people who are stigmatized for trying to express themselves in a genuine and authentic fashion (Roberts et al, 2015), but it also overlooks the fact that a complete picture of prejudice and its underlying mechanisms needs to be applicable to all types of groups. Given that fan identities are a social identity (Reysen et al, 2015) and should, therefore, be subject to the same underlying social psychological processes as other group identities (Tajfel & Turner, 1979;Turner et al, 1987), it should be possible to learn more about racial, sexual, and gender-based prejudice by learning more about prejudice in other contexts, like fan groups. Moreover, from a perspective of intersectionality, insofar as BIPOC and LGBTQþ people are, themselves, often members of fan groups, and given that fan groups often function as a source of resilience and social support for stigmatized people (Edwards et al, 2019;Mock et al, 2013;Roberts et al, 2015), it is worth considering how even the most easily overlooked or oft-trivialized group may contribute to our overall understanding of the processes driving prejudice.…”

The association between self-rated autistic traits, social camouflaging, and mental health outcome in Taiwanese anime, game and comic (ACG) doujin creators: An exploratory study

“…These motivations may be similar to what ACG doujin creators are facing. One study indicated that anime fans are susceptible when it comes to discrimination and stereotype, with non-fans referring to them as "socially awkward nerds who are detached from reality", thus putting them at potential risk of isolation [22]. Although there is no direct evidence indicating that ACG doujin creators face the similar situation as autistic people and have the similar motivation to camou age themselves, the possibility is high due to the overlapping feature of two groups.…”