Taylor Faires
I am an academic and a fan or, as those within the field call themselves, an aca-fan. My childhood coincided with the rise of popular internet usage and I spent most of my designated "computer time" on Neopets, helping run a Harry Potter fan guild. Since those early years, I've been a fan of many different things over the years, most recently, fans themselves. I'm fascinated at the level of dedication I had and that so many others continue to demonstrate
My majors in college were Political Science and Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies. It wasn't until my senior year that I realized that I had been studying performance the whole time. It made sense, I had been an actor since the age of five. The way I understood the world was through the lens of performance and this informed my academic career.
In my first semester of senior year at Barnard, I took a class called Performing Women with Professor Shayoni Mitra, who finally gave a name to what I had been doing in the past three years of college, Performance Studies. In the class we discussed performances on and off the stage, live or online. That's when it clicked for me, on Neopets and on Fanfiction.net, I had been performing. I proposed this idea to my professor and the rest is history.
What has shocked me so much throughout this process has been the openness with which I am met with at every turn. Friends who used to recommend fanfiction stories to me have followed my progress with excitement. Coworkers have given me recommendations for possible sources. Strangers have wanted to hear more when I mention my project in passing. And more than anything else, the phrase I have heard constantly for the past year:
Fanfiction, however, doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The sites appear almost archaic now, having not changed much since their original creation. Yet, still, stories are posted every day, indicative of the perseverance of an internet filled with possibilities.
My majors in college were Political Science and Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies. It wasn't until my senior year that I realized that I had been studying performance the whole time. It made sense, I had been an actor since the age of five. The way I understood the world was through the lens of performance and this informed my academic career.
In my first semester of senior year at Barnard, I took a class called Performing Women with Professor Shayoni Mitra, who finally gave a name to what I had been doing in the past three years of college, Performance Studies. In the class we discussed performances on and off the stage, live or online. That's when it clicked for me, on Neopets and on Fanfiction.net, I had been performing. I proposed this idea to my professor and the rest is history.
What has shocked me so much throughout this process has been the openness with which I am met with at every turn. Friends who used to recommend fanfiction stories to me have followed my progress with excitement. Coworkers have given me recommendations for possible sources. Strangers have wanted to hear more when I mention my project in passing. And more than anything else, the phrase I have heard constantly for the past year:
"I used to do that!"
It's been immensely fun to realize how many people my age were a part of a community that, as a kid, I thought was incredibly small. Fanfiction sites were largely anonymous. I assumed the people I knew in the fanfiction community and the people I knew in real life could never be the same people. The divide between our performances on the internet and in "real life" seemed so solid back then. In the new age of social media, the concept of two separate worlds, online and off, seems to have shattered.Fanfiction, however, doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The sites appear almost archaic now, having not changed much since their original creation. Yet, still, stories are posted every day, indicative of the perseverance of an internet filled with possibilities.