Fangirl

“Fandom” is a term for a community of fans of a particular thing. The suffix “-dom” “denote[s] a rank or an area controlled by a person of that rank,” making fandom “a region controlled by fans […] a space where fans create their own language and communities, and where they reimagine characters and worlds into something that is uniquely theirs” (Rutherford-Morrison, Lara. “Where Did the Word ‘Fandom’ Come From?” Bustle, 26 Feb. 2016). Colloquially, the term “fandom” is most often used to refer to fans of media such as TV shows, movies, or comic books. The most influential early fan community was the Star Trek fandom, often nicknamed “Trekkies.” A fictional news story in Fangirl reports on a true phenomenon: “If you wanted to meet other Star Trek fans in 1983, you'd have to join fan clubs by mail or meet up with other Trekkies at conventions” (141). Before the internet age, Trekkies connected with other fans through fan-produced magazines and newsletters, in which they often shared their Star Trek-related hobbies. One of these fan hobbies was writing fanfiction, or “fanfic” for short: stories written by fans that take their favorite fictional settings and characters and put them in new situations and plotlines.