In defence of Fangirls

All over the internet I see snide comments regarding fangirls and they are always excessively negative. That fangirls only like insert random writer/character/actor because they find them sexually attractive.  I've seen this opinion expressed over women who like Neil Gaiman or China Miéville but not just limited to authors.  And you know what? As someone who identifies as a fangirl I've got a two word response to that; the second of which is 'off'.

I read a lot of books and I watch a lot of shows and I feel passion or a large percentage of what I consume.  The passion that I feel for a piece of work can develop for many reasons its not limited to getting warm fuzzy feelings in my loins because someone is pretty. Not surprisingly I get pretty angry when male fans presume that's my sole reason for liking something. I'll write about why I think male fans need to do this at the end, but before that I want to explore why I fangirl things.

When I get excited about a book by a specific author it isn't because I fancy the author. I'm excited because it's new and I am desperate to know what is going to happen to the characters I'm invested in. I'm invested in the narrative and the characters not the author. Same with TV I'm invested in what's going to happen how the characters will deal with something. I might regularly tweet that I love Steven Moffat, but that's not because I think he's a sex god, its because I think he's a genius with plots and when he's pulled off a episode like Let's Kill Hitler I am genuinely thrilled.  

The other accusation which is basically the same is that fangirls only watch X Y Z because they fancy the actors.  Excuse me while I headdesk. Yes many actors are attractive and yes I've got a long list of actors I think are rather dishy, but by and large they still aren't the sole reason I'd watch a show (they might be the reason I stick with a show long after it's past it's best though). It's still all about the characters and how they react to a given situation.

I've asked my friends and the consenus was that they might watch shows for certain actors but to really stick with it the narrative has got to be good and the characters have got to draw you in.

So why do male fans feel the need to put down fangirls?  Is it because in the past scifi fanboys were seen as nerds and geeks and derided because of that fact? In some areas sci fi is still seen as the preserve of geeks and is still looked down on because it's a genre. Feel free to argue with me about this, but I think that with the advent of fangirls male fans feel that the way that women interact with a show and the way that men interact with a show are different and they feel that the way fangirls interact with a fandom is somehow less valid than their male ways.  I am aware that I'm making sweeping generalisations here and not every male fan feels this way but I believe that the ones moved to make disparaging comments are the ones who do.

One thing I'm certain of is that being a fan should be about celebrating that fandom and everyone should be able to express their love for a show or a character in a variety of different ways. I might not appreciate or agree with the way you celebrate that show or book but by golly it is certainly not my place to judge or to harsh your squee.  I guess negative opinions get thrown around for a variety of reasons, we all like to feel that our way is the best way of being a fan; but putting down someone else's work so you feel better about yourself is a poor choice.

All photos in this post are me expressing my fangirly squee.