TWC No. 45, Sports Fandoms, released

Transformative Works and Cultures has released No. 45, “Sports Fandoms”, guest edited by Jason Kido Lopez and Lori Kido Lopez.

This issue “explore[s] both unconventional sports fan objects and underexamined sports fan expressions.” As the editors of the special issue explain:

“When sports fandom is understood from the center outward, hegemonic assumptions about who fans are and how they engage with sports often go unquestioned. By shifting our focus to the boundaries, we uncover insights that complicate and expand our understanding of sports fandom as a whole. With this approach, this issue demonstrates that the intersections of sport, media, and fandom continue to evolve in unexpected and dynamic ways.”

Some examples from the issue include: 

• Fandom, speculation, and capitalist space-time at the Crypto.com Arena
• The historical marginalization of Black fans at Major League Baseball games
• Institutionally appointed fan-athletes: The hegemonic performativity, commodification, and consumption of scholastic dance teams
• Fanception on ice!!!: Cycles of choreographic adaptation and fandom in figure skating
• The commodification of affections among Taylor Swift's and Travis Kelce's fan communities and the Cetaphil Super Bowl 2024 advertisement

The next issue of TWC, No. 46, a general issue, will be released on September 15, 2025. 

TWC's upcoming deadlines include:

Latin American Fandoms, January 1, 2026 deadline

We accept submissions for our general issues on a rolling basis.