Analyzing an archive of allyish distributed mentorship in "Speak" fan fiction comments and reviews

Authors

  • Amber Moore University of British Columbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2024.2505

Keywords:

Allyship, Rape culture

Abstract

Young adult sexual assault narrative Speak (1999), by Laurie Halse Anderson, has inspired a small yet significant fandom, especially across two key platforms: Archive of Our Own (AO3) and FanFiction.net (FFN). The responses to fan fiction inspired by Speak demonstrate compelling discourses—celebratory, critical, vulnerable, and pedagogic—that also show evidence of significant allyish distributed mentorship in the Speak fandom archive. These comments and reviews demonstrate how digital spaces can be generative sites for feminist consciousness building around the topic of sexual trauma and rape culture, precisely because Speak fans produce, rewrite, and connect testimonies, both real and fictive.

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Published

2024-03-14

Issue

Vol. 42 (2024): Fandom and Platforms

Section

Article

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Amber Moore

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