Bound princes and monogamy warnings: "Harry Potter," slash, and queer performance in LiveJournal communities

Authors

  • Darlene Rose Hampton University of Notre Dame

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2015.0609

Keywords:

Fan fiction, Media fandom, Textual analysis

Abstract

Media fans often refer to their texts, practices, productions, and selves as works in progress—unfinished, in between, and transformative. This article applies theoretical models of performance to the fannish practice of crafting slash fan fiction within LiveJournal communities. By examining the content and form of the fiction itself, its mode of production, and fannish interactions, this paper discusses fan practices as opportunities for media fans to engage in individual and collective performances that negotiate hegemonic norms of gender and sexuality. These negotiations often illustrate a disconnect between social conditioning and female desire in heteronormative and patriarchal culture, and demonstrate the utility of theories of performance in studying individual and collective fannish engagement with texts as a means of intervening in the world.

Author Biography

Darlene Rose Hampton, University of Notre Dame

Darlene is the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Research at the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement and holds a concurrent Faculty Appointment in the Departments of Film, Television, and Theater and American Studies

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Published

2015-03-15

Issue

Section

Theory