I don’t hate the word – certainly there are worse things to be called – but I don’t like the term ‘fangirl.’
Mainly because of the associations it brings up for me: Screeching, squeeing, inappropriate, out of control and usually prepubescent. The prototypical example:
I know, that’s well before even I was born, and it might as well be the dark ages for most of you. Nowadays, we call them Twilight fans.
(I kid. Sort of.)
So, please: Don’t call me a fangirl. I am female. I am a fan. But I don’t screech, I don’t approach actors with fandom crap that they’d probably prefer not to know about, and it takes something near to an act of god to make me squee.
And I’d rather not be called a Sister of the Force, either. This is not a silly homebrew internet roleplay. We are not all 12, and we certainly don’t need any more reason to be treated like mythological beasts. And hell, Star Wars fandom on the whole has done pretty well without a label. I say we keep that tradition.
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13 responses so far ↓
1 eliz // Jun 27, 2010 at 5:22 pm
The only time I ever think of “fanboy/fangirl” being a positive term is in the View Askew universe of Kevin Smith related fandom. So I’m all for advocating leaving “fangirl” at the door because the scary Twilight fans and old school Beatles fans have just tossed that one out the door.
Sister of the Force sounds entirely too close to the White Current chicks.
My thing is we don’t need a name or cutesy title- what we need is that it is not a shock in society that women like science and non-romance genre fiction! It’s 2010 for crying out loud. Time for people to open their perspectives a bit!
2 Briannakin // Jun 27, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Sisters of the Force? Wow. No. Just no.
I prefer female Star Wars nerd myself.
3 s65horsey // Jun 27, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Hmm…I’m not sure I can say that I don’t squeal. I don’t think I would squeal in RL though. Not for any living actor or author or whatever. I don’t show excitement like that.
4 Aaron // Jun 28, 2010 at 12:28 am
I don’t like the term “fanboy” either. It’s okay for teenage fans, but I’d say the vast majority of Star Wars fans are a little older these days. That’s why I usually resort to using “fan” and “fanette” which brings a certain joie de vivre to the whole experience. ;-)
5 Ruccaz // Jun 28, 2010 at 6:54 am
i think ‘Sister of the Force’ is actually super dope
6 Jason // Jun 28, 2010 at 8:27 am
I think those sorts of labels are created so we can make cultural assumptions about people, particularly about the ways they spend their leisure. Thankfully, Star Wars possesses a larger appeal that makes those sorts of cultural assumptions foolish and unrepresentative of any group of people. That’s why I believe all the stupid labels they’ve attempted to put on Star Wars enthusiasts haven’t stuck over the years.
7 Dunc // Jun 28, 2010 at 8:46 am
Horsey: It’s not so much that one detail as it is the whole package. ;)
8 Amaranthine // Jun 28, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Yup! I like the term “Star Wars nerd girl” too.
9 Nancy // Jun 28, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I have fangirl moments…but I would object to being called a fangirl as a broad term. “Sister of the Force” just sounds silly.
10 Mark Newbold // Jun 28, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Well, we’ve taken the words ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’ back. They’re our words now, but not sure why you can’t be a ‘sci-fi fan’ or a ‘Star Wars fan’ without the requirement for it to be gender specific. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge knows that a massive proportion of sci-fi/fantasy fans are female. That’s like people being shocked that there are female heavy metal fans, or male nurses…
11 Chris (The Exalted) // Jun 29, 2010 at 6:38 am
I refer to myself as a star wars fan when neccessary .But you’d never know I was a fan unless I specifically told you. Or you looked at my massive book collection lol.
It’s just something I’m into like football or xbox, not a life choice!
12 Stoogey // Jun 29, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Star Wars fandom on the whole has done pretty well without a label. I say we keep that tradition.
Hear, hear.
13 Mark "Jedi" Hurliman // Jun 30, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Yeah I wrote something about the labels of Star Wars fandom a while back as well. Fandom seems to work perfect for Star Wars.
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