The thesis is focused on researching the recent phenomena of the emerging virtual Esperanto communities. The aim is to understand how feeling of belonging and connectedness are generated online. The theoretical framework that the study follows is Sense of Community theory by McMillan and Chavis (1986). It presents 4 components that combined together create a strong bond within a community – membership, influence, shared emotional value, and reinforcement of needs, later revised to spirit, trust, art and trade respectively. This particular theory helped significantly structure the way the analysis was carried out. The main results from the qualitative and quantitative data are that the sense of connectedness the respondents demonstrated to the Esperanto communities was strong. The interview participants have been members for more than 10 years, and have indicated they believed they shared similar values and needs with their co-members, but most strong ones with the groups they shared other interests except Esperanto. The Internet, as all interview participants confirmed, has played a huge role for the development of the Esperanto language and culture and currently connects thousands of Esperantists worldwide and provides them with a space to be producers of their media, Esperanto. Furthermore, some statements demonstrated that not speaking the language results in excluding people from the group, excluding also new members who used auxiliary languages (e.g. English or German) along with Esperanto, to help their communication at Esperanto gatherings. Finally, there were also found signs of segregation among an older generation of Esperantists, who made division between Esperanto speakers and non-speakers and between the different Esperanto institutions.

This study examines how a music band can manage to build an image and story using social media platforms after the infamous break of the golden era. To put it further into perspective, the second part of the study focuses on the fans’ connection to the band and how they use social media themselves. The purpose of this study is, through interviews, qualitative content analysis and rhetorical analysis, to explore how a band successfully use social media to keep their fans’ anticipation alive. To explore my purpose, I have conducted and analysed qualitative interviews. In the analysis section, the data has been interpreted in relation to theories of star image, participatory fandom and the live experience as well as compared to previous research while connecting my own analysis to it. The study discusses tendencies shown in the results when analysing posts from Ghost’s official Facebook page, as well as how participatory fandom as we know it may be at risk, as social media giants keep growing and eliminating other forums that have been vital to fans.

This thesis focuses on exploring cases of internal antagonism in fan communities, with a specific focus on the Steven Universe (2013 -) and Undertale (2015) communities present on Tumblr and Twitter. Internal antagonism is a phenomenon that occurs when a community targets a member within itself instead of outside itself, often as a way to mediate and regulate the community and reinforce its values. This thesis considers three case studies of internal antagonism with both physical and digital implications in order to better understand the role it plays in shaping and sustaining online fan communities as well as mediating the roles of fans and creators. This research will give a better understanding of why this harassment happens and what folkloric function it fulfills. This research will reveal why individuals cleave to these communities and what their core values are. The first case study analyzed is the case of Zamii070, a fanartist who faced severe harassment from the Steven Universe fan community due to a “problematic” piece of fanart. The second case study revolves around Jesse Zuke, a former storyboard artist on Steven Universe, was on the end of internal antagonism because of perceptions that they were mocking queer fans. The last case study is that of a fanartist who received cookies with needles in them from a fan who disliked their fanart. This thesis discusses and analyzes the details of the incidents themselves, their results, and the reactions from the fan community using original posts related to the incidents, accounts of the incidents, and interviews with those involved in the community at the time. As context for ethnographic research, this thesis will also explore the Steven Universe and Undertale communities through public posts and interviews

In this thesis, I examine definitions of fan activism in context of the assumption that Millennials are not politically active and that all online political engagement is superficial. I argue that the perception of political apathy is partially due to the fact that some of the most enthusiastic and intensive political work done by this generation is simply not picked up by conventional means. Some of this ‘hidden’ work is being accomplished by way of radical fanworks. Specifically, I examine Harry Potter fanworks and the ways in which they place marginalized identities at center stage, as well as the misogyny and homophobia that underlie the stigmatization and belittlement of fanworks. While many validate fan activism only when it engages with traditional political problems via traditional political means, I advocate for the validation of the cultural politics work done by fandom—of the purposefully transgressive narratives individuals create in defiance of typical cultural stories. To dismiss fandom is to dismiss a critical element of youth culture, and to dismiss the cultural politics of fandom in favor of traditional civic and political engagement by fandoms is to ignore the more radical positions being explored online.

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K-pop is the latest in a long line of example of ways East Asian cultures have been constructed in the West. Over time this has created generalizations about K-pop as a phenomenon and as a music industry. Furthermore, it has also contributed to a specific narrative about K-pop fans and how their experiences are justified. The discourse around K-pop fans is founded in stereotypes around gender, age, race and culture and social norms around how female fandoms and subcultures are seen as pathological. In this study, racism is seen as an analytical framework that is positioned within the research fields of postcolonial feminism and critical whiteness studies. This study aims to examine how K-pop fans use social media as a tool for negotiating space and to take back power regarding shaping the public image of themselves and their idols. One of the main goals of this project has also been to complicate the perceived notion of fangirls. This study draws data and empirical material from fan forums on the platform Reddit. By studying the interaction that takes place in these forums, this study shows how discourses about orientalism, authenticity and gender create a hegemonic discourse of K-pop in the West. Also, how fans create counter-negotiations against these discourses by questioning how Asian cultures are portrayed in the West.

Fan fiction has emerged as an area of interest for public libraries as the reading of it grows more widespread and visible. This study aims to offer an analysis of the practice that furthers the knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon and its perceived benefits for its readers in a way that allows librarians to better work with it. This mixed methods qualitative study builds on an partial overview of activities related to fan fiction on Swedish public libraries, 25 semi-structured interviews with both librarians and fan fiction readers, two small surveys concerning librarians’ knowledge of the phenomenon, and a few additional secondary sources in the form of previous research and ethnographic data not collected especially for the purposes of this thesis. In a thematic analysis the ways in which fan fiction readers and librarians make sense of the phenomenon and its perceived benefits to its readers are identified and formulated, and compared both to each other and the general reading discourses identified and thematized by Catherine Sheldrick Ross. Drawing on the ways in which different discourses enables or prohibits certain actions, it is suggested that fan fiction can be usefully understood as an extended reading of the source material, as a genre in its own right, and as a more accessible reading option. Each of these discourses suggests various ways in which public libraries might work with fan fiction. However, both the understanding formulated by librarians in interviews and the fan fiction related activities already organized at Swedish public libraries draw almost exclusively on the discourse of fan fiction as extended reading, overlooking aspects of genre and accessibility and the potential activities suggested by these discourses. Paying attention to all three aspects would not only make space for the possibility of different and at times more suitable activities, but might potentially also improve the library services offered to users in general.

The popularity of wearing costumes and masks has a long tradition. The phenomenon called cosplay began to be discussed for the first time in the 1980s. Cosplayers are fans of media content that not only wear costumes, but they also try to imitate the character's character on festivals. Some individuals, thanks to their activity, become celebrities themselves within the community. Fans may not always be just a passive group of recipients of media content. This thesis focuses on how these positions can be achieved and how the hierarchy is shaped in the Czech cosplay community. The theoretical framework is based on findings of fan studies. Methods used for data collection include participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The timeframe for data collection is the period from May 2018 to October 2018. For analysis were used the grounded theory principles, namely open and axial coding. The output is a paradigmatic model. This research has brought new information related to the topic of hierarchy in fan communities. Not only has the high activity of the individuals but also the social ties had an influence on hierarchy formation. This work also reflected the Czech cosplay community.

This thesis examines a queer fan community for the television show Once Upon a Time (OUAT) that utilizes the social networking site Tumblr as their primary base of fan activity. The Swan Queen fan community is comprised of individuals that collectively support and celebrate a non-canon romantic relationship between two of the female lead characters of the show rather than the canonic, heterocentric relationships that occur between the two women and their respective male love interests. I answer two research questions in this study: First, how are members of the Swan Queen fan community developing counter narratives of love by engaging in meaning-making processes and interpretations of OUAT? And secondly, how do they talk about the purpose and importance of their narratives for themselves or the Swan Queen fan community? In order to answer my research questions, I consider how the Swan Queen fandom developed and how they convey their meaning-making strategies online. To do this, I have analyzed the Tumblr blog of one Swan Queen fan and have used their blog as a nexus between other Swan Queen fans that use the website for their fan activities. Swan Queen fans argue that the show runners of OUAT use subtextual codes within canonical storylines in an effort to queerbait the show’s queer audience members. Moreover, the show runners refute the notion that they are queerbating queer fans at all by arguing that the fans’ perceptions are baseless and that any perceived queering of the characters Emma Swan and Regina Mills is purely “unintentional.” This response has only served to alienate the show’s queer fan base further as it led to increased complaints that the show runners were gaslighting the entire queer fandom. Additionally, Swan Queen fans maintain that the show’s introduction of canonical storylines featuring romantic relationships between Regina and Robin Hood and Emma and Captain Hook are heterosexist and dangerous. The storylines between Emma and Captain Hook, queer fans argue, often promote rape culture, thus perpetuating violence against both queer and non-queer audiences through storylines grounded in fairytale concepts of “True Love” and “Happily Ever After”. As such, Swan Queen fans push back against and reject this violence through their own interpretations and counter narratives of “True Love”. In accordance with previous research, I have found that historically marginalized groups such as the queer community continue to experience widespread and often aggressive attacks by queerphobic individuals and hate groups that are intent on preserving traditionally heterocentric institutions in our society, including (but not limited to) mainstream media broadcasting. Furthermore, fandom has become institutionalized in the same manner and typically operates within hegemonic, heterocentric standards. Conversely, queer fandoms such as the Swan Queen fandom operate outside of these standards, and fans respond to antagonistic efforts to silence them or cast them in an inaccurate manner by creating close-knit social communities to combat these actions and provide a space wherein individuals are able to counter dominant narratives that serve to further marginalize them. This study elucidates how this effort may occur and questions the effect this membership has on those who participate within a queer fandom. It is imperative that such research takes place, as there are very few accounts of how queer fans navigate the complex intersection between fandom and queerness.