Tanya Cook - Fandom Acts of Kindness: A Heroic Guide to Activism, Advocacy, and Doing Chaotic Good

Fandom Acts of Kindness copyright 2023 by Tanya Cook and Kaela Joseph

Illustrations copyright 2023 by Tanya Cook and Kaela Joseph

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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First E-Book Edition: 2023

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022026553

ISBN 9781637741702 (trade paperback)

ISBN 9781637741719 (electronic)

Copyediting by Lydia Choi

Proofreading by Isabelle Rubio and Michael Fedison

Text design and composition by Aaron Edmiston

Cover design by Brigid Pearson

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In memory of Holli and Sarah, you were exactly what this book is about.

To all the fans who fight for good; youre our heroes.

Look, Im simpler than you think. Ive figured one thing out about this world just one, pretty much. You find a cause, and you serve it. Give yourself over, and it orders your life.

Meg, Supernatural episode 7.21, Reading Is Fundamental

We are wired for community, we survive by connection, we thrive when we feel like a contributing part of something larger than us. These are beliefs that order my life and why I connect so strongly with this book.

Fandom at its best can be a source of wellbeing and healing for many of us as individuals and, I also believe, for the world at large. Like any power, though, it must be wielded correctly and navigated intentionally, and this book has many helpful pointers to guide you in whatever way serves you best.

When harnessed correctly, we in fandom can be an unbeatable positive force. A group of people brought together by a shared ability to imagine fantastic worlds into being (often much better than the one we are experiencing), many of us seeking community in this new realm because we have had the great empathy-building experience in past spaces of being othered, sometimes brutally. We are a unique band of individuals, most of whom have already experienced living life outside the boundaries of the status quo, and therefore are not afraid to cast aside outmoded systems for new, more promising possibilities.

As someone who has spent over a decade attending fandom conventions, as an actor in a fantasy TV show, and, for the past six years, as executive director of a 100% volunteer nonprofit born out of fandom, I live and breathe fandom as a force for good.

From my experience, fandom and volunteering can be a wonderful fit. In order to choose to be a volunteer, to put time and energy into creating a more supportive world for no monetary gain, one has to have certain qualities, qualities that those in fandom often have in abundance:

.A vivid imagination, because we attempt to achieve things many deem impossible.

.A capacity for joy and hope, because we truly run on morale alone much of the time.

.A sense of responsibility to team, because we only get through this together; trying to go it alone so rarely, if ever, works.

.A willingness to break with and question assumed rules of the game (for example, that we humans are motivated solely by money or that selfish gain alone determines our productivity) because being the change requires us to be willing to, well, um change.

If you are picking this book up, I hope it works as a useful guide to help you make the most of your fandom experience. Having spent years in this world, I found the map Tanya and Kaela so deftly put together to be a truly comprehensive overview with which to navigate through it all in a healthy and fulfilling way.

May your journey be a truly inspiring one!

Rachel Miner

Executive Director

Random Acts

August 2022

L ong ago, oracles foretold a group of Chosen, called Nerds or Geeks, Shippers, or sometimes just Fans, who would embark on an epic journey to save the world. Through trial and tribulation, they would fight for the underdog, stand up for justice, find the courage to speak truth, and challenge the powers that be. Their enthusiastic, weird, chaotic kindness would spark revolutions. Though their world was dark and full of terrors, the Chosen found that fighting the good fight was both tenable and transformative. Instead of waiting to be saved, they became the heroes they needed. They learned that their real superpowers were imagination, compassion, and the social networks they tapped into along the way!

As nice as epic origin stories can be, the truth is you dont have to be a chosen one or some mythical hero alluded to in an ancient prophecy to make a difference. You dont need supernatural powers or abilities. You already have the power to change the world for the better. Yes, you, Dear Reader! And you dont have to hike through troll-infested mountains to do it. All you have to do is gather your kindness, compassion, and curiosity and read this book. It will be more fun than marching through Mordor, and you can totally take breaks for Second Breakfast and Elevenses. Promise.

This book was written to help fans like you tap into their power to do good in the world. Our own quest started as an intellectual investigation into fandom-based charity work but quickly grew into a much larger campaign. Over six years, we developed expertise in participatory fandom, fan culture, and fandoms as social movements by researching fandom-based activism. This included interviewing fans, attending conventions and events, and using our backgrounds in social science to better understand how fans are making a difference. We also participated in our own share of fandom-based activism. Throughout our research, we learned about a multitude of inspiring ways fans were using their love of pop culture to engage in social movements, and when we presented our research directly to fans at conventions, the question we were asked most often was, Thats great, but how do I get involvedhow do I actually do fan activism? This book answers that important question.

Lets start at the very beginninga very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A, B, C; when you learn how to make the world a better place with fan activism, you begin with definitions. Okay, so that didnt rhyme, but we had to give a shout-out to Tanyas Sound of Music fandom at least once!

Lets unpack the term fan activism. What is meant by fan, and what is meant by activism?

Fans are folks who identify as supporters of a specific sports team, celebrity, or performer or who are enthusiastic consumers of specific kinds of popular culture. This book focuses on fans of popular culture media products, including (but not limited to!) fans of television shows, video games, books, and movies. Of course, the word fan can also be a verb in English. And while were not using the word fan to mean moving air currents or spreading out, in this context, being a fan also implies action and interaction with other fans. Being a fan is not just something you are; its something you do. Many of us, as fans, dont just