AP Research

"Fanfiction, due to its unique nature allowing the audience to directly influence material, has always been a refuge for young women unable to find proper representation in mainstream media. With this particular demographic, fanfiction has become a rare occurrence: a space dominated by young women. Therefore, fanfiction culture represents a uniquely female vision that reflects current values of the young female demographic. This study focuses on the specific subset of fanfiction known as Real People Fanfiction (RPF), where fanfiction is written about real life people. Rather than fictional characters from another author, authors of RPF are able to customize entirely original qualities in their characters based on their own preferences. Thus, discerning common tropes in this data reveals telling indications of fanfiction culture and values. My research centers on exploring feminist values within heterosexual relationships portrayed within fanfiction. Therefore, my primary methodology relies on literary analysis of a pool of selected fanfictions, combined with principles of critical discourse analysis to survey systems of power. The fandom chosen for analysis is One Direction, a band with a majority female fan base and male idol status. Analysis focuses on three categories based on the works of a significant 20th c. feminist: feminist characterization within female characters (Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”) , feminist portrayals of heterosexual relationships (Germaine Greer’s “The Female Eunuch”), and sexual fantasies and consent (Anais Nin’s erotica). This study has the ultimate goal of measuring modern feminist values among fanfiction readers, especially how they compare to significant second-wave feminism."