Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It

by Kaitlyn Tiffany

The internet’s ephemera is often better left unexamined, not just because so much of it ends up having a disgusting or depressing backstory, but because so much more of it is impossible to explain at all.

Today, it is even less clear what “fan” really means. The people in charge of entertainment properties or consumer brands consider anybody who pays money for the thing they produce a fan. In everyday speech, we say someone is a “fan” of anything they like, no matter to what degree. Coca-Cola refers to people who buy Coca-Cola as fans of Coca-Cola. During an average bit of small talk, I might refer to myself as a fan of shallots or not a fan of bell peppers. The word “fan” is now synonymous with consumer loyalty; you could be forgiven for considering it a marketing word.

When we talk about celebrities having politics, we’re writing fanfiction all the time.

At its best, fandom is an inside joke that never ends.