Girls who like Boys who like Boys – Ethnography of ... - Yuuyami.com

“not much of a fan” is greatly linked to the pairing-specific structures of the
HP fandom, and the communities that arise from these. But in the context of a
formation of connections, Dinah has found her niche of fellow-authors and
readers through a specific HP archive and its interactive chats and message
boards. Some of the friends she has found through these chats are now on her
LiveJournal friends list. As many of these friends are very involved in fandom,
Dinah partakes in fandom through a daily ritual of checking LiveJournal.
Though she feels she has fallen out of fandom, she still maintains ties to
people of that fandom, and through them is kept updated on fandom-specific
news and events.
To “gafiate” in classic fandom terminology or to “fall out of” fandom,
as we have seen previously, is a choice made by an individual, to take a break
or to leave either a specific fandom, or fandom activity/locations/interactions.
Individuals with whom a fan only shares fandom-specific interactions may
well be left behind. Returning to the business-acquaintance analogy, if one’s
business is relocated or if a person decides to undertake a new business venue,
she/he will very likely lose contact with those business-acquaintances with
whom only one venue was shared. Unless the “gafiate”-ing fan decides to take
a complete break from (a) fandom, and sever all ties formed through fandom,
“falling out of fandom” does not necessarily equate the disengagement of
deeper connections. In addition, one’s online friends do not necessarily share
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