We hope to see you at the SIG-sponsored panels and/or at our SIG social at SCMS 2026! We'll also be using our Discord, so if you miss a panel or can't attend the conference, you can still be part of the conversation.
Is the Western-origin term “queerbaiting” a fair way to judge Thai BL and GL series? What if, instead, we look at them through the lens of a “queer fantasy economy”? 🏳️🌈
Full text: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#ThaiBL #ThaiGL #Yseries #SeriesY #Queerbaiting @evacyli.bsky.social
New article ⬇️⬇️⬇️
de Moura, V., Moura, B. M., de Souza-Leão, A. L. M., & Hermann, V. (2026). Toot or Boot? Drag Celebrification and Fannish Performativity in the Brazilian RuPaul’s Drag Race Fandom. Brazilian Administration Review, 23(1), e250131.
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.1590/1807...
CFP: Journal of Fandom Studies
Special Issue: ‘Heated Rivalry: Queering Sports in Popular Culture’
Guest Editors:
Yvonne Gonzales, University of Southern California
www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-f...
New in Critical Studies in Television
Distributing queer storyworlds in US, UK, Australian, and Canadian mainstream television drama
Damien John O’Meara and Whitney Monaghan
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
New article in International Journal of Cultural Studies ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Death to Chad and Stacy: Incels and anti-fandom as group identity
Matthew L. and Kellen Sharp
Volume 27, Issue 3
#FanStudies
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
New article out in Feminist Review 📢 When queer characters are written off screen, fans often mobilise rather than move on. I argue these practices are queer mnemonic labour—collective efforts to contest erasure and imagine queer futures 🏳️🌈 #OpenAccess at journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Dialogue on creator and wanghong studies: Conceptual challenges and global approach. Jian Lin (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), David Craig (University of Southern California, USA)
This dialogue explores the conceptual and terminological challenges inherent in “creator and wanghong studies,” particularly regarding the global diversity and local specificity of the emerging creator and wanghong cultures.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Precarious utopia: The affective politics of transcultural entertainment in K-pop Random Play Dance. Kedi Zhou (University of Southern California, USA), Yuqi Yang (University of Southern California, USA), Xinyue Zhang (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong).
This research examines K-pop RPD as a precarious utopian space, where global pop culture is reinterpreted within local contexts to produce fleeting yet affectively powerful moments of joy, collectively, and self-expression.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Fan-driven paratextuality in the audios: Film and television podcast in the post-fansubbing era of Chinese translational fandom. Dingkun Wang (The University of Hong Kong, China), Xiaochun Zhang (University College London, UK)
This paper explores the rise of fan podcasting, examining how fan podcasters reconfigure media translation by mobilising audio practices that traverse linguistic, cultural, and technological boundaries.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
"Fixing" race across the Pacific: Transcultural reinterpretations in the Genshin Impact fandom. Yvonne Gonzales (University of Southern California, USA), Fanxi Feng (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), Samantha Tecson (University of Southern California, USA), Kirsten Crowe (University of Southern California, USA).
This paper follows the reinterpretation of Genshin Impact to show how the fluidity of concepts of race allows fans to reconstruct local racial hegemonies in their practices.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
@oldmythos.bsky.social @scarinat.bsky.social @kirstencrowe.bsky.social
Transcultural fan studies with a ‘Queer Asia’ focus in the 2020s. Jamie J. Zhao (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong).
Highlighting relevant changes in academic and social worlds, this paper advocates for a paradigm shift in which Asia is recognized as the origin—imaginatively and figuratively—for gender and sexual discourses in transcultural fandom studies.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Beyond belonging: A conversation on inauthenticity, third-culture kids, and fandom. Lori Morimoto (University of Virginia, USA), Haerin Shin (Korea University, Republic of Korea), Sangita Shresthova (University of Southern California, USA)
Moving across personal narratives and scholarly reflection, this dialogue situates fandom as a contact zone shaped by asymmetrical power relations, affective attachments, and performative negotiations of identity.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
@acafanmom.bsky.social
Meaningfully playful: Gender, sexuality, and civic imaginations in Korean and Chinese fandom cultures. Do Own (Donna) Kim (University of Illinois Chicago, USA), Fang Wu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)
The authors discuss South Korean and Chinese fandom cultures’ intertwinement with civic engagements, the role that gender and sexuality play in this process, and how such civic imaginations emerge domestically and transculturally.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Feminist fan engagement and collective agency: A case study of Barbie in China. Xinyao Yuan (Tsinghua University, China), Ruoyu Yang (City University of Hong Kong, China), Zheng Zhang (Tsinghua University, China)
To understand how Chinese fans use Barbie—a symbol of Western culture—as a tool for feminist expression, this study examines their motivations, strategies, and the cultural tensions they navigate.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
When transcultural fandom meets nationalism: Chinese cosplayers’ identity negotiation between global flows and local places. Zituo Wang (University of Southern California, USA), Haoyu Huang (Wuhan University, China).
This study investigates Chinese cosplayers within the tensions between transcultural fandom and nationalism, proposing a framework that distinguishes between the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of identity negotiation.
Read the full article here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Nouvelle chronique Fanalytics pour la revue @saisonseries.bsky.social avec les collègues du @gerfans.bsky.social où je parle de ce que ça veut dire "série culte" www.saison.media/2026/02/20/c...
AAS2026 is already around the corner!
If you have some time on Saturday (March 14) at 2:00 pm.
Please join us in Room 303 of the Vancouver Convention Center for our panel: "K-pop Fandom(s) and Authenticity: When Fans Control the Narrative."
cdmcd.co/wjwXxw #AAS2026
Upcoming Event at Canvas8 ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Free Agent Fandom
How to speak to sports fans in the post-loyalty era
Wednesday 25 Mar 2026
10:00 GMT • 18:00 SGT
17:00 GMT • 10:00 PDT • 13:00 EDT
#FanStudies
www.canvas8.com/live/event/t...
Cover of Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education journal with abstract red, blue, and white swirling paint design.
Intellect is pleased to present Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education 25.1!
Including ‘Influence of anime on character design: A study of Indian animation students’ by Madhuri Bhosle
Association for Art History
https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/adche/25/1
New book chapter ⬇️⬇️⬇️
17: Fandom in the branded playground: experiences of adult LEGO fans worldwide
Vlada Botorić
in Research Handbook on the Sociology of Consumption
#FanStudies
www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/b...
New article ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Jenkins, H., Zhou, K., Gonzales, Y., Oh, I., & Shresthova, S. (2026). With Virtual, With Embodied: Redefining Emerging Media in Transcultural Fandom Research. Emerging Media, 0(0).
#FanStudies
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Tune in to Popular Music Books In Process today at 5:30p ET for a conversation between @areum.bsky.social and Samantha James about Areum's new book, K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today. All biases welcome!
Schedule link: iaspm-us.wildapricot.org/Popular-Musi...
New article in
@ejcs-journal.bsky.social ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Bryant, P. (2026). Journeying into the liminal unknown: Making connections and finding spaces within the communitas of zines. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 29(1), 189-208.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Mon livre sur les Fans est désormais disponible sur la plateforme CAIRN cc @ubmontaigne.bsky.social @labarren.cpesr.fr @fanstudies.bsky.social @gerfans.bsky.social @hervelc.bsky.social
shs.cairn.info/les-fans--97...
Upcoming Event ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Internet Boyfriends: A Symposium
AHESS research events
Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge CampusCambridge, England
Friday, May 22 from 10 am to 5 pm
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/internet-b...
New article ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Judijanto, L. (2026). Attention-Economy Bibliometric Analysis of Fan Culture from 2010 to 2025. The Eastasouth Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 3(02), 319 –.
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.58812/ess...
New article ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Saraswati, L. A. (2026). Fanfiction as ‘Textual Poaching’: Reconfiguring Fanfiction in Literary Production and Participatory Culture. Lingua Cultura, 20(1).
#FanStudies
journal.binus.ac.id/index.php/li...
Promotional graphic for K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today by Areum Jeong. The book cover appears on the left, showing a green-lit K-pop concert scene with a large crowd and stage lights; the title is in bold neon-green text. On the right, a pull quote reads, “Smart and immersive, this is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the passions and practices of K-Pop fandom.” — Matt Hills. The University of Michigan Press logo appears at the bottom.
Just published!
"K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today"
More than mere obsession: Areum Jeong studies #K-pop fandom, showing how “#deokhu” fan labour drives its global reach, politics, and cultural impact.
Discover now: bit.ly/46Ty35e
@uofmpress.bsky.social
