To Those Who Do Not Understand Fangirls

To those who do not understand fangirls,

You do not have to understand us. We will continue to be as we are. Fandom is a family, a mutual understanding. A community of like minded yet diverse people, all with their own opinions, their own experiences, their own interpretations of these stories. Fandom is a place where people come together to share and celebrate their passion for the stories told in the books, movies and TV shows.

Or perhaps a cult. Once you join, there is no leaving. 

There is no need to shoot us down in flames. Just remember, If we burn, you burn with us. Thus demonstrating our excessive need to quote characters. 

You may think we are crazy. You’re probably right. 

Although. 

Fandoms have scope. Fandom is as worthwhile as you make it. We can make them as worthwhile or as pointless as we see fit.

Fandom can be spending our time fangirling with our girlfriends about that one guy you may or may not have a thing for, though you’re still sure whether it’s Mason McCarthy or the guy who plays him that you’re crushing on. Fangirling over characters and commenting whether you’d actually date them. I mean, Sam’s hot, maybe not my type though. Or that it’s a pity that the really cute actor plays a guy that’s a right arse.

Fandom can be hours spent having intellectual debate. Discussing thematic ideas and fan theories. It’s discussing concepts, it’s having someone disagree and argue their point. Discussing characters and their grey areas, why they do what they do. Things like how Snape has some great one-liners and some really great dry humour, but is still a horrible person, and terrible teacher. Arguing about whether he deserved redemption. Or perhaps, that Draco should have got a redemption arc. Pointing out how Neville’s greatest fear is his own teacher, not, I don’t know, the woman who tortured both his parents into insanity?

Fandom can be scrolling through Tumblr or Pinterest, finding funny headcanons or AUs, where necessary prefacing it with, ‘This is hilarious. Terrible, but hilarious’. The best ones are when you have to pause between lines to catch your breath, while your friends are in front of you dying with laughter. Or when you have to stop everything for a moment, looking up from your phone screen, because fuck, that went deep.

Fandom is talking with friends and other writers, using them as a sounding board for your latest fanfiction, for that fanfiction you wrote a while ago, for the one you are thinking about writing but hasn’t got past the vaguest of concepts. You talking to them about your stories, them probing you with questions, challenging you to think and rethink.

So, yes. We develop emotional attachment to fictional worlds. When we lose ourselves in such well formed worlds, as we read we are immersed in the worlds created by the writer, and won over by flawed, complex and real people within them. You develop an intense loyalty to these people, these worlds becoming very real. Through this we become a part of their world and a community. Although you could argue none of these places actually exist anywhere but in our heads. While you may not understand, I feel no reason to justify myself. In the words of the great Albus Dumbledore, “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”

I am now questioning how I have gone this far without mentioning two of many fangirl’s biggest gripes, the gross inaccuracy of movie adaptations, and peasants who do not read the books. Most movies leaving out some of the best lines, some very significant aspects , and rarely doing many characters and relationships justice. Some of these being, “Yes, that whopping two year gap really is insurmountable, isn’t it?” or “I’ve always thought Fred and I should’ve got ‘E’ in everything, because we exceeded expectations just by turning up for the exams.” A lot of the Capitol and media manipulation wasn’t shown in the Hunger Games movies, and any quidditch in Order of the Phoenix was simply left out entirely. The movies fail to show how petty Draco Malfoy was, and just how badass Ginny Weasley really is. And relationships like Tonks and Lupin, and Will and Christina are all but left out entirely. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, really. Leaving these factors out leaves out a character’s motivations, or simply the fact that it reminds us they are just kids thrown into an adult war. It makes couples pop up out of nowhere, and it waters characters down to comedic relief, instead of the complex multifaceted people they really are. 

Don’t get me started on, “I don’t need to read the books, I already watched the movies.”

I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.

Don’t try to understand our obsessions. You probably won’t. We don’t half of the time. We can attempt to explain Factions to you, that doesn’t mean you’ll understand Faction before Blood. And no one said you have to. Agree to disagree for all we care, that’s fine. After all, trying to explain fandom things to a non-fandom person is like trying to explain trigonometry to a dog. 

Except the dog won’t judge you for understanding trig.

So go ahead. Judge all you like. We are fangirls, and proud of it. And our fandoms give us badass independent women who show us how not to give a crap, thank you Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior, Hermione Granger.

Sincerely, Me.

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