A Really Interesting Look at Supernatural Fans
Someone posted a link to this story on the Television Without Pity forums, and I just had to share: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/53031/move-over-alpha-geeks-here-come-the-fangrrls/
I’m always interested in gender studies and criticism, and I am happy to see that someone is commenting on women in sci fi.
The WB did one thing well–appeal to young women. I think they had some really good ideas with Smallville and Supernatural, and by including teen storylines and attractive men, they possibly turned a new generation of girls on to sci fi and fantasy.
I was raised watching sci fi and westerns–only the sci fi stuck. As I got older, I was drawn to sci fi and fantasy stories written by women because they tended to have better characterization than men. So much of the sci fi written by men seems like a bunch of boys playing pissing games and “see how big my shiny science toy is?” There are some exceptions, of course, such as Piers Anthony (early work) and Philip Jose Farmer (the Dayworld series), but as a whole, male-dominated sci fi doesn’t float my boat.
What about you? Are you a fangrrl? What sub-genres do you like? Or do you think sci fi and fantasy is only for freeky D&D people?
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Tags: gender, sci fi, supernatural
gender, sci fi, supernatural | Jennifer Roland | 
February 20, 2008 6:01 pm
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By Anonymous, February 22, 2008 @ 1:23 am
hi jen,
i’ve always had an interest in the paranormal and supernatural world (i guess it’s now categorized as sci-fi) and i’ve never considered myself as freaky.
until supernatural came along, i have never been totally obsessed with any television show (and i am a baby boomer, which means i have been around, LOL). i never even realized i was a “fangrrl” but am happy to be considered one due to the positive way we are portrayed in the popmatters article.
cheers, and enjoy the show tonight!
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By Jen, February 22, 2008 @ 2:57 am
Supernatural just has that effect on us girls, and I think it is much more than the attractiveness of the leads. I know that is one of the things I focused on in my post, but I think it has to do with the relationship between the leads and the power of that connection in propelling the story. The fact that the boys don’t hurt the eyes at all helps, but it’s definitely not enough to have drawn us all in so deeply.
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