Jun 22, 2022
In Episode 176, Elizabeth and Flourish welcome Liang Ge, a PhD candidate studying Chinese boys’ love fiction (aka danmei) and its fans. Topics discussed include a history of danmei, ambivalence around gender and sexuality amongst its readers, and how fan culture has shifted with the huge success of several BL-adapted...
Jun 8, 2022
In the latest (13th!) installment of the “Ask Fansplaining Anything” series, Flourish and Elizabeth tackle a fresh batch of letters from listeners. Questions posed include: Are author’s notes “unprofessional”? What are the distinctions between fusions and crossovers? Are some fans writing x reader fic to avoid...
May 25, 2022
In Episode 174, “The Classification of Fandom,” Flourish and Elizabeth break down some of the broad categories people use to define types of fans, starting with a foundational meta that proposed distinctions between “affirmational” and “transformational” fandom. Why do we create these categories, and are...
May 11, 2022
“The Meta Episode” isn’t an episode about episodes: Flourish and Elizabeth use a listener letter about fan meta—nonfiction writing about an object of fandom or fandom at large—as a springboard to talk about the past, present, and future of the practice. Topics discussed include the shift from mailing lists to...
Apr 27, 2022
Episode 172, “Safe Spaces,” is split into two parts: first, Flourish and Elizabeth read and respond to a series of listener letters about their recent “Fandom-Tinted Glasses” conversation; then, they discuss another listener letter on younger fans’ struggles to avoid or escape “anti” or “purity...