Male+vs.+Female+in+Fandom

There is a difference between how women and men approach a particular fandom. When dealing with the fandom of "Supernatural" the difference was very distinct and noticeable. Members of the male sex tended to participate in the fandom by watching the series weekly and by discussing the happenings with personal friends. Women however seemed to take fandom to another level, and throughout this class I have noticed this difference spreading across many fandoms.

When I studied the fandoms in "Dragon Ball Z" and "Sora no Otoshimono" this difference between the male and female sex was apparent as well. Men seemed to participate in the fandom only through purchases of the series and in fan art. Women on the other hand were involved in the fandom at it's core. Women were the Beta's of the fan fiction section for the most part in "Sora no Otoshimono." In this particular anime women outnumbered men more than 3:1. Women were the majority of the fan writers, women were prominently the ones who did summations of episodes that had aired and what their opinions were on the episode as well. In other words, women were not just fans, they were critics.

To understand this one must understand what a fan critic is and this can be found at {Insert Hyperlink here}. I tried interviewing random men from the "Dragon Ball Z" fandom to ask them how they participated actively in the community. I received a variation of two answers, one answer being "I participate actively by producing artworks and watching the show," the second answer being "I actively participate by watching the show and chiming in once in a while to give my opinions on what has happened." So in general these individuals only watched the show and produce fan art. Women on the other hand were actively participating in ways that far exceeded the men. Women being fan critics as well as fans, being fan producers, and actively making sure that the fandom thrived for further continuation.