In books, movies, TV shows and videogames there is always something that the main character strives to find at all costs but discovers that it is close to impossible. In the daily fangirl life, there is a similar quest: find a guy who reads the same book as us. Do fanboys - guys who read books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Mortal Instruments - exist or not?
If someone were to use the word fanboy outside the fandom world, it would
be taken as an insult. Often, people are called Apple fanboys (when they
support Apple products no matter what) or Nintendo fanboys (someone who thinks
that Nintendo consoles are superior to PlayStations and Xboxes) with the intent
of implying a negative characteristic.
The Italian Wikipedia for fan (to which I was redirected from fanboy) describes the word fanboy as a "derogatory term which [...],
literally, signifies 'fanatic boy'". The English Wikipedia, similarly, uses the
words socially inept person, obsessive or exclusive dedication. This
does represent what we talked about before: who hasn't seen Apple being
defended in a very aggressive way (excuse my oxymoron) by faithful customers or someone saying a console is better than another by personally offending another
person who has a different opinion?
This also matches the description of
fangirls on the same page: "Fangirls are often portrayed as teenagers
obsessed with something to a frightening degree. The term is often used in a
demeaning, derogatory fashion to describe the fans that give 'normal' fans a
bad name."
Entries on Urban Dictionary really give a
great idea of the negative connotation the word fanboy has for most people.
But in relation to fandoms, English
Wikipedia says, "they are typically associated with comic books, video
games, science fiction movies or television series [...]". And that's
exactly what I want to talk about. I'm talking about boys who watch the same TV
series we are passionate about, who worry about the way Allegiant ended, who wish
they could be honoured with Alaska's presence, and so much more.
A fanboy in this context is the equivalent
of a fangirl but is male. But we never see them: or, to be more accurate, we
rarely encounter boys who are fans of YA, especially when the main character is
a girl. Boys are more likely to read series such as Percy Jackson or The Maze
Runner because they identify with the male character more than they would with,
say, Bella from Twilight. For example, a classmate of mine has read both Harry
Potter and Percy Jackson but hasn't dived into YA series with female main
characters.
Most guys are fans of comics, which, on the
other hand, seem to be read by a minority of girls. They share the same enthusiasm we
have for books and it is clear to see when a movie is made from a comic. Who
can deny the hype for the upcoming Suicide Squad movie or Ant-Man this summer?
It is exactly the same as the one for the impending Mockingjay, Part 2 movie and
Insurgent (from the Divergent series) which both caused excitement in the
fandom world.
So now that we've established that a comic
and video game fandom are designed for mainly boys (the same way YA fandoms are aimed at mostly
girls), are there fanboys for books? Of course there are! Just look at any reading forum or website and you
will find, though in a smaller number than girls, a significant number of boys.
Pottermore is a great example for a single fandom, while Goodreads perfectly
represents every single fandom.
Next time you enter your favourite
bookstore or library and see a guy hanging around the YA section, hanging around
casually or just ignoring the curious looks from anyone else, you'll know
exactly who he is: a fanboy.
Do you have a fanboy partner in crime?
0 comments:
Post a Comment