Tuesday, December 05, 2006

I know I've covered this before.

I just can't get over how "Fanboy" carries the expectation of extremely pretentious criticism, and "Fangirl" carries the expectation of starstruck gushing silliness.

I know what fangirls are like. They are exactly like fanboys when they get disappointed. I know what fanboys are like, just a goofy as fangirls when they get starstruck. Its just an inescapable connotation.

We need a gender-neutral word, dammit, and "Fan" is just a tad too dignified.

26 comments:

  1. Fanchild? Maybe combining insults, like "fandork"? Can we borrow "otaku" from the Japanese, or has that been totally co-opted by American fans?

    Bah, I'm never going to coin anything. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do like fangeek.

    I usually use 'fanthing' myself, since both 'fanboy' and 'fangirl' tend to be used in a depreciating manner anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fanboy, like Mankind, incorporates both genders. So there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmmm. I've never thought that the word "Fanboy" carried the expectation of "extremely pretentious criticism". Most of the time I think the word "fanboy" means "someone with a whiny sense of overentitlement about the direction of their chosen fandom" (i.e. someone who complains incessantly about whatever thing the owners of the object of their chosen obsession are doing that isn't exactly what they would be doing with said chosen obsession).

    "Pretentious dork" is what I usually term the first one - probably due to too many "pretentious film dorks" I've known over the years.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So, you're looking for a term that's a little more "Fandrogynous"?

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm w/Jer, Ragnell - "socially awkward, often misogynist and/or homophobic, male with a whiny sense of entitlement" pretty much sums up "fanboy" for me.

    As for the "fangirl" connotation - ehhh, maybe...but I've talked with enough of Tammy's fans to have a much more positive view of them as a group. On balance, they're smarter and better conversationalists than, say, your typical fanboy is.

    Jer - your "pretentious dork" is somebody else's "genre scholar and historian"! Sez the pretentious film dor - er, "film scholar and historian" .... ;)

    Best,
    Tim Liebe
    Dreaded Spouse-Creature of Tamora Pierce

    ReplyDelete
  7. Seconding "fanthing."

    Though I tend to use "fangirl" and "fanboy" almost interchangably now, at least among my friends. (It may help that I also use them as verbs more than nouns.)

    --lj furikku

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like "fanperson" and "fanpeople." Although "fanthing" best describes some comic fans I've met.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like the suggestion of fangeek. Fanthing is okish, too, but doesn't have the same sense of playfulness.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I LOVE Ragtime's Fandrogynous! Or, how about Fansies!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A Comics booster rings less like a stigmatic hustle than fanboy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. The word "Fandrogynous" is a glorious revelation. While "Fanthing" sounds a bit Norse.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Giant-Size Fan-Thing. Fanperson.

    Also: fandork, fangeek, fannerd.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I, personally, favor "Nerdling."

    But then, I've always been a bit self-deprecating and cynical.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What knows art burns at the touch of the "Fan-thing"...

    I can't believe nobody made that joke yet...

    I'm with the "Fangeek" people...

    ReplyDelete
  16. I use "fanboy" and "fangirl" interchangeably to describe any fan who behaves in a juvenile manner.

    Certain behaviors are more common among one or the other -- I don't see fanboys obsess over relationships a great deal, whereas fangirls don't seem to get into as many inane arguments about whether Goku can beat Superman -- but as you said the general behavior is about the same.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Personally, I think fangirls get into more arguements about whether Superman would look better beating Goku or Batmas would look better beating Superman...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Shouldn't that be Fan Thing?

    It came from the depths of the social hierarchy...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Batmas would look better beating Superman

    Batmas? Well it probably shows my fangeekishness that that sounds like an awesome idea for a holiday/celebration to me.

    ReplyDelete