*cries*

[booksomewench]

So, I'm writing about fandom and making all these claims, and yet, can't find evidence online to back them up. But, they're common knowledge!

For example, I'm making the claim that fans marry and intergeneration fannish families are becoming more common. That almost falls under the "Well, duh" category (I can name at least five friends on my f-list as living, breathing examples of this phenomenon without even trying, including, well, MYSELF. Not that con relationships ever work out, right quish?*) but there are no statistics--that I have found--stating this. I feel very odd making claims without being able to back them up.

Dammit! Anthropologists, start doing more geek-based research!

Yarg.

* Since I do have new readers, I should explain that I do believe that con relationships can work out. I never would have marries shogunhb if I didn't. However, quish did warn me against them soon after shogunhb and I first started dating (after meeting at Worldcon 2004). This is the same girl who told me to punch her if she ever got engaged to purple_dj, which I did, several days before their wedding last summer.

Comments

[tmchiba.livejournal.com]

*example here!* hehe (come on when my fanfic's number of chapters equals my fiancee's birthday in the fandom she adores, something's clicking.)

There has to be a testable sample out there somewhere....hmm...case studies maybe?

[quish.livejournal.com]

He had long hair! He couldn't be trusted!!!

I think the lesson learned here is don't take my advice when it comes to men.

[shadowravyn.livejournal.com]

But you were convinced you and ddrpolaris would make an excellent couple.

And have you finished my questionnaire yet?

[mpgalvin.livejournal.com]

just collect anecdotes until it's data.

[buddykat.livejournal.com]

I feel very odd making claims without being able to back them up.

Primary sources (your questionnaire, interviews, your own observations at cons, etc) are an *excellent* resource. Sadly, not enough anthropologists are doing geek related research (yet), so use what you have seen and what others have told you about themselves as primary sources... Eventually your paper will be one of the sources for someone else doing the research that you need now!

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

I'm an intergenerational nerd, but my parents weren't really engaged in fandom. They both liked Lord of the Rings and science fiction, but I don't think they had any inkling about organised fandom. (And neither did we kids until we hit our late teens.)

[anitra.livejournal.com]

Same here. Although my dad was more on the computer-tinkering side, and my mom on the scifi/fantasy/literature side.

And there's no WAY our kid(s) can escape...

[gunthersdncemix.livejournal.com]

BTW - I keep forgetting to tell you this, but check out Henry Jenkins work, he writes a lot about fandoms

I admit I've read his articles, not his books, but these books look the most relevant:
Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Media Consumers in a Digital Age
The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture
Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (Studies in Culture and Communication)

I swear I've seen a few articles in passing about people who get married in second life.

When is your paper due? I could try to use my mad library-skillz if you need more help, let me know :)

Add in one more...

[anu3bis.livejournal.com]

anu3bis and balsamicdragon, the Boston Worldcon 15 years before that . We met at Noreascon III, started dating at Arisia '96, and are about to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

[yonaruth.livejournal.com]

Uhhh... My parents met at a Star Trek convention because they both wrote fanfic -- my mom had a table publicizing her zine and my dad wanted to submit some of his stuff. They raised me on Trek; I'm like a crack baby.

Oh, and then my mom went on to meet my step-dad in a Star Trek role playing chat room on compuserve. (She was playing the same character [Spock's son] she had written the zines about.) They met in person 3 times before they got married.

[nyren.livejournal.com]

I couldn't imagine dating someone who wasn't a geek with some overlapping geeky interests. I mean, you don't need to have EVERYTHING in common in a relationship, but geeks need to geek out. That's what the definition of being a geek is, as far as I care. If you can't geek out with your SO, what the heck is the point of having one? :P