Fanthropological

Fandom has changed a lot, and over time has gone from something on the fringe of society to the forefront. Does that also mean that fandom has moved towards a key part, an integral piece of people’s personal identity? In this episode, we dig a bit about representation and self-identification as well as: * What does being a fan of something even mean?! * The (non) importance of level of participation in (self) identification * Conversations that are strangely lacking self-awareness about the parallels of fan self-identification as compared to other areas of self-identification, closeting… etc. And more! All in under thirty minutes. ## Episode Outline **Topics:** How do people identify themselves, the meaninglessness of the word fan, the difference between interests and fandoms… sort of, the difference between liking something and having it be a part of your identity, interests between people don’t inherently mean connections, how community contribution or participation impact perceptions of ident