SALON: Who Gets to Be a Fan? Identity Politics in Superhero Fandom

Superhero fandom is often thought of as a predominantly white male space. Because of this, there have been a number of controversies involving diversity and identity in superhero texts. Such incidents include a 2017 interview in which Marvel Comics’ vice president of sales David Gabriel said that fans “didn’t want any more diversity,” as well as the widely circulated false claim that Captain Marvel lead actress Brie Larson did not want white men to see the 2019 movie. Recent research suggests both media producers and fans are responsible for creating “a narrow, frequently gendered, vision of fan identity and participation over the past decade” (Scott, 2019, p. 21) in an effort “to homogenize fandom itself” (p. 11).

Beginning from the perspective that the “proper” audience for a text is a discursive construction rather than an objective truth, this salon asks questions including (but not limited to): What are the roles fans and producers play in constructing the idea that superhero fans are mostly white men? What does the fandom look like, and how has it changed in recent years? What can fans and producers do to have a positive social impact on the fandom?

Participants: Matt Griffin (University of Iowa), Nayara Domingos, Laura E. Felschow (SUNY Oneonta), Clarice Greco (Paulista University), Rusty Hatchell (University of Texas, Austin), Rachel Marks (University of Central Florida), Christina Schuster (University of Vienna) (Jacinta Yanders, moderator)

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