The Interview: Crystal Moffatt, Owner of the Blog Fandom Freak.
How would you define a fandom?
‘To me a fandom is simply the state of being a fan of someone or something, a tv show, a particular person, e.t.c and being part of a community that shares common interests with you.’
Are you a part of any fandoms? If so which ones?
‘I’m part of many fandoms, particularly the Taylor Swift fandom (Swifties). I’m also part of the Ellie Goulding fandom (Goulddiggers) and many tv show fandoms, particularly One Tree Hill, Chicago PD, Supergirl, Orphan Black and Grey’s Anatomy.’
Ah, so quite a few! Have you made many friends through these fandoms?
‘Definitely! I tend to make friends on Twitter when it comes to internet/fan friends. I have a lot of friends from the Swiftie fandom because I have been in this fandom for the longest. We talk pretty much every day and I have even met some of them at concerts before.’
That’s pretty cool, so how would you describe being in a fandom?
‘I honestly don’t know what I would be as a person without being in a fandom, I’ve been in the Swifitie fandom online since around 2011/2012. It is just a great feeling to be able to scream and cry over a picture of a celebrity with someone who completely gets you.’
Wow, it really must mean a lot to you! Does this make criticism of the fandom harder to take? Some fandoms are known for being particularly aggressive!
‘I’m never nasty to anyone, I mean, I know a few people who have sent hate to particular people because of negativity towards their fandom but I usually just brush it off. Us Swifities in particular are quite shady but not nasty, we tend to be quite sarcastic in our responses to someone saying negative things about Taylor. 9 times out of 10 the negative comments are about her past relationships and at the end of the day that is her personal life so we shouldn’t have a say in that.’
What is your response to the toxicity within these fandoms?
‘I just don’t think it is necessary to argue over a particular person/thing. People are in different fandoms and of course they are going to have different opinions. It is when people try to claim their ‘fave’ or make them superior to anyone else is when it starts to get childish really.’
What is your opinion on ‘Fandom Etiquette’?
‘I think that being a part of a community that shares your interests should be fun, it should be a place to express your love for someone/ something without getting knocked down for it.’
So obviously you run the blog Fandom Freak, through your research of Fandom behaviour, are there any interesting trends that have arose?
‘I think the main trend that arose for fans of music, much like my fandom, stereotypically, female fans, are seen to always be categorised as the ones who scream, faint and mob their favourite people in the street. It sometimes seems that fandom behaviour can become obsessive and sometimes very unhealthy but I understand that being a fan is necessary for some kind of release, it is just an escape from the pressure of day to day life and that is what I love so much about being part of so many fandoms.’
Putting this aside however, do you think fandoms can go too far?
‘Oh yes, definitely, the Cut for Bieber trend was outrageous. The fact that fans of Bieber were actually harming themselves and posting graphic images that appeared on people’s timelines just because Justin smoked weed or was under the influence of alcohol when driving is beyond me. People actually suffer from self harm on a day to day basis. ‘
Thank you for your time Crystal, is there anything you’d like to add?
‘Be part of a fandom and be kind, it’s great!’
And finally give yourself some promo and add your blog details here:
‘Come check out my blog where I look more in detail about Fandoms: Fandom Freak‘
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