This thesis involves examining the influence of feminism, platform and community on the fandom of Sarah J Maas (SJM) novels on the social network site Tumblr. The goals are to show how a shift to an open social network site has changed the practice of fandom and how various feminisms are applied to popular culture and learned through Tumblr. An ethnographic study and textual analysis on SJM fandom posts and interactions on Tumblr were utilized in order to reach these goals. The observations and analysis examines the data in three categories: the established characteristics of fandom on Tumblr, the characteristics of Tumblr, and the characteristics of the SJM fandom on Tumblr. The analysis suggests Tumblr fandom culture, of which popular feminism is a vital aspect, dictates how fans behave and interact. The fandom struggles to fill the gap created by a lack of clear authority figures, which leads to fans asserting their own authority through policing behaviors, shame and the validating of identity. Both the architectural structure of and the social roles on Tumblr lessen the boundaries of the fandom community, change interactions and build tension in fandom because it forces it to be public to endless potential audiences. The platform is as influential to the fans as the novels of Sarah J Maas are; the fandom is linked to the platform.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis involves examining the influence of feminism, platform and community on the fandom of Sarah J Maas (SJM) novels on the social network site Tumblr. The goals are to show how a shift to an open social network site has changed the practice of fandom and how various feminisms are applied to popular culture and learned through Tumblr. An ethnographic study and textual analysis on SJM fandom posts and interactions on Tumblr were utilized in order to reach these goals. The observations and analysis examines the data in three categories: the established characteristics of fandom on Tumblr, the characteristics of Tumblr, and the characteristics of the SJM fandom on Tumblr. The analysis suggests Tumblr fandom culture, of which popular feminism is a vital aspect, dictates how fans behave and interact. The fandom struggles to fill the gap created by a lack of clear authority figures, which leads to fans asserting their own authority through policing behaviors, shame and the validating of identity. Both the architectural structure of and the social roles on Tumblr lessen the boundaries of the fandom community, change interactions and build tension in fandom because it forces it to be public to endless potential audiences. The platform is as influential to the fans as the novels of Sarah J Maas are; the fandom is linked to the platform.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Leiser, Sarah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Erika Polson, Ph.D.","Derigan Silver","Lynn Schofield-Clark","Greg Ungar"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:03Z","subjects":["Fan studies","New media","Participatory culture","Platform","Social network sites","Tumblr","Communication","Critical and Cultural Studies","Social Media"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1448","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Erika Polson, Ph.D.","Derigan Silver","Lynn Schofield-Clark","Greg Ungar"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Leiser, Sarah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-07-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fan studies","New media","Participatory culture","Platform","Social network sites","Tumblr","Communication","Critical and Cultural Studies","Social Media"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Throne of Fans: Examining the Roles of Feminism, Platform and Community in an Online Fandom"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Erika Polson, Ph.D.","Derigan Silver","Lynn Schofield-Clark","Greg Ungar"],"dc:creator":["Leiser, Sarah"],"dc:date.available":["2018-07-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis involves examining the influence of feminism, platform and community on the fandom of Sarah J Maas (SJM) novels on the social network site Tumblr. The goals are to show how a shift to an open social network site has changed the practice of fandom and how various feminisms are applied to popular culture and learned through Tumblr. An ethnographic study and textual analysis on SJM fandom posts and interactions on Tumblr were utilized in order to reach these goals. The observations and analysis examines the data in three categories: the established characteristics of fandom on Tumblr, the characteristics of Tumblr, and the characteristics of the SJM fandom on Tumblr. The analysis suggests Tumblr fandom culture, of which popular feminism is a vital aspect, dictates how fans behave and interact. The fandom struggles to fill the gap created by a lack of clear authority figures, which leads to fans asserting their own authority through policing behaviors, shame and the validating of identity. Both the architectural structure of and the social roles on Tumblr lessen the boundaries of the fandom community, change interactions and build tension in fandom because it forces it to be public to endless potential audiences. The platform is as influential to the fans as the novels of Sarah J Maas are; the fandom is linked to the platform.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1448"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Fan studies","New media","Participatory culture","Platform","Social network sites","Tumblr","Communication","Critical and Cultural Studies","Social Media"],"dc:title":["Throne of Fans: Examining the Roles of Feminism, Platform and Community in an Online Fandom"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:03Z"}