This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DocWatson42 (talk | contribs) at 09:08, 13 June 2004 (Added mention of fangirl and moved the See also links.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 09:08, 13 June 2004 by DocWatson42 (talk | contribs) (Added mention of fangirl and moved the See also links.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Keen aficionados of any phenomenon such as authors, hobbies, ideologies, genres or fashions can collectively manifest as fandom. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object of their fandom; this is what differentiates them from those with only casual interest. The objects of fandom are typically artistic, sporting or entertainment related. For example, it would not be usual to refer to an accountant who is really interested in the details of accounting to be a "fan" of accounting.
A derogatory term for a member of fandom is "fanboy", or "fangirl" a member of the female gender.
The term "fandom" is particularly associated with fans of the science fiction and fantasy genres, who originally coined the term as a portmanteau of "fan" and "(king)dom"; the word "fan" itself originated as shorthand for "fanatic".
See also: Science fiction fandom, Furry fandom