Whether it’s rallying against Jose Mourinho or protesting against the commercialization of football, fans have a long history of using their passion for a particular subject to fight for change. The articles in this issue demonstrate that fan activism isn’t a passing fad, but rather a powerful force that is increasingly influencing civic life.
This issue brings together cutting-edge work that takes fans seriously as political agents, and that draws on a variety of theories of citizenship and democracy. Its essays explore how fan activism can reframe and challenge dominant discourses about culture, power, and society.
We examine how the way in which protest stories are told can influence people’s attitudes toward the protest and the protesters. Specifically, we show that when news media humanize – as opposed to delegitimize – the teenager whose death prompts a protest, viewers perceive the story as more credible. This effect holds for both Democrats and those with Democrat-leaning views. In contrast, when stories delegitimize the teenager whose death prompts a migrant rights protest, viewers perceive the story as less credible.
We also show that a fan activism organization’s use of preexisting community structures, like fandoms or the Black press, helps it build up a sense of solidarity and social action among its members. This is illustrated by Dave’s story about his experience with the Harry Potter Alliance, an organization that encourages its members to use their love of the books to promote social change.