“Bandom Ate My Face”: The Collapse of the Fourth Wall in Online Fan Fiction

Abstract

Studies of real-person fan fiction (RPF) often focus on how RPF exploits the flexibility of celebrity identity. Yet social media have introduced an unprecedented level of proximity between fan fiction communities and their subjects. This article focuses on “bandom,” a fan fiction genre focused on American rock bands like My Chemical Romance. Bandom thrived on the constant contact of social media, but some participants became troubled by their subjects' behavior, particularly some musicians' acts of theatrical homoeroticism termed “stage gay.” Such controversies, coupled with the constant online presence of bandom's subjects, threatened to overwhelm the flexibility that RPF often requires.