Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Anthropology Honors Theses Department of Anthropology 5-7-2016 Queer Subjectivity, Transmedia, and Embodiment in the Carmilla Fandom Stephanie Skinner Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_hontheses Recommended Citation Skinner, Stephanie, "Queer Subjectivity, Transmedia, and Embodiment in the Carmilla Fandom." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2016. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_hontheses/13 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. QUEER SUBJECTIVITY, TRANSMEDIA, AND EMBODIMENT IN THE CARMILLA FANDOM by STEPHANIE SKINNER Under the Direction of Cassandra White, PhD ABSTRACT This study examines the ways in which individuals mediate the institutionalization and embodiment of queer identities in the Carmilla fandom by manipulating transmedia networks. The research conducted expands upon Boellstorff’s (2015) methodology for virtual communities and Spitulnik’s (1993) theory of “media power”. Data was collected using three strategies: 1) quantitative surveys of 436 individuals, 2) five interviews, and 3) participant observation in the Carmilla fandom through social media. While Marxist and critical theorists assert that mass media is contextualized as