“AND THEN THEY BONED”: AN ANALYSIS OF FANFICTION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT By Lindsay Mixer A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Sociology Committee Membership Dr. Meredith Williams, Committee Chair Dr. Mary Virnoche, Committee Member Dr. Meredith Williams, Program Graduate Coordinator May 2018 ABSTRACT “AND THEN THEY BONED”: AN ANALYSIS OF FANFICTION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT Lindsay Mixer The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how young adults come to understand their sexuality (from sexual and gender identities to sexual likes and dislikes) through reading and writing fanfiction. Previous studies show that fanfiction promotes non-heterosexual orientations, but little research has been done on how it contributes to overall sexual development. In conducting an online survey of fanfiction readers, I explore how fans use these works to generate an understanding of themselves as sexual beings. Explicit stories make up a sizable portion of the fanfiction available, and there is a wide range of sexual acts depicted in those stories; ones that readers may not have been introduced to otherwise. Fanfiction can also facilitate discussion of sexuality and gender identity, topics that may not be appropriate in other social spheres, which can assist further sexual development. This study looks at just how influential fanfiction, and the fanfiction community, can be on sexual development. Keywords: Fanfiction, fandom, sexually explicit material, sexuality, sexual development, lgbt, queer, pornography, media i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my fellow fans, without whom none of this would have been possible. The whole-hearted welcome I have felt in fandom, first as a fan and then now, as a researcher, cannot be overstated. Thank you for your support. I feel humbled and blessed to be part of this community. To Dr. Meredith Williams, my chair, my teacher, my hero in every way possible. You are superwoman. Don’t ever forget that. To my family, my parents and brothers, for supporting me in every possible way. To Kelsey and Kayla, my best friends and biggest fans. Every time I felt like giving up, it was you two that kept me going. Thank you for simply existing in my life. And finally, to my cats Thor and Sif, for always knowing just when I needed my work forcefully shoved from my lap. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Glossary .......................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................. 10 Sexuality ....................................................................................................................... 11 Fanfiction ...................................................................................................................... 18 Fanfiction as a psychosocial moratorium ................................................................. 22 Pornography .................................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 33 Studying Fandom: Access and Trust ............................................................................ 33 Survey Instrumentation ............................................................................................. 36 Measurements ............................................................................................................... 39 Fanfiction reading habits ........................................................................................... 39 Gender identity and sexual orientation ..................................................................... 40 iii Masturbation and sexual experiences ....................................................................... 40 General demographics............................................................................................... 41 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS ........................................................................................ 43 Fanfiction Demographics .............................................................................................. 43 Interacting Identities ..................................................................................................... 46 Interactions of gender and sexual orientation ........................................................... 46 Interactions of gender, sexual orientation, and fanfiction habits .............................. 48 Interactions of gender, sexual orientation, and sexual experiences .......................... 51 Fanfiction and Masturbation ......................................................................................... 53 Fanfiction and Sexual Acts ........................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................................................ 58 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 60 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 63 SURVEY........................................................................................................................... 70 The Formation of Sexual Behavior through Fanfiction ................................................ 70 General ...................................................................................................................... 71 Reading Fanfiction .................................................................................................... 72 Writing Fanfiction ..................................................................................................... 76 Gender and Sexual Identity ....................................................................................... 79 Background Questions .............................................................................................. 84 RECRUITMENT .............................................................................................................. 86 iv COMPLETE TABLES ..................................................................................................... 87 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Sample Demographics ........................................................................................ 44 Table 2: Fanfiction Habits ................................................................................................ 45 Table 3: Sexual Experiences ............................................................................................. 46 Table 4: Gender and Sexuality* ........................................................................................ 47 Table 5: Gender, Sexuality, and Fanfiction part 1* .......................................................... 49 Table 6: Gender, Sexuality, and Fanfiction part 2* .......................................................... 50 Table 7: Gender, Sexuality, and Sexual Experiences* ..................................................... 52 Table 8: Fanfiction and Masturbation Analysis ................................................................ 54 Table 9: Fanfiction and Sexual Experiences Analysis ...................................................... 56 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A typical search result for sexually explicit Star Trek: The Original Series fanfiction ............................................................................................................................. 1 vii LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................... 86 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................... 87 viii 1 CHAPTER ONE Introduction Figure 1: A typical search result for sexually explicit Star Trek: The Original