What Does Gender Mean in Regendered Characters Author Baker, Lucy Published 2017-12-31 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Hum, Lang & Soc Sc DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2211 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/380299 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au WHAT DOES GENDER MEAN IN REGENDERED CHARACTERS Ms Lucy Irene Baker, BA (Hons), MAppSci(Lib&InfoMgmt) School of Humanities, Languages, and Social Science Griffith University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 31 December 2017 21 Abstract This thesis examines the ways regendering, or ‘genderswapping’, is performed as an adaptational creative choice for fans and creators. Regendered works, such as the TV series Elementary, illustrate the complexity of representation, and the ongoing imbalanced landscape of media. I develop a more cohesive understanding of the fannish counterpublic and its complex approaches to creativity and gender by grounding the research and data collection in fan studies, gender studies, and literary theory. This thesis uses interviews, surveys, and observations of fannish communities, and close readings of regendered texts and media, to develop two theories of regendered effects. One: the position of regendered work within fannish counterpublics is one centred on the conflicts and tensions between lived experiences and the media landscape, performed through the creative forms that characterise their communities. Fannish experiences of gender and sexuality influence their reception of those works, and how they practice regendering as a creative process. Two: these works then reinforce that counterpublic by correcting the gender imbalance of the initial work, and re-othering the expectations of that work. I then apply these theories to specific fanfic texts, revealing the interplay between the fan, the audience, the canon, and gendered expectations of behaviour and sexuality. 21 Statement of Originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. _____________________________ Lucy Irene Baker 21 Assistance and Funding The following assistance was received in the pursuit of the research and preparation of the thesis. Griffith Graduate Research School (GGRS) Travel Grant ($674) for attendance at Otherness and Transgression in Fan and Celebrity Cultures, University of Aarhus, 2014, to present ‘The Other Woman: Re-Authoring and Re-Othering Gendered Narratives’. Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (GCSCR) ($2000), and the School of Humanities ($1000) Conference Attendance Grant for attendance at Console-ing Passions, University of Notre Dame, Illinois, 2016 to present ‘Look At Us Both: Appearances of Femininity in M/M Fanworks’ with JSA Lowe. Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (GCSCR), and the School of Humanities, Linguistics and Social Science (HLSS) Conference Attendance Grant ($1500) for attendance at Console-ing Passions, Eastern Carolina University, North Carolina, 2017, to present ‘I'm No Princess: DC Super Hero Girls Merchandise’. 21 Acknowledgement of Published and Unpublished Papers included in this Thesis Section 9.1 of the Griffith University Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (“Criteria for Authorship”), in accordance with Section 5 of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, states: To be named as an author, a researcher must have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the creative or scholarly work that constitutes the research output, and be able to take public responsibility for at least that part of the work they contributed. Attribution of authorship depends to some extent on the discipline and publisher policies, but in all cases, authorship must be based on substantial contributions in a combination of one or more of: • conception and design of the research project • analysis and interpretation of research data • drafting or making significant parts of the creative or scholarly work or critically revising it so as to contribute significantly to the final output. Section 9.3 of the Griffith University Code (“Responsibilities of Researchers”), in accordance with Section 5 of the Australian Code, states: Researchers are expected to: • Offer authorship to all people, including research trainees, who meet the criteria for authorship listed above, but only those people. • accept or decline offers of authorship promptly in writing. • Include in the list of authors only those who have accepted authorship • Appoint one author to be the executive author to record authorship and manage correspondence about the work with the publisher and other interested parties. • Acknowledge all those who have contributed to the research, facilities or materials but who do not qualify as authors, such as research assistants, technical staff, and advisors on cultural or community knowledge. Obtain written consent to name individuals. Included in this thesis are papers in Chapters 3.2, 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, and 7.2 for which I am the sole author. The bibliographic details /status for these papers are: 21 Chapter 3.2: ‘The Surface of Women’ in Transformative Works and Cultures, No. 24, Queer Female Fandom, guest edited by Julie Levin Russo and Eve Ng (2017). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Chapter 5.1: ‘Girl!Version: The Feminist Framework for Regendered Characters in Journal of Fandom Studies, Volume 4 Number 1 (2016). The author retains copyright of their contribution and grants Intellect an exclusive license to publish. Intellect requires an exclusive license in order to disseminate the contribution to the widest possible readership in both print and electronic format. The author may distribute or re-publish the contribution but may not use the format or designs of the contribution as it appears in the journal. Chapter 5.2: The Other Woman: Re-Authoring and Re-Othering Gendered Narratives submitted to Journal of Otherness (special issue attached to the Otherness and Transgression in Fan and Celebrity Cultures conference). Chapter 7.1: ‘Joan Watson: Mascot, Companion, Investigator’ in Farghaly, N., Gender and the Modern Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Film and Television Adaptations Since 2009, McFarland (2015). 1. One time non-exclusive use only. 2. Use the following credit line: From Gender and the Modern Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Film and Television Adaptations Since 2009 © 2015 Edited by Nadine Farghaly by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640. www.mcfarlandpub.com. Chapter 7.1: ‘Elemental Rage in Elementary: Jamie Moriarty and Irene Adler, queerness and villainy for regendered characters’ submitted to Continuum. _______________________ (Date) 31/12/2017 Lucy Irene Baker (Countersigned) ______________ (Date) 31/12/2017 Supervisor: Dr David Ellison 21 Acknowledgements First, I want to acknowledge the rightful custodians of the lands I was born on, wrote on, lived on; the Jagera, Turrabul, Quandamooka, the Kulin nations, the Arakwal and Bundjalung people, and others who I do not know. I am grateful to be here on their land. Always was, always will be. Secondly, my support network at Griffith; David and Margaret, my supervisors, for the constant push and drive, and always welcome wit and wisdom. Belinda and Pat, all those years ago, for taking in a bewildered student and giving her more options than she knew what to do with. Amanda, for being a touchstone, mentor, and friend. Mahsa, Hafsa, Tatheer, Hyacinth, Golie, Rebecca, Jillian and Erin, and everyone else running around our campuses, for all the coffees and lunches and quick hellos. Thirdly, the ones at home; Linc and Fallon, for being the rock I can always swim back to. Lahni for always being there on holidays when I couldn’t. Ley and Amanda for after school pick ups. Mum for giving me a love of words and Da for the work ethic. Emily for all those Ikea dates, coffees, and last-minute champagne. Fourthly, the others spread across the globe; JSA, for a timely essay and words of wisdom and wearing furniture in Illinois, and the rest of those at Aarhus, Rukmini for being the other stand out in Hobart and doing the work that must be done. Lori, Kathy and Cameron, for acafandom welcomes extraordinaire. John and Holden, for throwing me a rope when I was flailing too hard to see the shore. Amelia for swimming out there with me. Lastly, vale Sheree, mater ursa. I still miss you. Without all of you, all of this, I could not have done all that I have done. Thank you. 21 Contents Chapter 1: Literature Review: Literature, the Literary, and the Liminal............................. 23 Chapter 1.1: The Liminal: the Interdisciplinary Readings from Fan Studies .................................... 26 Chapter 1.2: The Literature: Gender Studies and Intersectionality ....................................................33 Chapter 1.3: The Literary: Literary Studies in a Multi-Modal Frame ................................................. 37 Chapter 2: This Is My Method(ology) .................................................................................. 43 Chapter 2.1: Collection Strategies ...........................................................................................................