Pages and Prejudice

E72: Shameless Fandom - Ditching Guilty Pleasures and the Culture of Fan Shame

Pages and Prejudice

Show Notes

Show Notes:

I am a freak and I am proud.

Why are so many fans hiding their AO3 bookmarks, running private accounts, and apologizing for what they love? In this episode of Pages & Prejudice, Stitch and Adrie Rose dig into the culture of shame, guilt, and fear that has taken over fandom spaces — and why it's making everyone miserable. Drawing on cultural anthropology, Ruth Benedict's guilt/shame/fear society framework, and years of firsthand fandom experience, they break down how anti-fandom, call-out culture, and the concept of "guilty pleasures" are pushing fans to hide, self-censor, and turn on each other.

Topics: fanfiction, AO3, guilty pleasures, anti-fandom, dark ships, slash fiction, fandom culture, kink shaming, fandom shame, fan works, pro-ship, fandom discourse, kirk/spock

Recommendations:

Fanfic: Alien Brothers by Helena Seabright

Podcasts: Searching for Soshern: The Forbidden Star Trek Fanfiction (Very Special Episodes)

Follow & Support: Follow us on Instagram. Send inquiries to [email protected]. Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!

Hosted by: Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok) Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)

Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers Now you can grab some show merch, or become a show patron, and support the hosts. Share the show with your friends, no matter where they listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Pages and Prejudice

See all episodes →