ABSTRACT
In the late 1980s I wrote an academic essay (“Fandom as pathology: the consequences of characterization”) arguing that fans deserve interest and respect, rather than mistrust and contempt. 1 I described fans as deeply knowledgeable and engaged by their object of expertise. My main argument was that unlike their caricatures, fans are not desperate, hysterical, lonely, and pathetic figures, trying to compensate for their inadequacies through fandom. I claimed instead—mostly in order to support my “fans aren’t pathological” argument—that scholars and fans are different versions of the same thing.
