ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the changing nature of gender in fandom. It investigates the implications of branded fan fashion objects for contemporary fan practices. Digital culture allows fans to perform their consumption in a multitude of ways from Instagram pics to tweets to haul videos, all of which demand a performative, affective consumption practice. The rise of amateur digital culture also opens up the spaces of fandom for women who might have been otherwise invisible or not part of conventional fan subcultures, especially for comic book and sci-fi products. Fandom's built-in consumption market makes it a ripe area for brands looking to expand reach and move product. Since the community around beauty and shopping videos on YouTube is robust, female fans become key targets of branded merchandise playing into long standing conceptions of shopping as feminine practice.
