Story Summary
Women, Tolkien and the Online Fanfiction Community
The current Tolkien online fanfiction community, like most fanfiction communities, is one in which most of the writers are women, many of whom are writing in male-character dominated environments. The Tolkien online fanfiction community has grown exponentially over the past 18 months since the release of the Peter Jackson films of The Lord of the Rings. Is the gender of the writers of current Tolkien fanfiction relevant to their desire to write new stories set within Middle-earth? The author, who is both a woman and a Tolkien fan, wondered about this, and decided to ask the writers themselves. She posted a survey to the current writers, asking questions relating to why they write Tolkien fanfiction and their relationship, if any, to the women characters in Tolkien’s works. This paper examines the 62 replies that were received over a two week time period in February, 2003. The results are complex and inconclusive, though many responses are illustrative of the way this community sees itself in relationship to Tolkien’s writings, each other, and the world at large.
Parma Awards 2004 - Nominee - Best Essay
Parma Awards 2004 - Nominee - Best Essay
Chapter List
| Ch# | Title | Words | Com. | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foreword | 633 | 0 | 26 Mar 03 |
| 2 | Method, Results and Terminology | 650 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 3 | The Tolkien Online Fanfiction Community: Motivation | 438 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 4 | The Tolkien Online Fanfiction Community: The Recent Explosion | 890 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 5 | Does gender matter? | 1,207 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 6 | Self-representation | 929 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 7 | Slash and Tolkien | 414 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 8 | Other Sub-genres and the Online Tolkien Fanfiction Community | 1,544 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 9 | Conclusion | 519 | 0 | 19 Mar 03 |
| 10 | Works Consulted and Appendix | 2,371 | 0 | 10 Apr 04 |
| Appx. Word Count | 9,595 | 0 | ||
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