Fansplaining

Our final article of 2025 is here! Kayti Burt—who first wrote for us last spring, in a fantastic piece on the precarity of being a fandom journalist (https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/the-fan-journalist-tightrope)—returns to Fansplaining to tackle the subject of fandom tourism, and how fans can approach journeys with respect rather than entitlement.  "Can Fandom Make Us Better Tourists?" In an era of overtourism, South Korea's Jeju Island and international BTS fans are building bridges of mutual respect. Read the whole piece: https://www.fansplaining.com/can-fandom-make-us-better-tourists/  

Our November piece is here! Newt Albiston's essay is one part guide to fandom text-based roleplaying, one part meditation on working through gender exploration via roleplay. Plus: be sure to click through and see the gorgeous art we commissioned from illustrator Anna Lark. "Alternate Universes" Through text-based roleplaying, I've lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.  Read the whole piece: https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/alternate-universes/

Our October piece is part essay/part excerpt: Meghan Fitzmartin, who's written for DC Comics, Supernatural, and many other fan-favorite properties, has published an indie comic, Mary Sue, about—you guessed it!—a fanfiction writer. While the essay is a standalone text you should be able to listen to just fine here, we highly recommend heading over to the piece itself to see excerpts from Mary Sue's first issue! "Reclaiming the Mary Sue" by Meghan Fitzmartin. My new comic interrogates the continued bias against Mary Sues—and brings one life.   Read the whole piece: https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/reclaiming-the-mary-sue/

September's piece is by longtime fandom journalist Aja Romano, on the explosion of Kpop Demon Hunters, and its intersections—or lackthereof—with real K-pop artists and fans. "K-Pop's Demons, Real and Fictional" by Aja Romano. KPop Demon Hunters has seen massive mainstream success in the U.S. What does that mean for real K-pop artists and their fans? Read the whole piece: https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/kpops-demons-real-and-fictional

Our August piece is by novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) Tessa Gratton, about navigating the intersections of the fan and pro writing worlds, and how their queerness shapes their framings of these worlds. "The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between" by Tessa Gratton. Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape. Read the whole piece: https://fansplaining.com/articles/fan-pro-spaces-between/