fanon

n. the body of widely accepted fan-created embellishments of a fictional universe, storyline, or character. Subjects: English, Arts & Literature

Editorial Note: Thanks to Ruth Czirr for suggesting fanon as an entry. Etymological Note: fan + ca(n)on. The person quoted in the first 1998 citation has not been verified as the creator of the term fanon.

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Citations: 1998 [Emily Salzfass] Usenet: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (Apr. 1) “that nail in my grave”: I’ve also coined “fanon” to mean “fan canon”…it’s yours, if you want it. 1998 Usenet: alt.tv.sentinel (Nov. 6) “Re: Blairtusions (was Negative feedback)”: I’ve heard it said that the “Blair-as-trouble-magnet” bit is fanon, not canon, as in it’s an unsupported fic convention. Eh, no, that’s not right. The boy gets into a *lot* of hot water, and it’s not even all cop-related. 2002 [Miss Faithling Fantastico (tragicamente)] I yelled back (London, Eng.) (Apr. 17) “Fic that is particularly good”: A brilliant first-timer fic that captures just about everything I love about this relationship. (some annoying fanon stuff, but hey.) 2003 Tracy Mayo Boston Globe (Mass.) (June 29) “Taking Liberties With Harry Potter” p. 14: Writers and readers maintain a strict distinction between “canon,” the original works as Rowling wrote them, and “fanon,” the embellished, alternative retelling by fans. (In canon, Draco Malfoy is evil; in fanon, Draco Malfoy can be any number of things, including a leather-pants-wearing hottie who’s after Hermione’s goods.) 2006 [Banned from Finland (zorb)] Mocked by the world (California) (Feb. 17) “Fandom, start your engines”: Daniel does in fact have three doctorates, which was a fanon thing that I totally didn’t buy into before.

Posted 22 Feb 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

I find it highly appropriate that four of the five examples used are from four of the largest ‘fanon’ universes: Star Trek, The Sentinel, Harry Potter, and Stargate.

by Katherine 23 Feb 06, 0357 GMT