Anti-fans construct their identity in opposition to the target of their hatred
Evidence
A thorough perusal of the comments reveals that the rebloggers define themselves in opposition to Allison. Allison is stupid; they are intelligent. She produces bad content; they produce good content. She is conceited; they are modest. She is insane; they are rational. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 393
Categorization
- XREF: Extends Jenkins’ participatory culture / fandom scholarship and connects to identity-construction-through-opposition seen in moral panics literature. — connects to: Anti-fans build elaborate archives of a hated micro-celebrity’s texts — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 389; Anti-fans justify their hatred as moral objection to unearned attention — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 390; Individual hatred stems from perceived grievance while group hatred targets identity — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1010 (+6 more)
- SEED: An essay angle: how online hater communities function as identity-building in-groups, with parallel structures to fan communities.
Broader Connections
- Identity is constructed through opposition to a continuously reinterpreted other
#expands(0.85) - Anti-fans hold a shared belief system that deems their own values morally superior
#expands(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 393 - Individual hatred stems from perceived grievance while group hatred targets identity
#expands(0.75) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1010 - Hate functions as a public assertion of enmity that constitutes a political community
#expands(0.75) — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 1083 - Hostility toward rivals is expressed by attributing unrecognisable, repulsive opinions to them
#exemplifies(0.72) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1493 - Attacking only strengthens the negative antihero identity
#expands(0.72) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 450