Anti-fans consume media they hate to bond with like-minded others

Evidence

In 2005, Jonathan Gray coined the term “anti-fan” to describe “those who strongly dislike a given text or genre, consider it inane, stupid, morally bankrupt and/or aesthetic drivel.” Instead of avoiding what they dislike, sometimes anti-fans fervently consume the media they “love to hate,” in order to discuss it with other like-minded anti-fans. That is certainly the case with a group of anti-fans who are devoted to hating internet celebrity Julia Allison. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 384

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘anti-fan’ as a term of art for the field vocabulary.
• XREF: Connects to concepts of participatory fandom and media community-building.