Women Discover Media Fandom (Again)
Under the headline “‘Harry Potter for Adults’: Netflix Lures ‘Bridgerton’ Fans With Live Events”, the New York Times looks at the Bridgerton Experience, a series of Regency balls aimed at hyping up the next season of the show.
The streaming giant hopes it serves as a marketing tool for “Bridgerton,” the second season of which becomes available on Friday, and appeals to the show’s primarily female fan base, which is often ignored when it comes to fan culture.
Though Bridgerton itself is not speculative fiction, Netflix (and the reporter) see Bridgerton fandom as a cousin to the more traditional geeky fandoms. (This actually seems reasonable, given that the World Science Fiction Convention has been holding Regency dances for decades.) The usual tale is told of how women only came to geekdom relatively recently.
Indeed, it was a milestone when the cast of the first “Twilight” movie showed up at Comic-Con in 2008, introducing a new demographic to the predominantly male-skewed fan convention. “Fifty Shades of Grey” followed suit with an extensive line of merchandising. “Outlander” and “Downton Abbey” have also proved the purchasing power of a largely female fan base.
Here is your periodic reminder that the first well-developed media fandom was Star Trek fandom, and it was overwhelmingly female. The show was so associated with female fans, in fact, that the term “Trekkie” is alleged to have been coined as a dismissive analogy to “groupie”.
In Brief
This year’s MARcon (May 6-8, Columbus, Ohio, USA), the 57th, will be the last unless someone steps in to take over.
Kogaracon 2022 (planned for April 23, Edison, New Jersey, USA) has been cancelled. The convention expects to return in 2023.
Wiscon’s latest funding update reports $22,000 of a possible $30,000 match has now been raised. 291 memberships have been sold, of a goal of 1000.
Event Calendar
Weekend of March 25-27
AggieCon 51, College Station, Texas, USA
MidSouthCon 38, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
HELIOsphere, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
FantaSci 2022: Time Warp Edition, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, USA
Consonance 2022 (music), Milpitas, California, USA
Motor City Furry Con, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Plattecon XXXV: The Redemption Arc (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
GameStorm 22, Portland, Oregon, USA
Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
WashingCon (gaming), Washington, DC, USA
Ludinord (gaming), Lille, France
Game On Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
SIMCON 43 (boardgames), Rochester, New York, USA
Adepticon 2022 (wargaming), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
FreeCon 18 (anime), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Nadeshicon (anime), Québec City, Québec, Canada
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
SwampCon 1v1 (anime), Gainesville, Florida, USA
AnimeJapan 2022, Tokyo, Japan
Zenkaikon 2022 (anime), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Anime Recharge 2022, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
ExpOtaku Almería 2022 (anime), Almería, Spain
Fluke 2022 (independent comics and zines), Athens, Georgia, USA
Revelcon 32 (media relaxacon), Houston, Texas, USA
Weekend of April 1-3
CyPhaCon 2022, Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA
Roscon-2022, Moscow, Russia
Costume-Con 40: Rogues, Royals, Renegades, Rockville, Maryland, USA
Atlanta Game Fest 37, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA
LeiriaCon (gaming), Leiria, Portugal
LexiCon 2022 (gaming), Lexington, Kentucky, USA
LexiCon-IL (RPGs), Lexington, Illinois, USA
Animarathon (anime), Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
Cape Anime, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA
KokoroCon (anime), Nottingham, UK
Tokyo Alley (anime), Perth, Australia
AniFest 2022 (anime), Torrance, California, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Angers Geekfest: La Culture Geek Au Féminin (media), Angers, France
Quad Cities Comic Con, Davenport, Iowa, USA
Vaca-Con (media), Vacaville, California, USA
WonderCon 2022 (media), Anaheim, California, USA
Weekend of April 8-10
LuxCon 2022 (Eurocon), Dudelange, Luxembourg
ConStellation, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Jack Williamson Lectureship, Portales, New Mexico, USA
Springmoot (J. R. R. Tolkien), Exeter, UK
221B Con (Sherlock Holmes), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
FK-NO 3 (music), online
CosXpo (costuming), Reading, UK
Golden State Fur Con (anthropomorphic), Los Angeles, California, USA
CODCON XXV: Re-Roll! (gaming), Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA
Adirondacon (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA
DaveCon (gaming), Roseville, Illinois, USA
MEPACON (gaming), White Haven, Pennsylvania, USA
Buckeye Game Fest 2022, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2022, Garden City, New York, USA
Havoc XXXVI (miniatures gaming), Sutton, Massachusetts, USA
Conpulsion Lite (RPGs), online
Ambercon 2022 (Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game), online (usually Livonia, Michigan, USA)
LAN All Night V: LAN of the Rings (LAN gaming), Grapevine, Texas, USA
CoMo Retro Con (retro video games), Columbia, Missouri, USA
Aselia Con (Tales game series), Irving, Texas, USA
Con Ja Nai XXVI (anime), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Jaycon 11 (anime), Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
Romics XXVIII (comics), Rome, Italy
Sci-Fi Scarborough (media), Scarborough, UK
Rod Con (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA
Wicked Comic Con, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
SC Comicon, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Central Texas Comic Con, Waco, Texas, USA
Bedford Who Charity Con 7 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK
Star Trek Mission Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Dairycon 2022: The Moo Adventures (Transformers), Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA
Weekend of April 15-17
Reclamation 2022, the 72nd Eastercon (UK national sf convention), London, UK
Minicon 55, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
Norwescon 44, Seatac, Washington, USA
Fastaval, Hobro, Denmark
HAL-CON 2022, Kawasaki, Japan
Fauntastic 2022: Night of the Yōkai (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France
Fur Squared 2022 (anthropomorphic), Brookfield, Wisconsin, USA
GothCon XLV (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden
Conquest Games Convention (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia
Nashville Tabletop Day (boardgames), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
OzBunnyCon 2022 (boardgames), Glen Waverley, Australia
Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA
MTAC Score! (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Mang’Azur (anime), Toulon, France
Polymanga (anime), Montreux, Switzerland
Karoshi-Con (anime), DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Saluki Con (anime), Carbondale, Illinois, USA
SacAnime, Roseville, California, USA
Colorado Anime Fest, Denver, Colorado, USA
Sakura-Con 2022 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA
Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
Indiana Comic Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
BABSCon 2022 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA
Weekend of April 22-24
No Brand Con XIX, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
Swancon Not-A-Con, Tuart Hill, Australia
JordanCon (fantasy literature), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Ice and Fire Convention (Song of Ice and Fire series), Mt. Sterling, Ohio, USA
Penguicon 2022 (sf/open source), Southfield, Michigan, USA
Malice Domestic 32-33-34 (mysteries), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Farmageddon IX (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA
Cheyenne Gaming Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
Rising Phoenix Game Con, Milford, Massachusetts, USA
Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada
Recon (miniatures gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Omnicon Revival (anime), Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
Oz-Con (anime), West Plains, Missouri, USA
Kawaii Kon (anime), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Anime St. Louis, St. Charles, Missouri, USA
ExpOtaku Vitoria-Gasteiz (anime), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Mobile Bay Anime Festival, Daphne, Alabama, USA
Beta Quest 2022 (anime), Kingsland, Georgia, USA
San Diego Comic Fest, San Diego, California, USA
El Paso Comic Con, El Paso, Texas, USA
Yellow City Comic Con, Amarillo, Texas, USA
Fayetteville Comic Con, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Suncoast Comic-Con, Palmetto, Florida, USA
Comic-Con Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Fanboy Expo Las Vegas (media), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Coda
Mercury may be studded with diamonds (Science News)
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