one direction conference proposal

One

Direction

The Fandom

One Direction is a British-Irish boy band formed on the X-Factor in 2010. The band is comprised of five members, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Liam Payne. They recorded and released five albums from 2010-2015. Their music is a mixture of pop and rock and has remained a cultural staple despite nothing new being released in ten years. The relationship between the band and its fandom is one of deep mutual adornment- the Directioners are known for their passion and loyalty, and have not only supported the band's music but also actively shaped its narrative through social media, fan art, and fan fiction. This connection has transformed the traditional celebrity-fan dynamic, with fans feeling like an integral part of the band's journey and success.

INTRODUCTION

Why has One Direction’s fandom been instrumental in the mainstream recognition of fanfiction and fan art as legitimate forms of creative expression?

METHODS

LENS

I’ve been on One Direction stan Twitter (X) since about spring 2020, and I have absolutely loved every moment of it (even the bad). Being a part of the fandom actually helped me accept myself and understand that there are quite a lot of people still figuring themselves out. The Directitoners fandom is interesting to me because of how many gay people there are for this boyband that according to the general public, is full of straight men. I think the idea that at least one (or two or three) of them is fruity is a topic that continues to fuel the fruitiness of the fandom.

Broad Questions

annotated bibliography

research statement

Importance

This research is personally significant to me as a long-time One Direction fan for over five years. I’ve seen four out of the five boys live in concert and have developed a deep connection with them all individually in addition to as a band. Fanfiction, to me, is a powerful way for fans to express themselves, connect with each other, and find representation in the characters. Through fan-created content, I’ve come to love not just the boys themselves, but the fictionalized versions of their characters, which fans use to explore alternative narratives, identities, and relationships. My experience as a fan gives me a unique perspective on how this creative outlet connects fans and contributes to the wider cultural legitimacy of fanfiction.

This research is important because it explores how One Direction’s fandom has helped mainstream fanfiction and fan art as legitimate forms of creative expression. Fanfiction, once seen as a childish medium, has gained cultural respect, and this study will highlight how fan communities, especially within the One Direction fandom, have played a key role in this shift. The fandom has used these forms to challenge traditional gender norms and create more inclusive representations of masculinity and sexuality. This research shows how fans can not only consume but actively shape media, making fandoms powerful forces in cultural discourse. The One Direction fandom has significantly influenced the mainstream acceptance of fanfiction and fan art by creating inclusive and diverse representations of masculinity, sexuality, and identity.

HYpothesis

How does queer identity manifest within the One Direction fandom?

Fanfiction and fan art often focus on exploring the boys' sexualities, creating stories and visuals that reflect their personal journeys. These works also showcase the strong acceptance and support the boys show toward their LGBTQ+ fans. Their openness and kindness have inspired an abundent amount of content that celebrates love, diversity, and inclusivity, helping to build a sense of community among the fandom.

This article examines interviews with fifteen writers of One Direction real person fiction on Wattpad, revealing how many learned to write about sex by reading explicit fanfiction. The study explores how engaging with this fan community shaped adolescents’ romantic and sexual scripts. This is relevant to my research on the mainstream recognition of fanfiction and fan art, as it highlights how fan-created works challenge and reshape gender and sexuality norms. Through fanfiction, One Direction’s fandom reinterprets masculinity and sexuality, offering alternative narratives that subvert traditional gender roles- an essential factor in elevating fanfiction as a legitimate form of creative expression.

• "In other words, portrayals of adolescents in the media may be even more influential than real-life peers since they offer a non-threatening and less embarrassing mode of learning than interpersonal contexts."
• "On the other hand, benefits may include safer experiences of self-disclosure and supportive communication regarding sexual experiences and sexual health topics, especially for adolescent girls, who have ‘historically been discouraged from exploring or asserting sexual desire’"
• "Fan studies scholarship emphasises similar benefits for erotic fanfiction communities, highlighting how they provide women and LGBTQ individuals with spaces to explore their sexualities without shame"
• "This understanding extends to youth fanfiction communities, which are characterised as spaces for adolescents to ‘develop “sexual literacies” without adult interference’"

Hedrick, A. (2021). “He’s so bad but he does it so well”: interviews with One Direction fans about writing romantic and erotic fiction online. Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, 21(6), 693–707. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2020.1852075

This article discusses the success of Molly Night’s One Direction-inspired fanfiction "Dark and Dangerous Love" on Wattpad, which gained over 100 million reads through word of mouth within the fandom. Written in English at age 15, it blends romance and fantasy, showing how fanfiction can achieve mainstream recognition and legitimacy. This connects to your research by illustrating how One Direction’s fandom has played a key role in elevating fanfiction as a valid creative expression, while also challenging traditional gender and sexuality norms through alternative narratives, reflecting the broader cultural shift toward more inclusive representations of masculinity and romantic ideals.

• “There's something for everyone in the category--including romantic crossovers based on The Sopranos , Pride and Prejudice , James Bond, Pinocchio , Frozen , and Sailor Moon.”
• “the extra money from readers who choose to buy her work early has certainly helped her as a full-time student with considerable debt”
• “Fan fics are produced at astonishing rates, and the One Direction canon is no exception.”
• “Night's novel currently has more than 100 million reads on Wattpad and has been crowned the site's #1 title in the fan fiction, teen fiction, paranormal, fantasy, and vampire categories several times. It also won a People's Choice Wattys Award in 2015.”
• Second, she's never done any publicity for her novel. Its success was driven solely by word of mouth among other Wattpad users--many of whom are fellow Directioners.

Anonymous, One Direction Fan Fiction Reigns on Wattpad. (2016). Publishers Weekly, 263(26), 46. https://esearch.ut.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/one-direction-fan-fiction-reigns-on-wattpad/docview/1800511835/se-2

This paper examines the Recognize & Resist (R&R) educational intervention, designed to reduce social norms supportive of sexual violence in One Direction fanfiction on Wattpad. The intervention encourages writers to incorporate sexual consent and egalitarian gender roles into their stories. The study found R&R to be feasible, with positive feedback from fanfiction authors, suggesting it could help shift attitudes within the fandom. This connects to your research by demonstrating how fanfiction within One Direction’s fandom not only reflects but can challenge societal norms around gender, sexuality, and consent, further legitimizing fanfiction as a platform for both creative expression and social change.

• “Wattpad.com – a website where amateur fiction writers can post their writing serially by chapter – poses an ideal opportunity to assess the feasibility of an intervention using pop-culture media to target teens’ social norms”
• “1D fans account for a quarter of the site’s most popular 150 authors and popular 1D fanfictions on Wattpad have hundreds of millions of views.”
• “Most Wattpad writers reported benefits from participating in the 1D fanfiction community, such as decreased feelings of shame and stigma surrounding sex”
• “Seeing other teen girls candidly express sexual desire online helped writers feel less ashamed of their own emerging sexuality and unafraid of future sexual interactions, when they were ready to be sexually active?

Hedrick McKenzie, A., Friedman, B. G., Dillman Carpentier, F. R., Lazard, A. J., Salazar, L. F., & Shegog, R. (2024). Recognize & Resist: An Online Health Intervention to Promote Writing About Sexual Consent and Egalitarian Gender Roles Among One Direction Fanfiction Writers. Health Communication, 39(3), 529–540. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2171950

In exploring the intricate relationship between the British boy band One Direction and their dedicated fanbase, the Directioners, this research will focus on how the fandom's engagement with the band has transcended traditional boundaries, creating a dynamic of mutual admiration and influence. The central argument of this study is that the bond between One Direction and its fans is one of deep, reciprocal adoration- one that is not only expressed through music consumption but also actively shaped by the fans themselves through digital and creative mediums. Directioners have long been celebrated for their unwavering loyalty, and their influence has extended far beyond passive fandom into active participation. Through fan fiction, fan art, and digital video compilations, fans have molded the band's narrative, shaping its public identity in profound ways. This collaborative relationship has transformed the traditional celebrity-fan dynamic, making fans feel like integral participants in the band's journey and success. To explore this dynamic, this research will examine a selection of popular fanfictions on Archive of Our Own (AO3), as well as video compilations and fan edits on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. These artifacts will be analyzed to uncover how the content created by Directioners reflects and amplifies the core aspects of the band's identity, while also providing a lens through which the reciprocal relationship between the band and its fans can be understood. By delving into these fan-created works, the study will illuminate the ways in which fans not only consume the band's content but also co-create its narrative, reinforcing the sense of shared journey and mutual admiration that defines the relationship between One Direction and its devoted followers.

lens

Queer & Gender-Centered

The critical lens applied to this research will be Queer & Gender-Centered. This lens is especially useful for examining how gender and sexuality norms, as well as representation, have shaped both the media One Direction produces and the media their fans create. One Direction’s fandom engages with themes of masculinity and sexuality, often subverting or reimagining these ideas through fanfiction and fan art. By focusing on queer and gendered expressions, this lens allows for an exploration of how fans challenge traditional notions of masculinity—especially as presented by the band—and reframe them through their own creative works. The research will investigate how the fandom reinterprets the band’s image, often portraying the members in ways that both challenge and reinforce gender norms, and how this reflects a broader societal shift in the understanding of gender and sexuality. Fanfiction has been a major form of creative expression within the One Direction fandom, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping how fans interact with the band's media. These fan-created works often delve into alternative explorations of gender and sexuality, challenging traditional norms and offering new representations of masculinity. Through fanfiction and fan art, fans create alternative universes where gender roles are fluid, and sexuality is explored beyond conventional boundaries. These works not only reflect fans' desires for more inclusive, diverse representations, but also influence how the broader public perceives the band, the fandom, and fan-created content. This transformation of traditional gender and sexual norms within the fandom is integral to the mainstream recognition of fanfiction and fan art. These creative outlets, often seen as subversive or niche, have been elevated to the point where they are now considered legitimate and valuable forms of creative expression.

content analysis and social network analysis

Methods

1. Content Analysis: This method will be used to analyze the various types of content produced by the fans, focusing specifically on fanfiction, fan art, and the music/videos produced by One Direction. I will analyze how these fan-created works engage with themes of gender, sexuality, and masculinity, and how the representations in these works contribute to the legitimization of fanfiction and fan art. By comparing the way the band is represented in official media versus the way fans depict them in their creative works, I will explore how fans shape, subvert, and transform traditional representations of gender and masculinity. 2. Social Network Analysis: This method will help explore how fan communities across various platforms (such as X, Instagram, and Tumblr) interact with and disseminate fanfiction and fan art. By analyzing these digital spaces, I will track the spread of fan-created content, examining the networks of influence that help elevate fanfiction and fan art from niche interests to mainstream recognition. This analysis will provide insight into how social media platforms enable fans to share, promote, and legitimize their creative works, further solidifying fanfiction and fan art as valued forms of creative expression. Together, these methods will provide a comprehensive understanding of how One Direction’s fandom has contributed to the cultural legitimacy of fanfiction and fan art, specifically through the lens of gender and sexuality. By examining both the content produced by fans and the digital spaces where these works are shared, I aim to uncover the ways in which the fandom’s contributions have reshaped the way we think about gender representation and the role of fan-created content in the mainstream media.

What role do gender and sexuality play in shaping interactions and communities within the One Direction fandom?

I would say it brings the fandom together, a lot of people see themselves in the boys especially when touching on closetings and bearding. Some of the boys also play with gender expectations and do not let normalities confide them which is very empowering and inspiring for the fans.

In what ways do queer and gender-nonconforming fans create safe spaces within the One Direction fandom?

In my experience, the majority of the fandom is accepting of any and all types of genders and sexualities and the fans find and talk to each other to create their own safe spaces on social media despite state lines and country boarders.