Fans speak for whom? Imagined ‘official’,internalised hegemony and self-censorship

Abstract

This study elucidates the concept of ‘official’, frequently used as a counterpart to fans in pop culture fandom using the case of Thai Boys Love drama fandom in Japan. It is necessary to examine the relationship between fandom and hegemony without assuming the potential of participatory culture and fandom as a counterculture. Therefore, this study focuses on how fans construct norms based on the concept of ‘official’ and internalise this power. Furthermore, it explores the meanings and respective boundaries of ‘unofficial’ and ‘official’ as constructed by fans. The results of the participation observations and interviews as an acafan revealed that the unofficial fan club, mass media and other entities were ‘officialised’ and the boundary between ‘official’ and unofficial was challenged by both fandom and the ‘official’ side. The mass media plays the role of the owner of cultural content and provider of norms, and fans expect each other to follow them through the constructed and ambiguous concept of ‘official’. The hegemony of ‘official’ is constructed by the voluntary consent of fans, and internalising these hegemonies leads to self-censorship and self-regulation. Blind overconfidence in fan-created ‘official’ may reinforce these structures and undermine the freedom and independence of fans.

Digital fandom and the gaze of fandom in Thai BL drama

This study focuses on the fandom of Thai boys love (BL) dramas, known as tai-numa, meaning the swamp of Thailand made cultural content. Drawing on the perspective of previous fan studies that fans are not only consumers and recipients of culture but can also be active and proactive creators of culture and sometimes opposing audiences, this study explores how fans in tai-numa create, negotiate and adapt to fandom norms in mass media, and analyses discourses of the ‘official’ in participatory media fandom in the transnational culture of Thai BL drama in Japan.

Henry Jenkins, in his dialogue in the ‘Introduction to the Fandom Economy’, shows the difference between an audience and a fan as an audience is an object that offers attention, whereas a fan is a subject that seeks attention. Fans seek to have a sense of ownership, influence and connection, all of which are mechanisms of participatory culture (Kokuyo Outdoor Learning Centre, 2022). Concepts such as ‘Participatory Turn’ (Burgess, 2006, 2007) and ‘Media Studies 2.0’ (Gauntlett, 2011) also depict how fans transcend the boundaries of consumer and recipient and participate in the media through free expressive activity.

Particularly, the digitalisation of creative works and presentation media, and the formation of cyber-fandoms in social networks, have made it easier for individuals to actively participate. Previously, fans in the transnational cultural fandom of live action-drama BL were producers of texts such as secondary works, fanfiction and mission sheets. The BL fans who gather in tai-numa have been engaged in shipping and queer reading across various idols such as K-POP and Japanese male idols, manga, drama and comedy (Shimauchi, 2023). Tai-numa is also a transnational, transcultural and trans-subcultural contact zone, where fans create, learn, reflect, negotiate and renew each other’s values through fan activities characterised by co-creative fan activity with spillover effect (Shimauchi, 2023) and extends beyond an Oriental perspective practicing inter-Asian referencing (Shimauchi, 2024). Fans who engage in ‘autonomous’, ‘circular’ and ‘convivial’ learning enjoy learning within their own control and share their knowledge and creations with other fans via networks, free from industrialist values of efficiency and productivity (Okabe, 2022).

According to a study of the three phases of previous research on fan studies (Sandvoss et al., 2017), research that seeks to provide legitimacy to the creative and productive initiatives of fans as a form of activist research, as described above, is categorised in the first wave. The second wave analyses the interpretive communities of fans as embedded within existing social and cultural conditions. This study responds to this second wave research projection and focuses on the social and cultural conditions surrounding the fandom of tai-numa. Furthermore, it focuses on each fan’s experience and seeks to portray fandom as an imagined and spontaneous community (Sandvoss et al., 2017), based on the third wave of research projection which recognises that the fan experience is simultaneously personal and communal.

Critical examination of pop culture fandom

In previous studies, the space where fans proactively access and consume culture create, and form communities has been discussed under the concept of ‘counterpublic’, or as a unique queer public sphere regarded as a fan’s work against existing hegemony social norms (Yang and Xu, 2016). Studies on fandom have found a certain democratic and revolutionary potential, however, the excessive expectation and inclusion of fandom’s democratic and autonomous nature make it difficult to perceive the collusion and distortion of power within fandom. Ge (2022) has argued that insufficient consideration has been provided to how they self-organise, expand and circulate articulated discourses to counter the dominant culture’s oppression. There is also a need to examine more critically the relationship between fandom and hegemony without assuming the potential of fandom as a counterculture.

In recent years, some studies have critically evaluated fandom, especially in BL culture in China. Wang and Ge (2023), for example, found that fans self-censor content that does not conform to mainstream value judgements (e.g. heterosexual norms), resulting in them being vulnerable and unable to negotiate with mainstream culture. State power uses fan culture to establish surveillance (Wang and Ge, 2023). State power permeates all aspects of cultural production and consumption in China, exerting a deep-rooted influence on fan practices at an ideological level and, through the above, offers a perspective on fan conflict not previously seen in fan conflicts in the Western world (Wang and Ge, 2023). Other studies that have applied the confrontation between fandom and state power to nationalism and digital culture (Liu, 2019; Schneider, 2018) have shown that fandom and its culture are never free from the power structures and values of the society to which individuals belong. Moreover, there are numerous examples in Western and Korean pop culture of pop culture fandom’s direct connection with society, such as political participation through fan activism and philanthropic activities (Kanozia and Ganghariya, 2021). Tai-numa, as the digital fandom that is being built among Japanese speakers, will also have a different dynamism regarding the relation with social structure, culture and power, compared to the non-Japanese cases that have been studied to date.

To fill the research gap between existing literature, this study elucidates the concept of ‘official’ since it is frequently used as a counterpart to fans in Japanese fandom, and critically examines how fandom negotiates with media using the case of tai-numa. Simultaneously, it presents how fans construct norms based on the concept of ‘official’ and internalise this power. With a particular focus on discourses related to the JFC (Japanese Fan Club), which are informal fan activities, this study explores the meaning and respective boundaries of ‘unofficial’ and ‘official’ as constructed by fans, and how mass media involved with Thai actors such as Japanese magazines and event organisers are considered ‘official’. It also discusses how copyright and portrait rights are negotiated between fans and ‘official’.

Research methods

Mouri (2001) criticised cultural scholars for stereotyping and homogenising their understanding of fans and explained that intellectuals can no longer remain in closed intellectual circles but must actively stake out different networks. The author has been involved in this study emotionally as a fan and entails the power of interviewing and analysing them as an academic (Hellekson, 2011). The author is an acafan who has participated in fan activities as a member of the fandom while retaining the identity of a researcher. While researchers often dismiss a sense of fan community and fail to consider the inner fan feeling of their audience (Ross and Nightingale, 2003), acafans can facilitate relationships with other fans as insiders rather than outsiders (Lee, 2011). In addition to the academic research objectives related to fandom and fan activity, this research investigation is conducted with the internal perspective as a fan. The image of fandom as an acafan cannot be the greatest common denominator of fandom or the most comprehensive condensation of aspects of fandom, but it can be perceived as a reflection of some of the vibrant aspects of fandom that are dynamic and sensitive.

This research examines the following research questions: How is the concept of ‘official’ perceived or created within the Thai BL fandom in Japan? How do fans negotiate with what they consider to be ‘official’ and how is power shaped within the fandom? These questions were developed during fan activities in the tai-numa and clarified through participant observation. In this study, the observation of fans’ activities was conducted in from March 2020, when tai-numa expanded especially from October 2020, when Japanese TV stations entered partnerships with Thai production companies, to October 2022. Not only the activities of fans but also those of event organisers, distributors and distribution media, magazine publishers in tai-numa, and their comments, replies and quoted RTs were observed on social networking services. In the interview survey, 11 fans were interviewed through a recruitment process via X (formerly Twitter), disclosing the research questions above. One of the distinguishing features of digital fandom is anonymity, where many attributes that comprise an individual’s identity in the real world, such as their real name, place of residence, age and occupation, remain hidden and come to the fore as a fan (e.g. who they are a fan of and what drama they like). All respondents were native Japanese speakers, living in Japan and have been fans of the Thai BL drama series since approximately 2020. All respondents identified themselves as women and their ages ranged from 20s to 40s. Although the main audience for Thai BL dramas is said to be women in their 20s to 40s (Sakaguchi, 2021), the audience is diverse. Some of those identified as ‘women’ interviewed in this study also include individuals with queer sexuality, such as ARO/ACE and pansexual.

When they were quoted in this article, pseudonyms were used that were not associated with their own account names. The interviews were conducted in Japanese in a semi-structured format focusing on the research questions and recorded and transcribed with the participants’ permission. When reading the transcripts, the concepts mentioned in the interviews were coded and analysed qualitatively.

According to Tanaka et al. (2017), cultural studies is a field of struggle over the formation of meaning and discipline that seeks to capture the relationship between culture and power. Cultural studies have the ambition to produce the best knowledge that can be used to remake the world and the will to do so (Grossberg, 2010). If this is the case, the study of power formation in fandom and the related negotiation of power is a method to look beyond tai-numa to determine how communities create power and pop culture fandoms. It is a good case study of how political practises within fandoms can be characterised and problematised.

Fans’ interpretations of ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’

The term ‘official’ (koushiki in Japanese) in pop culture fandom is generally used as a noun that indicates production companies that produce and distribute cultural content, artists and their offices, and fan clubs established by entertainment companies. This definition, however, ‘has a huge range of what is considered “official” (Boom) in Thai BL fandom. There is immense wavering about how far someone who has some kind of rights can be referred to as ‘official’, and there is no unanimous definition. ‘The office to which the actors belong is the main ‘official’ body, and it is “official” up to companies, sponsors and eventers with whom they do business, and so-called old media are “official” even if they are small in scale’ (Soda); ‘The actors, Thai agency and Thai fan club (FC) are “official’ (Pan); “Thai FCs and overseas franchises recognised by the actors are “official”’ (Mark). Although the scope of the ‘official’ in tai-numa varies somewhat from individual to individual, there is a unique mechanism within the fandom whereby groups and individuals who treat actors and work commercially and in preference to fans as ‘official’ or ‘official-like’ and read into them legitimate values and norms to follow. This research will show that fans give an additional meaning to ‘official’ as an expanded concept, not only as a noun, but also as an adjectival concept that describes a state or property. Additionally, the interviews discuss what to expect from the ‘official’ constructed in this way within the fandom, and debates, issues raised and negotiations about the nature of that ‘official’. In this study, ‘official’ is only shown as ‘official’ with hooked brackets when used as a term with constructed meaning in the Japanese context.

While ‘participatory culture’ (Jenkins, 2006) has the potential to empower consumers, the negative aspect of fans’ participation in the process of creating and distributing media content and experiences is that the structure exploits’ labour of users, free labour has been highlighted (Banks and Deuze, 2009). Otuka (2014) also highlighted that the free creative activity of consumers has been integrated into the mass media system, which is returned to commercial capital.

In this respect, tai-numa can be perceived as a fandom that has expanded through: (1) active inclusion of fans’ free labour on the official side and (2) unofficial playing an ‘official’ role. A typical example of the former one is fan subtitles. In tai-numa, the production companies, which are the originators of cultural content, often do not provide subtitles or only provide English subtitles when the content is initially distributed. Therefore, fans voluntarily create subtitles for all episodes, convert them to data and send them to the production company, and the company adopts the fan subs. For much officially released content, including not only full-length dramas but also trailers, OST music videos and variety shows where the actors appeared in the drama, fan-subtitles have been integrated into the official site, reaching a wider fan base in different languages. In addition to subtitling, fans also support actors and production teams with food during filming and events, vote at award ceremonies, increase views of music videos, host online events with hashtags in support of the artists, create fan-made videos and mission sheets. All these activities are made possible through the physical, intangible and voluntary work of fans. Fans actively engage in the creation of cultural content, such as derivative works/fan fiction, fan art, fan-made videos, fan art and captions (Shimauchi 2023). The actors themselves and their offices ‘recognise’ these fan productions and work on social networks through ‘likes’, comments and thank you messages.

Thus, Thai BL drama producers have ensured the transnational influence of their cultural content by incorporating the free labour of fans based on their love and devotion for the work. ¹ Simultaneously, it is a move that blurs the line between unofficial activities by fans and those that are ‘official’ originating from the production side, as subtitles by fans are authenticated by the distributors and effectively become ‘official’ subtitles. An interviewee, based on experiences in other fandoms, states that in Japan, ‘there is a very strong norm that what is officially released is basically correct’, whereas ‘in Thailand, they don’t try to give official status that much authority, and unofficial activities can be similar to official ones, and the line between the two is blurred’ (Kao). As mentioned by many fans in interviews, the close relationship between the production side and fans is one of the attractions of tai-numa and shows an interesting contrast to the ‘official’ concept in Japan.

The ‘official’ status granted within the fandom

Regarding the latter factor (tai-numa expanded through the unofficial playing an ‘official’ role), this section analyses the Japan Fan Club (JFC), one of the unique fan cultures of tai-numa, and contradictory narratives surrounding the ‘official’ status provided by the fans. The main activity of FC entitled country’s name is to organise support, translate official content, publicise official content and fan events on behalf of domestic fans and establish links with the official. All activities are voluntary, there is no remuneration and requirements to become a national FC, a motivated individual who volunteers first can begin. They may or may not be recognised by the fan club in the home country of Thailand, and even if they are, they are basically voluntary and informal fan clubs managed by fans.

There are diverse discourses on fan clubs that carry the name of the national representative of fandom despite such informality, with an interviewee stating that ‘the first person to say something becomes JFC, and when that person bears the sign JFC, the voice becomes louder and the way of being in the fandom changes afterwards’ (Yim). Despite being done by individuals, an interviewee described it as ‘a culture that I don’t feel very comfortable with, where there is a lot of peer pressure, and it becomes like an organisation and not individuals’ (Yim). While there were many expressions of gratitude and respect for the free labour and dedication of the fans regarding their important role as organizers, ² there were also some expressions of both ‘despite being “unofficial”. . .’ and ‘despite being a FC (seeking something “official”)….’ These expressions contradict each other and some interviewees were aware of this.

For example, interviewees mentioned several instances where fans became angry and snapped when they were treated as a special category regarding attending events and other opportunities to contact actors, stating that such special treatment was unacceptable. This is an argument that FC is an ‘unofficial’ entity and should be treated like any other fan. Contrarily, some discourses project the ‘officiality’ of each fan’s conception of FC and demand ‘official’ norms.

‘I’m not looking for emotion in the “official”. . . I’m hoping there isn’t any’ (Way).

‘I want them to be fair, and I want them to be fans who give themselves to their stans with all their goodwill. I also want personal greed to disappear (laughs)’ (Pan).

The context in which such statements emerged is one in which emotions and interpretations of the actors and couple in the drama were relevant, as JFC’s activities often included subtitling dramas and other disseminated content and disseminating information such as retweets and quotes on X (Twitter) from actors, production companies, agencies and others. In addition to reflecting on the individual’s understanding of Thai BL drama and cultural aspects associated with it, there is also space for an ‘interpretation’ of this drama and the relationships or chemistry between the actors. For example, when subtitling video content, in addition to understanding the nuances of the original subtitles (mostly in English, as there are relatively few Thai speakers), there is also an interpretation of the actors,their characteristics and relationships. An interviewee stated that it is ‘extremely difficult to translate them neutrally’ (Miw) and expressed discomfort at the ‘situation where subtitles containing personal “interpretations” are being sent out as if they were an “official” interpretation’ (Gemini). In response to Japanese subtitles are often made by a single fan, an interviewee stated: ‘it’s weird to see them through other people’s interpretations. It would be fine if they were “official” (with the addition that they were created by the production company), but if you know the background of the fans creating the subtitles, it makes you feel uncomfortable’ (White).

The problem with this is that while there is no such thing as absolute correctness or complete neutrality when it comes to translations and interpretation of contexts, translations that contain interpretations are no longer acceptable because JFC is considered ‘official’ by its fans. Thus, there is a tendency in Japanese fandom to regard ‘official’ as neutral, authoritative and absolute. Those who have been exposed to unofficial activities by fans previously, such as K-POP and Takarazuka, stated that they had no resistance to unofficial activities in themselves, but also that ‘if they are going to be “official”, I think they should do it fairly without showing the thoughts of the people inside. I don’t like the idea that fans should be like this, or delusions, provided by the people inside of “official”’ (Kao). Because unofficial individuals and organisations can act like ‘official’, it is expected to conform to the norms of ‘official’ as described above.

In tai-numa, there is a system of participatory culture in which the official side actively incorporates the free labour of fans and transforms it into a transnational spillover force (Shimauchi, 2023). This results in a mechanism that requires JFC, which is essentially unofficial, to play an ‘official’ role, both physically and mentally. The ‘official’ is subsequently given a power similar to that of Gramsci’s concept of hegemony (Gramsci, 2001). Hegemony does not emanate forcibly from the JFC but is created through the voluntary consent of fans as a subordinate group. Fandom seems to have a consensus about what ‘official’ should be and what ‘official’ should look like: the imagined ‘official’ is expected to be neutral without emotions and someone’s interpretations. These are incompatible with the activities and feelings of fans who engage in a favourite subject out of affection and gratuitously.

Negotiations between ‘officials’ and fans

The above-mentioned blurred boundaries between the imaginary ‘official’ and the ‘unofficial’ are evident in the trend of fans raising their voices against the ‘official’ as the supplier of content (in this case the production company, distributor of the work and mass media promoting the work), and the ‘official’ taking up these voices.

‘Coming to tai-numa has allowed us to be involved in the production and publicity of the culture, rather than just being the distributors and recipients of information, and I think that’s what 'complaining' is about, but it’s also about the fans being involved in making it better, and if the officials make a mistake, the fandom can correct it. I feel that there is that kind of atmosphere’ (Kao).

Previously, when there were mistranslations in the subtitles of interview videos that were broadcast by the media on social networking sites, several fans who understand Thai highlighted the mistakes, and simultaneously, the subtitles were corrected due to a growing voice stating that mistranslating the actor’s own words was a loss of respect for the actor. ³ There was also an incident that fans criticised merchandise associated with sexual contact with the actors, and releasing the merchandise was cancelled. ⁴ These incidents show that when the words and thoughts of actors are not respected, and sexual gaze and sexual consumption of actors are made visible by ‘officials,’ criticism can arise from within the fandom, resulting in a move towards correcting and changing the activities of the ‘officials’ distributing the content. Actors’ sexual consumption is subject to self-criticism among fans, but here the criticism is based on a mechanism of neutrality towards the ‘official.’

However, there have been incidents from the official side that have shaken the boundaries. When a publisher published a novel version of a popular Thai drama, the subtitler JFC of the two actors playing the lead roles highlighted that the key dialogue in a significant scene of the story resembled the subtitles JFC had created. ⁵ The publisher plagiarised fansubs without credit because the publisher wanted fans to enjoy the worldview they were already familiar with, and issued an apology after protests from the subtitler (JFC) after some time. ⁶ The boundary between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ has thus sometimes been eroded by the ‘official’ side, with the result that the free ‘co-creation labour’ (Banks and Deuze, 2009) by fans has been exploited.

Furthermore, tai-numa is a fandom of Thai BL drama, a cultural content that mainly deals with same-sex romance, and Thai BL is deeply involved in conflicts with dominant gender norms in society, LGBTQIA+ rights and its movement and gender politics in each society (e.g. Baudinette, 2019; Prasannam, 2019; Zhang and Dedman, 2021). Tai-numa has many queer-identified fans, and various issues such as discrimination, racism, stereotypes and heterosexual norms have been discussed through BL dramas (Baudinette, 2023a; Shimauchi, 2023), and it is within this context that the expression of opinions on the ‘official’ reflected above has flourished.

However, it was highlighted that there was a discourse that criticises fans for expressing their opinions to the media and ridicules it as a ‘classroom meeting’. ⁷ One interviewee stated that ‘some people don’t like shielding themselves against officials’ (Boom). Another analysed that ‘the term “classroom meeting” is used to label expressions of opinion as disparagement’ and ‘by criticising free expression with the term “classroom meeting”, they are in fact trying to align themselves with a compliant fandom that does not challenge the “official”. . .’ (Pan). This indicated that there is an atmosphere of control over all negative discourse as not good, regardless of whether criticism of the ‘official’ is valid or not.

Tai-numa is not simply a counter public to the ‘official,’ but a fandom in which multi-layered politics occur. One such movement is self-regulation and self-censorship within fandom via rules from ‘officials.’ There are various differences between Japan and Thailand, from entertainment culture to the dissemination and publicity of cultural content, but especially in the treatment of copyright and image rights, which are considered comparatively strict for rights holders and users in Japan (Yamada, 2021). In Thailand, video content and interviews with actors published in magazines are translated into English when they are published and released, and fans in different countries translate them into their respective languages, which has helped to expand the fan base internationally. In Japan, however, it has been common practice for the social networking accounts of the publishers to issue notices prohibiting not only images but also any summary or translation of the contents of these articles. The free translation by fans is restricted under the copyright law. Translation from Japanese into English and other languages, thereby delivering content to overseas fans and consequently expanding the fan base, is considered something that ‘should normally be done by officials’ but is ‘being done by fandom instead’ (Gemini).

Other fans, referring to one of the magazines featuring Thai dramas quietly retweeted a tweet from another magazine that banned the transcription of its content, explain how such media’s behaviour affects fandom in this way.

‘I had a hunch about the intention of the translation-prohibited tweets, as if it was trying to make fans refrain by giving them a hint of the ‘official’ intention, as if it was urging fans to exercise restraint. Like, it was making the consumer discern, or something like that’ (Soda).

What needs to be explicit here is that Japanese magazines covering Thai BL actors are treated as ‘official’ in the fandom and power is granted to them. As a result of these ‘official’ statements, tweets from national and international fans who attempted to translate even a small part of the magazine’s content or provide an overview of the interview were overrun by the so-called fandom police, who responded to the tweets by stating that the translation was banned by the ‘official’ and they should delete their tweets. A similar situation arose when a reminder was issued banning card trading at event venues, although the ‘officials’ sold trading cards as a marchandise at live show events. Although the legitimacy of the rules is questionable, they are issued by ‘officials’ which has led to self-censorship within fandom, where the officials are to be obeyed and other fans who do not comply are kept at bay. Describing the situation at the time, an interviewee stated, ‘let’s behave as the 'official' tells us to behave! mentality is a real mystery and suddenly moves into a mutual surveillance situation without any time to examine the legitimacy of the norms’ (Soda).

Regarding fan interactions in the digital space, the emotional management of ‘how fans should be’ is not only governed by norms between fans and idols but also by norms shared by other fans and fan groups, which Oobi (2022) names ‘fandom norms.’ In tai-numa, in creating this ‘fandom norm,’ the involvement of mass media and the fandom’s application of ‘official’ to them conferred power, the emergence of fandom police and self-censorship and regulation of others began.

The above self-imposed restrictions have not only occurred on the internet, but also at live events after 2022, when cross-border human traffic returned: at an outdoor concert in the summer of 2022, actors from the Thai BL drama were on stage, and many fans from abroad came to Japan to attend the live events. In many Asian countries, including Thailand, it is common to take photos and videos at live concerts and fan gatherings, although a warning sign indicates that photography is prohibited. Nevertheless, in many cases photos and videos are taken silently. While different fan cultures have been established in each society and organisers do not make announcements in English or other languages, other ‘officials’ (official reports from magazines showing Thai BL dramas not directly related to the event) have requested that rules and etiquette be followed to enjoy the event. Some fans perceived this as public surveillance in the fandom that was also facilitated by the mass media, as follows:

‘A lot of fans were pissed off at the international fans, saying they’re not allowed to film. It is natural that there are fans like that because the cultures are different. I was really shocked that the topic of nationality came up and created a trend of slamming overseas fans. I think it was the ‘official’ side that brought up the topic of nationality, when at least they were not able to transmit the message in English’ (Pan).

‘The way ‘officials’ said, “fans’ manners are watched,” I think they dare to say this because they know the fan’s belief that if fans don’t follow ‘official’, their idols will lose their job. I got the feeling that ‘officials’ were taking advantage of the fans’ psychology, that they knew what they were doing and were trying to play fans in the palm of their hands.’ (Sara)

Sometimes the discourse conducted by ‘official’ is unclear regarding its legitimacy, necessity, and subject matter. However, when broadcast by the mass media, whom fans recognise as ‘official,’ fans spontaneously confer power on ‘official’ and create an atmosphere that restricts fan behaviour. The irony of this situation is that it has resulted in the appeal of Thai BL drama culture, including the fan activities that tai-numa fans have enjoyed thus far, being limited to several readers and viewers in Japan. Behind the popularity of Thai BL drama in Japan was the availability of an immense amount of information on SNS, a large part of which was not only the drama itself, but also the creation of a participatory culture in which fans translated, subtitled and commented on events, disseminated broadcasts, magazine interviews and other content, and engaged in creative activities (Jenkins, 2006; Shimauchi, 2023). Moreover, fans themselves interpreted the target culture and shared their identity in the public sphere as meaning production and fandom cannot be ignored.

The reason why I was able to like and get information about Thai actors, even though I don’t understand the language, is because of the various information given by fans on social networking sites. People are watching and liking Thai BL dramas because of what so many fans have put online. I think it’s strange that they start patrolling and say, ‘No Japanese translations allowed, no photos allowed, if you do this your favourite actors won’t be able to appear in Japanese magazines’ (Mark).

The discourse that often appears here, where the logic is that if you take a problematic action against the ‘official,’ the actor you support cannot appear in the future on TV, in magazines and other media because of the fans’ behaviour, is a discourse often seen in the self-regulatory movements of fandom. By the same logic, for example, the act of ‘piling up’ (buying tonnes of) CDs and merchandise when they are released (to appeal for demand to‘official’ by buying and selling many of them), and fan behaviour in positive directions, such as writing many letters to let the ‘officials’ know there is a reaction, are also based on the logic that fan behaviour influences the ‘official.’ While positive and proactive fan activities are crucial to the popularity of the culturals content and their support is perceived to positively transform the fandom economy (Kokuyo Outdoor Learning Centre, 2022), the frequent use of the sledgehammer ‘for my idol’ may simultaneously become a limitation of fan behaviour.

‘The act of paying tribute to the 'official' is certainly connected to the good of the idols, but if it goes too far, it will lead to our behaviour of 'don’t do anything to the detriment of your idols. . .’ (Pan)

Conclusion

The mechanisms of the Japanese Thai BL fandom in relation to the ‘official’ include, first, creating the hegemony of the ‘official’ within the fandom. Second, the attitude of submission to the ‘official’ that exists outside the fandom, and internalisation of these hegemonies, leading to self-censorship and self-regulation. The mass media play the role of cultural content owner and provider of norms. Fans expect each other to follow such fandom norms through the imaginary constructed and ambiguous concept of the ‘official.’

Thirdly, ‘officials’ restrict the fans’ freedom in their negotiations with them. As manifested in the case of a magazine dealing with Thai BL dramas, which requested fans to murmur their impressions on SNS, but prohibited them from summarising or translating the content, the media are attempting to protect their copyrights and interests and control the fans’ energy while recognising the important role fans play in cultural development and publicity. Simultaneously, through the logic of overconfidence in the influence and co-responsibility of fans, fandom rethinks and restricts their behaviour. Fans seem to be connected by a fundamental and universal desire of ‘for my idol’, while the logic/rhetoric they generate provides power in fandom politics.

‘There’s a lot of peer pressure to be thought well of as a Japanese fan, an atmosphere of wanting to be praised for being well behaved and being proud of being well behaved’ (Sara)

The internalisation of the logic of the ‘official’ as the logic of the fans and representation of the ‘official’ sometimes resonate, and occasionally contradict other Asian fandom politics but are fundamentally unique in Japan. In BL fandom in China, Wang and Ge (2023) described how some fans internalised state power and turned into fandom police who proactively used state censorship as a weapon of confrontation with other fans. Regarding the difference between Korean and Japanese fans, Baudinette (2023b) states that Korean fans adopt the attitude of protecting their idols from their entertainment agency (‘official’ in the Japanese context), which might be due to the strong culture of speaking out against authority in Korea, which has gone through colonial rule and dictatorship. With observing as an acafan in the field of K-POP, fans certainly fight for their idols claiming that, for example, their hectic schedule is not desirable for the idol’s mental and physical health, or the venue provided by the agency for live performances is too small for their idol. It is normal for fans to directly criticise the ‘official’ to demand better working conditions and treatment on behalf of their idols.

Contrastingly, this study showed that fans did not simply resist an entity towards the powerful ‘official,’ but was a part of the power formation after negotiating with mass media. In Japan, the emphasis is on seeking tacit ‘consensus’ and ‘obedience’ rather than discussion and exchange of opinions. This could also be because of the historical and cultural background in Japan. Japanese society did not gain their democracy through a revolution but by occupational forces and maintained a power structure including the emperor system after the defeat of World War II. Most people have not yet experienced how to change society through their civil and democratic movements. This historical, social and cultural background of Japanese society is to a certain extent related to the fandom politics depicted in this study.

Much of fan activity is not about fans supporting their actors or idols, but also about legitimising and being profited by the capitalist operations of the commercial media that provide and distribute them. A blind trust in fan-imagined ‘officials’ can reinforce these structures and shake fans’ freedom and independence. This may ultimately harm the grassroots creativity of fans.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-mcs-10.1177_01634437241249175 – Supplemental material for Fans speak for whom? Imagined ‘official’, internalised hegemony and self-censorship

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-mcs-10.1177_01634437241249175 for Fans speak for whom? Imagined ‘official’, internalised hegemony and self-censorship by Sae Shimauchi in Media, Culture & Society