Everyone’s a fan of something, some in more devoted ways than others, but when you factor in gender, you’re bound to be met with the ever-present double standard that exists between men & women when it comes to being an enthusiast about something. I’m sure you’ve seen the comparisons of grown men screaming in the stands of a football game with paint-streaked cheeks and beet-red faces to young girls in costumes, holding up hand-made glitter signs and crying over their favorite teen idol. One is perfectly acceptable, with the notion that men are simply avid about sports, while the other is trivial, childish and something that will be grown out of once they “mature.” So when genders cross over in male-dominated fandoms: what happens, and is the integration seamless?

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