Help with a survey about fanfiction

#1
Hello! I'm writing a thesis on fanfiction and sexual taboos. I think that we need to talk about fanfiction. People still consider it inferior to original books. We need to change it! And, therefore, we need to make other people see how important fanfiction is, starting with thesises or just essays. Idea of my thesis is that reading or writing fanfiction changes our perception. We are more tolerant, less prejudice. We break taboos or accept them. My thesis taks about sexual taboos in particular, though it can be applied to all sort of taboos, of course. I made a survey that will help me proove or disproove this idea. And I ask your help. It doesn't take much time, there are not many questions and they are very simple. Thanks for reading it! Here's the link: esurveycreator.com/s/3e259ed

Also, it would be great if you have stories to share about how fanfiction changed you attitude toward a taboo. If so, here is my email - fanfictionthesis@gmail.com. I won't use anything without your permission, I swear!
 

daniel_gudman

KING (In Land of Blind)
Staff member
#2
Well, I took the survey.

I think it was poorly designed, it's like, I feel there's too much agenda being assumed, like you're looking to validate your biases rather than really test a hypothesis; I don't think this is looking too deeply into it, either.

For example, according to society, there are "good" taboos (against pedophilia), "bad" taboos (against interracial marriage), some that are "good" for some people and "bad" for others (homosexuality!), etc.

There's not really a discussion about where fanfiction as a particular subculture falls compared to society generally. For example, are you arguing that fanfiction as a medium is more accepting of all taboo behavior? Or is it just that the internet allows people to easily express opinions that would not be commercially viable? How do fanfiction consumers compare to people who consume culture but don't consume fanfiction? Or is fanfiction just an organizing medium for people to express unusual cultural views...?

I feel like this rabbit hole is maybe deeper than you expect.
 
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