Diversity in Fanfiction
Queering the Narrative
Of the various changes fanfiction can make to a source material, "queering" the narrative is currently the most popular. This includes everything from assigning a character a sexuality or gender identity other than their canonical idenity, rewriting a story to give a queer character a more accurate portrayal, or as discussed in another section, creating a queer romance story from a source material.Through fanfiction, queer people can give voice to their identity and provide a positive representation for readers. Fanfiction readers can seek out fics depicting their sexuality and gender experience, or may discover a name for the feelings they've been having about their identity.
For the young female readers and authors of fanfiction, queering the narrative is a way to discuss growing feelings about sexuality and foster an understanding of other sexualities and identities. Reading a fic where a character is transgender may help a young girl understand her own gender identity or sympathize with those going through a gender crisis. Including queer themes and characters in fanfiction also helps to "normalize" these experiences, making girls going through a gender or sexuality crisis feel less isolated.