Participatory democracy and Hillary Clinton’s marginalized fandom

• Main Author: Abigail De Kosnik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Organization for Transformative Works 2008-09-01
• Series: Transformative Works and Cultures
• Subjects: Barack Obama; Fan community; Hillary Rodham Clinton; Politics
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2008.0047

After the drawn-out, heated contest for the Democratic Party presidential nomination and Senator Obama's victory over Senator Clinton, a segment of Clinton's supporters are threatening to leave the party rather than fall in line behind the nominee. This essay argues that the battle between Clinton's and Obama's followers is best understood as a war between fan bases, with Obama enthusiasts constituting as the dominant fandom and Clinton voters occupying the position of marginalized fandom. Marginalized fandoms tend to blame the opposing fan base, intermediaries, and The Powers That Be for their fan campaigns' losses, and Clinton's fans are adhering to this pattern. However, the Clinton marginalized fandom's complaints can be regarded as valuable critiques that, if noted rather than dismissed, could greatly strengthen participatory democracy in the United States.