Fanon

Fanon is any element that is widely accepted among fans, but has little or no basis in canon. 
Sometimes it's a small event in canon that gets exaggerated; sometimes it's something in a fanfic story that gets picked up on and repeated by other writers until it's so common that newbies might think it's a canonical fact.
 
A variation of fanon is "personal canon" or "headcanon," which is a set of "fanon"-like facts that are accepted as canon by an individual fan or a smaller group of fans, sometimes in the making of a shared universe.
==The Established Fan "Understanding"==
When plot points and characteriztions become entrenched in a fandom, it can be difficult to separate out what is "canon" and what is not. Often fans are entirely unaware where a fanon element originated.
One example from 1980 from the Star Trek: TOS fandom. Like Kraith and other popular fan-created universes, the Sahaj Universe spawned much fanon, and even the fans had a hard time keeping it straight. When a fan used a word that Leslye Lilker had created in a story, the fan and the editor of the zine it appeared in had to apologize. "In "And God Against All" In R&R XII, Collette Mak used the term, Valjn'd'jt, which is a term coined by Leslye Lilker for the Sahaj universe. Collette thought it was one of the usual terms in Treklit. I knew it was Leslye's, but I missed It. Both Collette and I apologize; the term is Leslye's, and our use of it was unauthorized." from the editorial of R & R #14In August 2015, Leslye Lilker added to Fanlore: "Apologies to Collette Mak. 40 years ago I was a real jerk. I should have been honored that Collette thought enough of the term to use it. Besides, I didn't create it. It was given to me by Trinette Kern. The place is Val'jn'jt these days, and if you use it -- well, thanks. -- added to Fanlore by L. Lilker 8/2015.
Another example, this one from the Blake's 7 fandom in 1985. From the preface to the story "The Portage" in "Mascarada": 
From a fan in 1992, one who wasn't a fanon fan: 
In November 1999, Laura Jacquez Valentine said: 
==Origin of the Phrase==
The precise date that "fanon" entered into fandom vocabulary has not been established. One very early use was the description of a fan panel at 1992's Escapade."3:00 -- "Professionals: The Convention in Fannish Writing," led by Lily, Shoshanna, and Kathy, "Who said that Doyle was a street kid? Or that Bodie grew up on the Liverpool docks? How do we know Murphy's call sign? How does Fan Canon get developed and reinforced?" Discussions on the Virgule-L and Blake's 7 mailing lists over the spring and summer of 1993 used the phrases "fan canon" or "fan dogma" or "fan consensus" or "fan universe."Avon's Allergies dated July 30, 1993. In the discussion, fans traced the origins of Avon's "allergies" (Avon was allergic to interrogation drugs) back to the story "Between Black and White" by Ann O'Neil, Pat Thomas and Catherine Knowles. It appeared in the fanzine Best of Spacefall, put out by Horizon.
In Feb 1993, Sandy Hereld posted to the Virgule-L mailing list:
The Blake's 7 mailing list eventually decided to adopt the phrase "fan canon""A reference to "fan canon" on another list and all the zine reading I've been doing lately reminded me that when I first started reading fan fiction I noticed that many authors share a lot of ideas and assumptions....." Sue Clerc's post to Lysator dated March 9, 1993. which then led to a few fans objecting:
In support of the use of the phrase "fan canon":
By August 1998, some 5 years later, the phrase "fanon" was being used by media fans on Usenet and in forums like Ci5 (The Professionals), Virgule-L and MUNCLE mailing lists.Source: Morgan Dawn's personal notes accessed September 19, 2013. By October 1998, fanon was mentioned in a Friscon convention report on alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated.Subject: Friscon Report (Long) by Jungle Kitty on Oct 26, 1998. But the earliest known reference to the use of the word fanon was in April 1998 when Emily Salzfass used the word 'fanon' on alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:
Years later Emily wrote:
==Fanon Characterization==
===Characters Expanded by Fanon===
Sometimes minor characters can become disproportionately popular in fandom, with fanworks being based almost entirely on fanon characterization. These types of characters are sometimes referred to as blank slates.
One reason this may happen is if a Big Name Fan or popular fanwork portrays them a certain way, and works inspired by that also use those traits, it can spread and popularize a version of the character which draws more from fanworks than from canon.
It has been noted that characters who receive the most widespread fanon characterization seem to be exclusively white. Thus the fanon characterization phenomenon has been connected to the racist bias of caring about and relating to the personal lives of white characters than people of color. These characters are also disproportionately male. When two of these characters are paired together who happen to be white and male, this can be an example of the Two White Guys trope.
Examples
* Draco Malfoy (see Fanon Draco), Blaise Zabini, and Daphne Greengrass of Harry Potter.
* In the Naruto fandom, Blackkat has written multiple fanfics where Uchiha characters are attracted to strong people who can beat them up, and this fanon Uchiha trait is now commonly seen from many different fic writers.
* In Inception fandom, Arthur and Eames are two characters with very little canon detail who became extremely fleshed out in fandom (and became the juggernaut ship). This can be attributed in part to a few big name fans who wrote works centered on them.
* In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character of Clint Barton became a fan favourite despite having relatively little development in the canon; many fans drew on comics material for their fanon characterisations of Clint. The same applied to Phil Coulson (with whom Clint was popularly shipped) before he was fleshed out more in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. Darcy Lewis is another MCU character whose characterisation drew heavily on fanon.
* RK900 of Detroit: Become Human
===Unpopular Characters===
Fanon characterization is also related to Character Bashing. Fans will portray characters they dislike inaccurately, exaggerating their flaws and minimizing their strengths and complexity. Bad characteristics may be entirely invented.
However, this can differ depending on the fandom. For instance, the character Yaldabaoth in SCP Foundation is generally disliked, but not excessively so and seen as fitting the universe's often dark tone. As such, fanon about her differs from more conventionally hated characters and involves various Sarkic groups, who are often seen as worshipping Yaldabaoth and hating the rival god Mekhane, when often, that is not what Sarkicism is about in-universe.
Examples
* Ron Weasley - see Ron the Death Eater
=== Female Characters ===
A number of fans have noticed the tendency of fandom to take favorite female characters and reduce their roles and/or simplify the nuances of their characters for a number of reasons.
Examples
* Yeah we put your girl in the fandom and they villainized her beyond comprehension. (2023)
* an excuse to never talk about any female characters but then they'll have an entire made up backstory and 700 fics on ao3 for background male character
* y’all love the morally gray, snarky, grief stricken characters until it’s a woman.
* fandom will see a female character with the most interesting backstory and inner turmoil in the entire media and be like...
* I absolutely hate it when slash fics feel like they gotta tear down the character’s previous relationship with a girl in some way.
* ngl it's pretty annoying to me when the response to any female character existing in proximity to a mlm ship (canon or not) is either...
==When Fanon Becomes Canon==
===Officially===
Sometimes fanon becomes canon because TPTB planned to reveal a canon fact all along, and fans merely beat them to the punch by figuring it out ahead of time.
Other times, bits of fanon are created by fans, then picked up by TPTB and made into canon. For instance, in Stargate SG-1 fandom, fanfic writers gave a recurring character, Major Davis, the first name "Paul." A few years later, the show's writers officially gave the character the first name Paul.
Similarly, in Highlander fandom, the fans quickly took to calling the unnamed U.S. city where Duncan MacLeod lived "Seacouver," because it was clearly meant to evoke the feel of Seattle while looking suspiciously like Vancouver (where the show was filmed). Eventually, the show creators officially adopted the name for the city, referring to it that way offscreen. (Although it was never mentioned on the show, it did appear as prop canon—a newspaper contained an ad for an event at the "Seacouver Community Center"Transcript of the episode "The Valkyrie" mentioning the Seacouver Community Center appearing in that episode. Accessed 3 December 2008—and in some of the tie-in novels.)
== Controversies and Challenges ==
Some fans think fanon is a sign of lazy thinking or lazy writing,Dorothy Marley. The Seven Deadly Fanons of Characterization: a Spotter's Guide. Fanfic Symposium, posted 14 October 2003. Accessed 3 December 2008. arguing that a fan writer should come up with her own story elements or interpretations, and not repeat the story elements or interpretations of others. For example, Victoria P. writes on fanon: "After a while, fanonical characterizations all start to feel the same, and isn't one of the aims of fanfic to produce diversity? [...] I mean, when the fanon is so incestuous that the new writers can't tell fanon from canon and accept the former as the latter, that's a problem, to me." 'Victoria P. like a garment made to measure (on canon and fanon). Posted 8 March 2004. Accessed 3 December 2008. In a related vein, there are fans that believe that overwhelmingly popular fanon acts like a stranglehold on the range of possible character and story interpretations, essentially creating an orthodoxy from which authors stray at their peril.Vee_fic untitled entry. Posted 15 May 2007. Accessed 24 December 2008.
In addition, reusing even basic phrases that have become fanon have, in the past, stirred debate. The 1984 column "The Protocol Droid," published in the letterzine Jundland, Too, contains a letter from a fan saying she was worried because her fanfiction was about the fall of the Jedi enclaves, but that she'd learned that concept of "enclaves" was from another fanwriter's universe. She wanted to know if she could still use this term. The answer? Absolutely not without specific permission from the fan originator, and if any similar appropriation was done by accident, the fan needed to apologize by writing a personal letter.See Jundland, Too issue #1. See also Remix. Many fans today would not require permission in this situation as the writer is not reusing a specific story or a character, only a concept.
One fan admitted to being tangled up in her own fanon as she read another fan's story. Maggie Nowakowska, author of ThousandWorlds, wrote in 1979: "... I thought the idea of using "Lucas" for the name of Luke's father a good idea ... wish I had thought of it. One problem I can see with future SW fanfic is the confusion of names for the same beings. I ran into this in a later piece when I found myself thinking, "No, Greedo's people are called 'Deseratines'" ... and I had to stop and remind myself that that name comes from the Thousand-Worlds series and that this author can call the creatures anything she damn well pleases.from her LoC in Pegasus #4 v.1, commenting on a story in the previous issue
Occasionally a writer's use of fanon can indicate an unfamiliarity with the actual source, as if she is writing fanfic based not on the show, but on other fanwriters' interpretation of the show. For instance, in The Sentinel fandom, it was once quite common to find stories that depicted Blair Sandburg as a life-long vegetarian; use of this fanon element became widespread, despite the fact that several key episodes of the show (such as "Blind Man's Bluff" or "Spare Parts") indicate that Blair is, canonically, an enthusiastic omnivore.Canon? or Fanon? Accessed December 3, 2008 As writing fanfiction without having actually viewed the source is generally looked down upon, use of fanon that blatantly contradicts canon can be taken as a warning sign to readers that they are about to encounter badfic. Similarly, stories that contradict fanon (but not canon) may be described by some readers as OOC or AU, in cases where fanon has become so powerful that it attains a force equal to (or surpassing) canon itself.
However, not all fanon contradicts canon. Certain types of fanon are created because certain details or interpretations invented by fans seem so right, so true or plausible or pleasurable, that they're repeated by other writers almost as a form of tribute, as if that's what must have really happened. From this point of view, fanon is an essential aspect of how fanfiction writers improve on or flesh out (often sketchy) source texts.Fabu. More than you ever wanted to know about canon and fanon. Posted 20 February 2004. Accessed 3 December 2008.
==Canon, Fanon, and the VCR==
In the days before VCRs and/or easy availability of home viewing, fans of television or film fandoms had extra challenges; not everyone was on a level playing field regarding memory and access to reruns of their favorite shows.
From a fan in 2000: 
==Canon, Fanon, and the Internet==
Online fandom moves a lot faster than print fandom did, and a fan (Sandy Herrold) in was quite amazed at how much quicker fans were to adopt fanon: 
==Tracking the Elusive Fanon==
Just where did that bit of fanon originate? Figuring it out can be difficult, as well as a lot of fun!
Fan's creativity knows no bounds, but what becomes fanon is elusive. A fan in 1999 mentioned several of her speculations that had been picked up by other fans. "And in Star Wars fanfic, I'm personally responsible for the convention that Palpatine's first name is "Bob", and for Masters cutting and braiding their Padawan's hair and weaving their own strands into the braid ("Scissors", 09 Jun 1999). It's interesting to watch these things spring up. I bet most of the people who use the cutting/braiding bit of fanon now, only a few months later, have no idea where it came from." Laura Jacquez Valentine, alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated, November 1999
A fanon wiki is a type of wiki containing fan-created ideas, usually fanfics, OCs and other fanmade concepts. It is the fanon opposite of a canon-focused wiki.
==Meta/Further Reading==
===Unknown Date===
* Tiny Marshmallows Want to Be Free by Mer (1999 or early 2000s)
* Whose Story Is It Anyway?: Challenges, Fanon, and Injokes (perhaps mid-2000s)
===1998===
* The Amazing Speed of the NET! by Sandy Herrold
===1999===
* , post at alt.tv.sentinel (1999)
===2000===
* Fanon versus Canon by Meimi (December 20, 2000)
===2003===
*Canon? NO! It's Fanon by Moyra (2003, updated later)
===2004===
* by Jane Davitt (2004)
* by Melusina (2004)
===2009===
* (The Sentinel-centric) (2009)
===2014===
* (2014)
===2015===
* (2015)
===2017===
* 
== Resources ==
* Fannish Glossary
* A Fanspeak Dictionary
* Fanon entry on TV Tropes
== References ==
Category:Fan Activities
Category:Glossary
Category:Social Media Feature-Terminology Thursday