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@Flipp@snouts.online hell, you can go back even longer than that and say that proto-fandom owes it to the fans of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela;_or,_Virtue_Rewarded#Reception Pamela - which was so controversial and beloved among women that it became a massive cultural event, with people buying fans to declare themselves "pro-Pamela" or "anti-Pamela" at balls, buying ceramic figurines, etc. etc. - https://www.anglistik.uni-kiel.de/de/tl_files/EnglSem/Fachbereiche/Kultur-%20und%20Medienwissenschaften/Projekte/18th_century_london/pam.html#products - something much loathed by men of the age, but kept afloat by women fans.
nihil novi sub sole, Twilight, more or less!
@Flipp@snouts.online so the very idea that, say, you'd want merchandise with your whole ~media experience~?
it's something that women clamored for in the 18th century, and it became an industry that *they* demanded exist. it's why you can go get a Marvel brand hoodie and collectible action figure - because ladies, back in the day, wanted some Pamela teacups, LOL