Creating a pocket universe: “Shippers,” fan fiction, andthe X‐Filesonline

Abstract

Ethnographic investigation of the online community of X‐Files fans known as “Shippers”; reveals a resistive posture manifested in their websites, discussions, and fan fiction. The mostly female Shippers hypothesize an unfolding romantic relationship between the series’ protagonists and thereby oppose male‐oriented conventions and commercial imperatives. In touting the equal partnership of Agents Mulder and Scully, and in wanting to see that equality as the basis for a romance, Shippers conflate the public and private and challenge artificial gender dichotomies. However, the study finds that their activities do not fully compensate for marginalization of their sensibilities in the given text.

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