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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until August 09, 2026

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Asexuality in Avengers Fanfiction: A Mixed-Methods Folklore Study

Stork, Sarah Jasmine
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5840-9445
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1627008534796136

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Comparative Studies.
This project is an exploration of the intersections between fanfiction and asexuality, and the potential for online play spaces to produce meaningful and useful insight for asexualities work. Inspired by my own experiences in public health, I approached this project through folklore with the goal of experimenting with a digital mixed-methods approach that could help introduce professionals in applied fields to the potential benefits of intentional and sustained attention to online spaces. Using thematic textual analysis on a sample of Avengers (Marvel Movies) fanfiction stories on Archive of Our Own that are tagged as Acefics, I looked for recurring themes and topics around asexual experience and asexual representation that would benefit from further pursuit. I used those initial findings to develop and deploy a survey to gain a deeper understanding of those themes and topics and to recruit Acefic readers and authors for 90-minute interviews. Interviews and surveys were used to confirm salient themes and build a greater depth of clarity on those topics. The combination of interviews, surveys, and textual analysis demonstrated that even an online play space like AO3 was a productive site for discovery and study development for applied project intended to serve members of primarily online communities, like the asexual community, as well as emerging communities.
Amy Shuman (Advisor)
Miranda Martinez (Committee Co-Chair)
Merrill Kaplan (Committee Member)
Gail Kaye (Committee Member)
178 p.
Folklore; Public Health
asexuality; fanfiction; Avengers; folklore; online communities; qualitative digital research; emerging communities; Acefic; public health; split attraction model; cultural studies; humanities

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stork, S. J. (2021). Asexuality in Avengers Fanfiction: A Mixed-Methods Folklore Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1627008534796136

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stork, Sarah. Asexuality in Avengers Fanfiction: A Mixed-Methods Folklore Study. 2021. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1627008534796136.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stork, Sarah. "Asexuality in Avengers Fanfiction: A Mixed-Methods Folklore Study." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1627008534796136

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1627008534796136
© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.