Reflections on Year of The Fangirl

Topic: Reflections on Year of The Fangirl

It has been over a year, since Ashley Eckstein, from Her Universe, declared 2013 the Year of The Fangirl and for me personally, it has been a great year and a continues to be a great initiative.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Ashley a few questions about the Year of The Fangirl and what she has seen over the past year:

Patty: What have you seen over the past year that encourages you to continue The Year of The Fangirl initiative?

Ashley: We were encouraged to continue with the Year of the Fangirl initiative because we have over 700 girls nominated to be a Fangirl of the Day and the submissions are still pouring in! Each and every fangirl deserves to be highlighted and we will keep going as long as we have Fangirls to showcase!

Patty: How diverse is the group of Fangirls that have been highlighted for The Fangirl of The Day?

Ashley: We’ve featured Fangirl babies to women who have been Fangirls for over 30 years! We’ve received nominations for girls of all ages, races and interests. Everyone’s stories are so inspiring to me!

You are not the only one who is inspired, Ashley!

Because this initiative exists, I was able to connect, on a daily basis, thanks to Facebook and Twitter with many inspiring Fangirls! In addition, this blog exists because these Fangirls and their stories inspire and encourage me to continue.

I knew I was not the only fangirl that has been inspired, over the past year, by this initiative. Therefore, I asked fellow Fangirl of The Day and co-host of Fangirls Going Rogue, Teresa Delgado, about what she thought the Year of the Fangirl did for female fans.

2013 was an amazing year for fangirls and Her Universe’s Year of the Fangirl was a great way fangirls to find other fangirls that share their fandom passions. I have seen lots more female fans speak up and be proud of who they are. This has inspired me to do the same and to reach for some of my goals in fandom. The support from other fans out there has increased as well and I have seen that no matter what gender fandom has become a more accepting place. While fandom still has a long way to go there seems to be more respect in the community. I think 2013 did a lot of good things for fandom but I think that what Year of The Fangirl did was give girls a voice.

Finally, I am honored to be named Fangirl of The Day and will continue to update this blog to inspire and encourage other Fangirls as well!

Thanks to both Ashley & Teresa for helping to contribute to this article!

You can also contribute by submitted a comment on how The Year of The Fangirl Initiative has inspired you!