User:Lvhamme1/sandbox

Fan activism involves “forms of civic engagement and political participation that emerge from within fan culture itself, often in response to the shared interests of fans, often conducted through the infrastructure of existing fan practices and relationships, and often framed through metaphors drawn from popular and participatory culture”. It utilizes the enthusiasm and empathy of the fan community to raise awareness of social concerns or otherwise support the ideals expressed by object(s) of the fandom. The rise of fan activism has been attributed to the emergence of new media, and is described as "not about the mix between political concerns and culture but rather action that looks like political activism but is used toward nonpolitical ends." Nevertheless, a 2012 quantitative study by Kahne, Feezell, and Lee suggests that there may be a statistically significant relationship between youths' participation in interest-driven activities online and their civic engagement later on in life."

Examples of fan activism include campaigns for social equality including representation of minorities in entertainment media, fund raising for organisations with common values, campaigning for the continuation of a television program or sporting team and defending fan works from commercial exploitation and allegations of copyright infringement. Fans may be mobilized to support such causes in response to celebrity endorsements; however, activists may also leverage content worlds and fan-like activities as resources to be reconfigured for political engagement, as in the cases where real­-life rights groups have used imagery and tropes from Avatar (2009 film) to attract mainstream media attention in the West Bank village of Bil'in and Orissa, India.

Notable groups that are associated with fan activism include the Harry Potter Alliance, Fans4Writers, Nerdfighteria and the Organization for Transformative Works.

Harry Potter Alliance
The Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) consists of more than 100,000 members who support several causes including Doctors for Health, Free Press, and The Gay-Straight Alliance. This movement, which was established by Andrew Slack, parallels Harry Potter's endeavors to combat Voldemort to the broader society's goals to challenge dominant power structures that oppress marginalized groups. The HPA has been active in its strides toward providing financial relief toward populations in need. For example, following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the HPA assembled to raise approximately $123,000 "to fund five cargo planes transporting medical supplies" to the country following this momentous event.