femmefan n.

a female fan

Fancyclopedia


SF Fandom

  • 1940 A. L. Widner Jr. Letter in Voice of Imagi-Nation (#6) Apr. 4 page image Arthur L. Widner, Jr.

    Ray Marlin sounds like a sudonim 2 me, & wuts more, a coverup 4 a femfan. Quote: ‘boo-hoo, none of th othr mags hav such nice letr depts.’ Yep, eithr a femfan or a very yungster. Th fact that Ray cant take mor than 1 promag a month, bolstrs my opinion.

  • 1940 ‘Morojo’ Conventions in STF-ETTE (#1) Sept. 9 page image Morojo

    This year, in addition to all the other anticipated pleasures, we shall have Pogo & Trudy with us. These, together with Gerku, Perri & I, who were at the NYCON, will make five femme fans.

  • 1940 Voice of the Imagi-Nation (#10) Dec. 8

    Now if Mrs. Smith or Mrs. Heinlein or Morojo, and/or othrs of the femfans wanto contest thistatement, Id b very glad 2 act as juj.

  • 1947 ‘Sergeant Saturn’ Letter in Startling Stories Jan. 107/1 page image Sergeant Saturn

    Incidentally, where are all the femme fens? Only one, Lee Budoff, in this issue.

  • 1948 Startling Stories July 128/1

    The next thing I hope will happen will be, that some kind author will write a story with a woman as hero. Hmm, that’s an idea. Maybe I'll do it myself. I mean a full-length fantastic novel. With a woman as hero. Why not have Miss Brackett do it for you? Or even St. Clair—if she could tuck up her humor for long enough. Come on, femme fans, why don’t you all write in and ASK the editor to print one!

  • 1948 L. Bowles Letter in Startling Stories Sept. 130/1 (heading) page image

    Femmefen.

  • 1948 M. Williams Letter in Startling Stories Sept. 136/2 page image

    Rather a plentiful swarm of femme-fans’ letters in TEV this ish. The femmes are all right I suppose but too many of them louse up an otherwise good TEV section.

  • 1959 D. Eney Fancyclopedia II 62 Dick Eney bibliography

    FANNE (pronounced ‘fan’). A female fan; also femmefan. Nancy Share tried to introduce Firl, but this didn’t catch on. Feminine objection to this term is caused by clods giving the silent E full value (cf Fanspeak).

  • 1972 R. Brown Dear Ted in Fantastic Science Fiction Oct. 97/2

    When I went to fan-club meetings, I was no longer Rich Brown, the fan who put out a fairly good fanzine, but Rich Brown, the fan-turned-pro who was doing some awfully exciting stuff. Femmefans offered to sit in my lap. Among other things.

  • 1988 S. McCrumb Bimbos of Death Sun viii. 102 Sharyn McCrumb bibliography

    Several of the less grotesque femmefans had hinted at a willingness to add a night with an Eminent Pro to their list of celebrity memorabilia.

  • 1991 L. Niven, J. Pournelle, & M. Flynn Fallen Angels 328 Larry Niven Michael F. Flynn Jerry Pournelle bibliography

    Downstairs in one of the function rooms, he found Dinsby in a circle of femmefans surrounding Gordon.

  • 2009 H. Merrick Secret Feminist Cabal iii. 94 page image Helen Merrick bibliography

    Femizine helped build a strong sense of collective femmefan identity, with articles often raising issues of gender equality in fandom and the ‘mundane’ world.


Research requirements

antedating 1940

Research History
Fred Galvin submitted a 1947 cite for the form "femme fens" from a letter in Startling Stories.
Fred Galvin submitted several 1948 cites from the letter column in Startling Stories for the forms "femme fans" and "femme-fans".
Fred Galvin submitted 1948 cites for the form "femme fans" in a letter in Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Fred Galvin submitted a 1948 cite for the form "femme fans" from a letter by Marion Zimmer in Startling Stories.
Fred Galvin submitted a 1959 cite from Dick Eney's "Fancyclopedia II".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1948 cite for the form "fem-fan" in a letter in Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Irene Grumman submitted a 1972 cite from Rich Brown's "Dear Ted".
Bill Mullins submitted a 1940 cite.
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2009 cite from Helen Merrick.
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a September 1940 cite from a female writer. Ben Ostrowsky submitted an April 1940 cite.

Last modified 2022-02-02 15:18:53
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.