Hi, I'm Lauren Nicole Balser!

I am an MA student in the Media Studies department at the University of Virginia. You can learn more about me, my writing, and my conference presentations here. You can also get in touch with me via email or Bluesky.

• About
• Writing
• Conference Presentations
• Other Media

• Bluesky
• Email

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About

Lauren Nicole Balser is an MA student in the Media Studies department at the University of Virginia interested in how digital communities create affective and moral identities. Using fan studies methods and theories, Lauren considers how digital identities are created and transformed through communities' tools of communication and social performance.Lauren’s other research interests include queer and trans digital cultures, time and temporality, and ethics of care. Lauren's non-research interests include baking, TTRPGs, and watching all of the Studio Ghibli movies (especially Kiki's Delivery Service).

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Writing

Peer-Reviewed Articles
"Real Person Fanfiction and the Construction of the (Un)Ethical Fan"
^{Persona Studies, January 30, 2025}Book Reviews
Review of Fandom is Ugly: Networked Harassment in Participatory Culture
^{International Journal of Communication, January 6, 2025}

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Conference Presentations

Please contact me for posters or slide decks.

Trans/Fan Space/Time: Tags on AO3 as Genderfucked Technology
^{Popular Culture Association (New Orleans, LA)
accepted 2025}Trans/Fan Space/Time: Tags on AO3 as Genderfucked Technology
^{Fan Studies Network North America (online)
October 18, 2024}OceanGate Ironific and the Valorization of Moral Standards in Digital Fan Spaces
^{Popular Culture Association (Chicago, IL)
March 29, 2024}

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Other Media

Podcasts
"I’m Gonna Put My Frogs In That Bucket"
^{Transformative Taskmaster, March 18, 2025}