Secondary Genders in Omegaverse Fanfiction: Heats, Knots, and Hierarchies

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-587-4_11How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Consent; Fanfiction; Fan Studies; Feminism; Omegaverse

Abstract

This study examines the omegaverse fanfiction, challenging the assumption that it solely reinforces patriarchal norms. The argument is that omegaverse often serves as a speculative laboratory in which fandom writers engage in sophisticated thought experiments concerning the nature of gender, power, biology, and consent. The aim is to demonstrate how the primary elements of this subgenre – heats, knots, and hierarchies – can be utilized innovatively to convey profound social commentary. This study conducts a thorough analysis of a specific text using a qualitative approach that combines fandom studies and feminist theory. The text analyzed is the fanfiction entitled Ethics & Aesthetics by FragileTeacup, a 106,000-word work that incorporates the television series Hannibal with Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. The analysis was conducted through a comprehensive contextual reading to examine how the author modified and deconstructed the biological framework of the subgenre to address the research questions. The study reveals three subversions of the subgenre’s conventions. First, this work critiques interrelated power structures by incorporating the biological hierarchy of the omegaverse into the rigid Regency class system, thereby opening up space for the exploration of intersectional prejudices. Second, the heat trope is not used to eliminate individual agency, but rather as a storytelling device to model and highlight enthusiastic and sustained consent. Third, knotting and mating bonds are transformed from symbols of biological determinism into depictions of romantic relationships that are voluntarily chosen, mutually beneficial, and equal. In conclusion, fanfiction, such as Ethics & Aesthetics, serves as a complex cultural space where fans engage in nuanced ethical and social discussions outside the traditional academic sphere.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Andi Febriana Tamrin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/12
TI  - Secondary Genders in Omegaverse Fanfiction: Heats, Knots, and Hierarchies
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on English Studies in Indonesia (ICONESIA 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 110
EP  - 121
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-587-4_11
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-587-4_11
ID  - Tamrin2026
ER  -