What Does Mutuals Mean?
Fandom CulturePeople who follow each other on a social platform. In fandom, mutuals form the informal friendship layer between strangers and close friends.
Mutuals in Practice
The mutual follow is the basic handshake of fandom social media: it signals 'I see you, I like your posts, we exist in each other's orbit.' Mutuals occupy a distinct social tier with its own unwritten rules — many fans feel comfortable replying to or teasing mutuals in ways they wouldn't with strangers, and 'we became mutuals' marks the start of many fandom friendships. The slang clipping 'moots' is now at least as common as the full word. Losing a mutual over ship discourse, or discovering a favorite author is already a mutual, are both stock fandom experiences.
Example usage
"We've been mutuals for three years and I just realized she wrote my favorite fic in the fandom."
Related Terms
Moots
Casual slang for 'mutuals' — people who follow you and whom you follow back on a social platform. Your moots are your loose circle of online acquaintances and friends.
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Tumblr
The microblogging platform that served as fandom's cultural capital through the 2010s — home of the reblog, the tag essay, the GIF set, and an entire generation's fandom socialization.
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Fandom
The community of fans around a particular work, franchise, or person — and, collectively, the whole culture of organized fan activity. One belongs to a fandom and also to fandom at large.
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More Fandom Culture Terms
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