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Pre-Internet Era: Speculation, Satire & Historical Fiction (Before 1990s)
Longstanding impulse: Presidents and politicians have appeared in apocryphal stories, satire, and speculative fiction since the 19th century. Think: romanticized Founding Fathers, counterfactual novels (e.g., what if Lincoln lived?), and pulpy stories like The Amorous Adventures of Aaron Burr (1947).
Not fanfic—but proto-RPF: These works fictionalized real political figures in ways not unlike modern RPF.
Early Online Era: Slash-Glasses & Quiet Experimentation (1990s–2001)
1993: A now-famous early example of political RPF occurred when a fan on a mailing list joked about “slash-colored glasses” after seeing Bill Clinton and Al Gore hug:
“I can’t believe I’m looking at the Leader of the Free World and the Vice-Leader of the Free World through slash-colored glasses!”
Source: Fanlore
Late '90s: Discussions around “real person slash” began in other fandoms—boyband fic (e.g. NSYNC, Backstreet Boys) paved the way. Political figures remained fringe subjects, occasionally fictionalized in humor zines or on forums like Usenet.
2002–2004: FanFiction.net Ban & The Rise of LiveJournal
2002: FanFiction.net bans all Real Person Fiction, citing legal/ethical issues. This forced RPF writers to seek out more decentralized, semi-private platforms like LiveJournal (LJ).
2004: A watershed moment—johnxjohn, a LiveJournal community devoted to shipping John Kerry and John Edwards, is created during the Democratic campaign:
Grew to 800+ members within weeks.
Split between crackfic and emotionally earnest stories.
One member said it was a space for “processing stress from the election via fic.”
A private offshoot was formed to protect more serious or NSFW stories from mockery.
“I didn't want anyone to mock our feelings… or the campaign.” – JohnxJohn member
Source: Fanlore – Political RPF
2008–2012: Obama Era & The Rahmbamarama Surge
2008–09: With Obama’s historic election came new fandoms:
Rahmbamarama: An all-caps, chaotic, meme-heavy LJ community devoted to Obama/Rahm Emanuel slash.
Content ranged from soft romance to unhinged erotica, written in Rahm-style profanity.
Featured crossovers (e.g., Obama meets Jon Stewart, Biden x Stephen Colbert slash).
“RAHM IS A HOT FCKING MOTHERFCKER. DEAL WITH IT.” – Rahmbamarama user
Source: Jezebel
Pundit RPF: Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart fanfic becomes a whole genre on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth.
Obama/Biden ‘bromance’ content surges: mostly memes and buddy-cop headcanons, with occasional slash.
2012: Romney/Ryan & RPF Hits the Mainstream
Romney/Paul Ryan slash emerges—mostly satirical, but not exclusively.
One e-book titled "Dressage: A Romney/Ryan Presidential Slash Fic" featured:
Paul Ryan in ponyplay gear.
Romney delivering the infamous line:
“Screw me like we’ll screw the poor.”
The Atlantic published a shocked/excited feature titled:
“The Strange World of Mitt Romney–Paul Ryan Fan Fiction”
Read it here“Erotic fan fiction is having a moment. Slash fans are swooping in.” – The Atlantic
2015–2018: Hamilton & Founding Father RPF Renaissance
2015: Hamilton becomes a Broadway sensation—and a fandom juggernaut.
Tumblr teens write thousands of fics about Hamilton/Laurens, Jefferson/Madison, etc.
RPF blends with canon from the musical.
Often historically queer, irreverent, and educational.
“Tumblr is reimagining the Founding Fathers as soft gays and hot messes.” – NY Mag
2016 onward: Hamilton RPF becomes a major Archive of Our Own (AO3) tag, inspiring both original fic and crossover AUs.
2018–2019: Commercial Obama/Biden RPF Hits Bookshelves
2018: Andrew Shaffer publishes Hope Never Dies, a mystery novel starring Obama and Biden as a crime-solving duo.
2018: Tumblr and Twitter users started sharing clips of Beto O’Rourke skateboarding and using punk music in edits—early signs of Beto stan culture.
2019: Follow-up, Hope Rides Again, is released.
These books are lighthearted, nostalgic—and openly inspired by RPF memes and tropes. They brought political fanfic into airport bookstores.
2020: Pete/Chasten, AOC Stans & AO3 Fandomization
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign triggers a mini-fandom:
Dozens of AO3 fics written about Pete/Chasten.
Stories described as “gentle, soft, and overwhelmingly vanilla.”
Some featured love triangles with Beto O’Rourke.
“Pete would be winning the election if it were held on Archive of Our Own.” – Jezebel
Full article
AOC stans create fancams, memes, and even a few crackfics (e.g., “AOC x Marjorie Taylor Greene enemies-to-lovers” as meme fic).
Political RPF merges with TikTok and Stan Twitter aesthetics. Many teens engage through meme edits
The rise of the Cuomosexual
2020–Present: Ethics, Escapism & Political Mythmaking
Trump/Putin, Trump/Hillary, and even Trump/Biden fics appear—usually as satire or political horror/comedy.
Ongoing debates inside fandom:
Is it okay to write smut about real politicians?
Are public figures “fair game” for fic, like celebrities?
Should fan spaces draw a line at living figures?
“Fan fiction helps process real world frustrations. It lets us imagine alternative political realities.” – Psychology Today
Read article
Wow, did not expect this shoutout, especially since I had this livestream on as background noise (it was still enjoyable to listen to) but i'll take it lol. Thanks. Love the content.
I'm interested in these years, 2002 to 2004, as the outbreak of the "modern internet." Maybe we could give it names like archaeologists do?
• Email Era (1971)
• Open Era (1993)
• Friendster Era (2002) Flash games! MMORPGs! Zoomers didn't exist!
• Smartphone Era (2011)
• Gamergate Era (2014)
• Censorship Era (2017) Charlottesville, COVID, Hunter Biden laptop, January 6th.
• Musk Era (2022)
• AI Era (2025) Youtube relaxes, Zuckerberg apologizes. Internet CEOs at the inauguration.
AI might start making Youtube videos, TikToks, and Substack articles indistinguishable from my own. This may lead to the dead internet becoming real, or "single player internet."
Rahmbamarama gave the world a story that I dimly recall was titled Joe Biden Really Likes Trains. I still think of it from time to time.
The Trump/Biden edits on tik tok were a lot of fun!
I can’t promise I will write any but if I do I will send you a free copy when I self publish on Amazon