Citations:woobification

Noun: "(fandom slang) the act or process of turning a character into a woobie"

 * 2006, Afşar Yegin, "Fan-textual Television: Narrative Structure, Virtuality and Fandom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Veronica Mars", thesis submitted to Istanbul Bilgi University, page 110:
 * That is, the woobification of Logan is a successful narrative process only because the text can reasonable [sic] depend on and, consequently manipulate, a fannish investment in itself;
 * 2007, Catherine Tosenberger, "Potterotics: Harry Potter Fanfiction On The Internet", dissertation submitted to the University of Florida, page 100:
 * “Good” characters are also prone to woobification, if they are presented in canon as sympathetically angst-ridden and tormented: this class of woobie includes Remus, Sirius, Fox Mulder (X-Files) and Dean Winchester (Supernatural).
 * 2014, Shannon Wang, "Techer [sic] reflects on motivation of Tumblr users", The California Tech (California Institute of Technology), 27 January 2014, page 4:
 * For those unfamiliar with fanfiction, it means self-insertion and fantasy fulfillment through the woobification of a main character.
 * 2017, Elizabeth Orson, "Exploring Abusive Shipping In The Jessica Jones Fandom", Focus Media Journal, pages 75-76:
 * According to Maddy Myers, fans often participate in "woobification," where abusive characters (like Kilgrave) are redeemed and rewritten "as sympathetic, misunderstood figures."
 * 2019, Brittany Larsen, "Gatekeeping Remix: Fandom Spaces And Identity Politics", thesis submitted to Illinois State University, page 51:
 * Flanderization and woobification describe two main reasons individuals become frustrated and wary of certain portrayals of characters within a fandom.
 * 2021, Kirsty Worrow, "My Darling Cannibal: The Mechanics of Perverse Allegiance in Hannibal", Hannibal for Dinner: Essays on America's Favorite Cannibal on Television (eds. Kyle A. Moody & Nicholas A. Yanes), page 40:
 * This is broadly connected to the concept of woobification, an “ audience-driven phenomenon, sometimes divorced from the character's canonical morality” characterized by a heightened sympathetic response to characters.
 * 2022, Bruce M. King & Lynn Kozak, "#Patrochilles: Find the Phallus", in The Routledge Companion to the Reception of Ancient Greek and Roman Gender and Sexuality (ed. K. R. Moore), unnumbered page:
 * We can also see Miller's own "woobification" of Patroclus and Achilles, and particularly Patroclus (TVTrope's "The Woobie"), whom she calls "an ethical person," citing "the moments where he reaches out to others and offers what he sees as his very modest assistance have huge positive ramifications. Most of us aren't Achilles – but we can still be Patroclus."