I'm also viscerally angered by people talking about what fandom is, or what I'm doing in fandom--particularly if those people are in fandom.
I'm more angered by it if I'm seeing people not in fandom declaring What Fandom Does. There was sort of a fannish perfect storm last year, not just Fanlib or Strikethrough, but the whole issue with panels and a male/female acafan split as seen in MiT5 (http://kbusse.wordpress.com/2007/05/01/mit5-review/), and believe there *is* as much of a need for a safe fannish academic space as there is for a fannish-owned archive. Of course, as a Frequent Metafandom Contributor (on hiatus from the meta at the moment), I'm possibly feeling defensive now, too. Despite not being an academic. I love navel gazing. Love it! When I have time for it. And when I'm not too busy rolling my eyes at Certain People With Agendas and stuff.
I end up with a kneejerk "don't you fucking tell me what to do" response, which... I don't know. Maybe this is all just me turning into a BOFQ.
But... where are they telling you what to do? That's what I don't get, I guess. Most of what I see is descriptive, not prescriptive. But I see this response often, and I do *want* to understand it. I do.
I think that for me, the issue is... well, there are multiple issues, and number one is that I have had an extremely uneasy relationship with textual criticism since I was no lie twelve years old. So the more that fandom becomes a place that is about criticism rather than the text, the less fun it is for me, and that's something that's becoming progressively more and more true over the years
How are you defining criticism here (I kind of hate the word, like I hate the word theory, because common use != specific academic use, and it gets confusing)?
At the same time, I can sympathize with people who are putting a lot of effort into trying to do something good and getting abused for their trouble, which I understand is happening. That's not okay, and it's going to engender some upset that I'm feeling kind of trampled on by.
There's a lot of frustration all around.
Bypassing the meta--
Did anyone read the Leave no Man Behind HIMYM story on Yuletide?If you didn't you must because it's ...wait for it-- legendary.
Augh! Accidental deletion. Let's try that again.
How are you defining criticism here
I'm defining it as, you know, rather than talking about Xander lying, talking about what Xander lying says about the construction of masculinity in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and what it says about us that we're talking about the construction of masculinity in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc., and what is the construction of masculinity versus the construction of femininity in horror in general...
Etc. I'm kind of allergic to that sort of conversation, outside of conversations with friends. I don't think that people shouldn't have them; they're just pretty commonly non-fun for me personally.
as a Frequent Metafandom Contributor
Yeah, see, I had to stop reading metafandom for my sanity. I kept being sent into spirals of self-hatred and realizing that if the rest of fandom knew what I really thought they would all hate me, yada. So it was bad for my mental health, and I had to step away. To the extent that fandom is more and more about fandom and less and less about the stuff we're supposedly fannish about, my experience in fandom becomes steadily more circumscribed.
(ETA: If it helps, I am aware that this is, you know, mildly crazy. I'm in fandom! I'm not allowed to be completely stable.)
But... where are they telling you what to do? That's what I don't get, I guess. Most of what I see is descriptive, not prescriptive. But I see this response often, and I do *want* to understand it. I do.
If someone says to me "women like makeup," they're being descriptive, not prescriptive, but the fact that I personally don't like makeup (usually, and I totally support your makeup interest!) then defines me out of womanhood. And that makes me angry. I get angrier when a) someone says that from a position of authority and, particularly, b) when someone says that from a position of both academic and fannish authority. I really don't care what J. Random Professor thinks; I care what, say, Cesperanza thinks, because she has influence (*cough*social capital*cough*) that then influences the rest of fandom.
I do want to point out that I really have no issue with OTW. I just wanted to be dumb and stick my head up for once and say, look, you're talking about me there, whether you know it or not. Because I feel like I spend a lot of time not doing that.
(Also, I have visitors this weekend so may not be back for a while.)
Thanks, Laga. The fic link is in Suela's post, #4890. (And yes, it's Sally from "Blink")
Etc. I'm kind of allergic to that sort of conversation, outside of conversations with friends. I don't think that people shouldn't have them; they're just pretty commonly non-fun for me personally.
There's really no solution to this kind of situation, is there? I mean, assuming a common semi-public space (which fandom is, more or less). I was away from my computers in the evenings over the weekend, but I've been thinking about this all weekend. And it's frustrating, because I am the sort of idiot who wants people to be HAPPY! damn it, and to experience the glee of fannish joy, but... if my joy is your poison, well, that harshes both our mellows. Because I don't want to see smart, talented fans who aren't into the crit aspect quietly leave the building, but I don't want to see smart, talented fans who love it feel like they have to shut up or shut down half of their way of looking at things so as to not upset group the first. (Also aware this is mildly crazy!)
It is possible that I have residual scar tissue from some b.org thread discussions of this nature.
There's really no solution to this kind of situation, is there?
Yeah, sadly, no. Stupid universe!
(I personally think there are some aspects to the way that LJ is structured that makes this kind of conflict more difficult--it's so well set up for a big "yeah! You're right! They suck!" echo chamber. But nothing to be done about that, either.)
Because I don't want to see smart, talented fans who aren't into the crit aspect quietly leave the building, but I don't want to see smart, talented fans who love it feel like they have to shut up or shut down half of their way of looking at things so as to not upset group the first.
Right, of course, and LJ does allow one to structure one's reading--I can avoid metafandom, I can remove people from my flist who tend to say things that get up my nose, and with people I have actual relationships with it's different. Getting tired of crit on occasion is really my problem, not the problem of the people having the conversations that I sometimes find irritating; they're not doing anything wrong by having those discussions.
Thing I learned About Fan Fiction Today:
* The existence of "M-preg".
a) today?
b) Is it too early to send you CarPreg links?
* The existence of "M-preg".
Wow, Aimee is sheltered....
