Oh fandom. Maybe I will quit you.

[browngirl]

So I was trying not to make this post, but I read too many discussions in short order to keep from doing so.

So I read N. K. Jemisyn's Things People Need to Understand, issue 223.2, which excellently states, "We have to shed this idea that SFF is somehow special. That it is perfect. That it is in any way better than the mainstream society from which it derives. It isn’t. And in fact, SFF’s manifest unwillingness to examine itself is one of the things that makes it worse than the mainstream." [And I just deleted a mini-rant concerning my opinions on the statements she was replying to, which isn't necessary considering this post of mine. So, moving right along...]

So I also read jimhines's Crap People Say About Sexual Harassment, which was further illuminating and depressing. A comment led me to this discussion on "taboo songs' in filk, where a bunch of people proudly proclaimed their Hatred of Censorship and Right to Sing Whatever They Want. It reminded me of the discussions about warnings in fic fandom, where one side doesn't want to be triggered as much and the other said, "you can't warn for every trigger in existence so you shouldn't bother warning for any of them, and asking me to warn is censoring me and I won't stand for that." Same thing here, but with filk. I suppose I benefited from the reminder of why I've left, but it was still disheartening.

Also, I came across the Overheard from the Smof Mailing List tumblr, which may go away soon due to the DCMA take-down notices being issued, and which is further illuminating and depressing as to how many in the backbone of fandom view... I was going to say 'the rest of us', but many of those pushing back against sexism and racism in fandom are just as much part of its backbone as those who view themselves as holding the line against the orc horde. ETA: However, in the comments here there's a discussion of that Tumblr, the accuracy and context of its quotations, and the harm it may have done to its seeming goal.

I was going to say more, but my Littlest Roommate requests my attention. So I'll close with a couple more links that warrant signal-boosting:

Things You Should Know About the Fallout
What Conventions Are and Aren't
Pride and Prejudice and Readercon
American Fandom goes to, err, War

Comments

Re: this got long

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I was hoping you'd have thoughts on this, as your thoughts are always valuable to me. :)

Or they mean they're speaking to a specific group, and don't care about the opinions of people outside that group.

I guess part of what is bothering me is when people assume that the group they're addressing doesn't include certain people, or explicitly say that it shouldn't. Such as the filkers in that discussion assuming that they wouldn't be singing in front of sexual assault survivors (or comparing objecting to songs that excuse rape to songs about talking vegetables), or those who have said that the problem around harassment is that women need to get used to what SF cons are like or stop attending, as if women haven't always been congoers and con-organizers.

The "how dare you censor me, freedom of speech is too important for me to care about the effects of what I say" position is absolutely not unique to fandom, but that doesn't mean fandom should maintain it as a philosophy, I think. And it seems that if fandom is maintaining that particular philosophy I need to consider if I'm supporting it by participating publicly in fandom.