nothing like a reminder that subcultures have power structures

[rhivolution]

Hello! I am just here to publicly state (in a location visible to all, rather than users of a particular archive!) that I think Franzeska's apologia is:
- lacking coherence
- lacking in historical rigor
- most importantly, a trash fire that is full of shit.

All of which she dresses up a little bit in wink-wink-nudge-nudge and statements that seem to be going one way but actually are going the other.

So many people I know have been disgusted and hurt by this over the last day or two that I feel I gotta say something, that I am so fucking tired of this shit, because it's exactly what one sees in Western society and at present in certain other subcultures that will remain nameless. The people who have had structural power* freak the fuck out when they don't have 100% control of the narrative anymore.

Fandom is not a space apart from these kinds of actions and reactions. I will throw a copy of Dick Hebdige's book on subcultures at any acafan who disagrees.

And I'm certain this will all get dismissed by her and others as exactly the kind of thing that they mean, god those people are such bullies.

Seriously, fuck this noise. I have been in fandom for 15 years and just...fuck.

That is all. I highly recommend/appreciate the stuff folks have been saying on Twitter, by the way, especially Rukmini Pande and Nico.

* I don't mean power over the canon or over media. I mean power in fandom-the-subculture, which is a thing, even if that power isn't necessarily large in the scales of the greater world.

Comments

[ashkitty]

Since I follow nothing these days...what's going on?

[regcommathe]

Seconding this.

[rhivolution]

That icon makes me happy.

More below.

[regcommathe]

This is way too long to read omg. I mean, at least I remembered my AO3 password, but that was just...my eyes glazed over and I stopped processing words as words.

[rhivolution]

Former AO3 board member Franzeska wrote a 16k piece of meta that was a hot. mess. Racist above all else, though also heteronormative* and more than a wee bit sexist. Mostly apologia for the chronic whiteness of m/m slash fandom in particular.

If you're looking to read it first-hand, it's on AO3, locked to users only, and it really was worse than I thought it would be from descriptions.

[ashkitty]

I think I can probably live without hunting it down. Sounds like a lot of stupidness.

[littlebutfierce]

Errrrgh yeah. I kind of feel like I have no other words cuz all her bullshit has been said & argued over A ZILLION TIMES BEFORE & I have nothing left to say but to shake my fist & make other angry gestures. :/

[rhivolution]

Yeah, to borrow a Stephen King phrase, it's SSDD.

Though I feel it's a large amount of time and effort to put into such utter crap which is effectively just 'I LIKE WHAT I LIKE AND IDC IF IT'S MESSED UP, KIDS THESE DAYS AND THEIR SOCIAL JUSTICE--GTFO MY LAWN.'

Which is not to say, incidentally, that fandom on Tumblr isn't problematic. It's just not in the way she thinks it's problematic.

[inkstone]

It's so tiresome. So so tiresome. Like this hot critical take is not something we haven't already heard a billion times before in a billion other places.

And as I said on Twitter, I did laugh when I saw the author's name. Because eh. I knew how that'd go.

[rhivolution]

Yeah, one would think someone who's so keen to insist they've been around the fandom block (and dear god, when did that become our generation, I'm seeing Tumblr posts referring to this as 'old school') would have noticed.

I'm just like oh honey, adapt or die. Cultures and subcultures evolve, and staying in a fucked up mindset because one's privilege allows it will eventually mean one no longer wields the power they once did.

I think I got all my pronouns and antecedents to match above, sorry, it's been a long day.

[amadi]

I've tried twice to read it, even though I'm logged in, the archive won't show it to me. I've decided that's for the best.

[rhivolution]

Yeaaaah, it's probably best for your health and wellbeing, my friend. Though hey, at least she's renamed it from something offensive to something slightly less offensive. /sardonic

[dingsi]

*reads linked commentary*
*opens meta entry on AO3*
*starts reading*

"I intend this essay to be a rallying cry for civility and tolerance."

*closes tab*
*screams internally*

[rhivolution]

BREAK ALL THE THINGS.