why is it always media that tries to be open and inclusive like steven universe, overwatch, dream daddy, that have the worst fanbases that run around telling eachother to kill themselves over inaccurate fanart and headcanon disputes
They’re not any worse than other fanbases that are steeped in bigoted, reactionary dickheads. It’s just that people make a bigger deal out of more diverse fandoms behaving badly because marginalized people are held to different standards.
Also you’re more likely to encounter bad SU, Dream Daddy and Overwatch fans on tumblr. Bad fans of more reactionary franchises are more common on reddit or the chans. And if they are here they’re not people that the OP would be following anyway.
i feel like not any worse is not a very satisfying answer though because it’s still kinda like why are communities that are supposed to be about openness and inclusiveness still comparable in violence to stuff like rick and morty
Im not a sociologist but my guess would be that anything that promotes group identification (i.e. “we play overwatch and overwatch players are like this”) also encourages people to create community norms and boundaries. This can be a good thing (like keeping Nazis or sexual harassers out), a bad thing, or a bit of both.
you’re probably right but it’s still kind of disheartening because i feel like we should be doing better
I still think the #1 easiest thing that would make fandoms way way better would be for everyone to stop inferring RL political beliefs from fandom affiliation. I understand why people do it but it leads to an atmosphere where youre either paranoid of large swathes of people based on nothing more than their consumer habits or youre paranoid that YOUR consumer habits might be alienating your friends or other members of a marginalized group you are in.
Not to mention it creates a culture where people care more about making their fandom look good than addressing bigotry and other problems in a mature and transparent fashion.
Rush's tumblr archive 