just here.

like, I think the ideological issues here are going to be at play for years to come, but authoritarian fandom as a construct is doomed to collapse as they narrow their definitions of Pure and Good more and more to continue gaining power through exclusion. which is funny, because for all that we pro-shippers get mocked for bringing political theory into fandom, fandom keeps acting it out. Political theory is about how we distribute power among people. So long as there’s power anywhere in fandom, there will be politics. And the politics being acted out in fandom right now is authoritarian, with ships inserted in place of race or religion or gender or sexuality. (Except, y’know, for when ships get equated with race, religion, gender, or sexuality. Whoops.)

^^^^^^

I don’t want to associate myself with anyone by name but I’m very close to a lot of people who rely on webcomics/independent comics, conventions, and/or independent online art for their living.

Lots of deleted archives. Lots of stressed scrolling through everything they’ve ever posted, trying to imagine if it could be taken out of context. Lots of hyperawareness of everything and everybody that they interact with. Lots of real human cost and real human anxiety from people who absolutely haven’t done anything to deserve it.

supporting artists, especially smaller artists who’ve been suddenly targeted, frequently means suffocating the drama. Starting arguments with the people dogpiling only surrounds the artist with more arguing and extends how long the harassment will last.

most artists do not want to be associated with discourse. most artists are rightfully uncomfortable with being publicly defended, because the “public” basically cancels out the “defended”. It’s not a defense if you’re catching the artist in a violent crossfire.

Support artists who are getting dogpiled by retweeting their art, by starting conversations with them that aren’t about the drama, by buying from their store or joining their Patreon. Sometimes the best thing you can do is make it clear that you don’t care about whatever “problematic” thing it is today by not caring about it.

1. “tumblr had me thinking i was ____ but i was just ___”

2. “it was the fault of adults pushing kids into these labels”

bc the thing is usually “pansexual grayace demiboy but i was just “a cis lesbian”, as tho implying the first one isn’t a valid identity at all, as though most of the labels in it or the combination of those several labels can’t possibly be valid. it’s a weird aversion to long words, like how people are afraid of long chemical names. “lesbian” is normal, natural, but “homoromantic asexual demigirl” is overcomplication and bad.

and then ofc implying the reason these labels came up and became popular wasn’t just bc teens experimenting, but bc adults somehow forced or encouraged teens and young lgbt people to id as them. the birth and nature of tumblr’s identity politics has a long history and many complicated factors, and i don’t deny peer or social pressure had a hand in it, i know on some level for plenty of people it might have. but the way people blame adults for somehow not like, stopping people from using “microidentities” is…weird. there’s a lot of unpack there.

you don’t have to be conscious of race to work on simple things like “don’t talk over other people in the conversation” or “don’t restate the points of others without acknowledging them/crediting them.” 

1. “tumblr had me thinking i was ____ but i was just ___”

2. “it was the fault of adults pushing kids into these labels”

bc the thing is usually “pansexual grayace demiboy but i was just “a cis lesbian”, as tho implying the first one isn’t a valid identity at all, as though most of the labels in it or the combination of those several labels can’t possibly be valid. it’s a weird aversion to long words, like how people are afraid of long chemical names. “lesbian” is normal, natural, but “homoromantic asexual demigirl” is overcomplication and bad.

and then ofc implying the reason these labels came up and became popular wasn’t just bc teens experimenting, but bc adults somehow forced or encouraged teens and young lgbt people to id as them. the birth and nature of tumblr’s identity politics has a long history and many complicated factors, and i don’t deny peer or social pressure had a hand in it, i know on some level for plenty of people it might have. but the way people blame adults for somehow not like, stopping people from using “microidentities” is...weird. there’s a lot of unpack there.