Uncharted in Color

It was real when y’all dressed up in cosplays, and made fan art, and went to conventions, and got to interact with your faves through their social platforms…but suddenly when bigotry is involved, it’s not that big of a deal.

Let me rephrase what y’all are trying to say: POC don’t get to have fandom. We don’t get to have media. That part of the real world is something we’re not allowed to touch. It’s the one space that discrimination and prejudice will always thrive, because you refuse to acknowledge the layers of racism for what they are.

For the fourth year in a row now, it's time for Small Fandom Summer! Join me for Small Fandom Summer! It's real easy to play:

Make a fanwork for something that has fewer than 1000 English-language works on AO3

Post it to AO3

And then you've done it! You've made a thing and you've diversified the fandom ecosystem! You're basically a hero.

Q: The fandom I want to create for has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but the specific pairing I want to write for has fewer than that. Does that count? A: Yes! Q: What if it has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but, like, just barely? A: Okay! Q: What if it actually has a lot more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but it still feels small? A: Sure! Q: What if I don't want to post it to AO3? What if I don't even have an AO3 account? Can I post it somewhere else? A: Wherever! Q: What if-- A: Just do a thing, friend. Make a thing. Share the thing. This is not meant to be restrictive; this is meant to be inspirational. Create the fanworks you want to see in the world. Make a stranger happy by appealing to their niche interests. Bring joy.

And if you want to give yourself some silly little Steam-like achievement badges to commemorate your accomplishments, well, you're in luck! I've made a bunch of them right here! You can grab the ones that apply to your work and paste them wherever you like and feel good about what you've done. Here's a few of my favorites:

So you see? This is meant to be silly and fun.

There's nowhere to sign up. There's nothing to commit to. There's zero pressure. You just do it if you do it, and don't if you don't. But if you do want to play (yay!), tag your stuff with #small fandom summer so we can all swoop in and appreciate everyone else's efforts.

And since some other people have asked: There's no start date for this, nor is this an end date. "Summer" in this context is an extremely arbitrary unit of measurement. I'm starting now because my personal summer runs from about mid-May to mid-August. Yours may vary.

They are having fun together! Look how cute they are :) I want them to be happy and have kids (if that's still possible ... I'm not a guy, but I don't imagine that the sound KRAK is a good sign in this regard ...)

Bonus, the very appropriate caption in the fandom wiki:

Atoq Navarro negociando algo de parte de román

Real fandom racism is watching the darkest characters get boxed into the specific outsider pov trope over and over despite them being a core member of the cast. it's watching everyone have in depth headcanons for every character but them, denying them the complexity their counterparts get. It's them getting written out of their own plots, receiving little to no audience sympathy when they ARE complex, and, most importantly, watching them get cast in the same exact role when shipping comes in

but all this isn't loud, it's quiet and unnoticeable unless you've had to watch it play out with every favorite character you've had ever since you were ten and started engaging with fandom. it's repetitive, uncreative, infuriating and worst of all NOBODY WILL LISTEN WHEN YOU POINT IT OUT because you're just imagining it and they're not touching you. I've been making my own content and I've seen how people will go out of their way NOT to engage or engage specifically only to discredit a character of color.

A canon interracial couple exists "I just don't see their chemistry" proceeds to fanon ship [insert white character] instead, claiming they have more of a connection.

"It's not their skin color, I just don't like them for some reason, btw, here are my top 5 [insert white actors] I think are better suited"

"Not everything is about race". They say, as they prop up every white character over any character of color.

"Please stop bring race drama into the fandom". Which translates to, I'm comfortable in my racism and don't appreciate any criticism, thanks!

White person, "Yeah, I wrote character of color as an animal, doesn't make me racist".

"I love character of color, here's a fic where they act like as [insert white characters] servant/therapist".

Character of color is such a bad friend for having opinions of their own/taking care of themselves instead of putting their friend [insert white character] first.

A character of color is morally ambiguous or a villain, gets redemption arc. "They're awful and haven't been condemned enough of their crimes". Stans [insert white characters] who did the exact same crimes or was a villain who's redemption arc is praised.

"Can't believe that character of color had the nerve not to die as a selfless sacrifice for [insert white character]".

"POC actress/actor is too ethnic and they'd ruin the character".

"I haven't seen racism in the fandom therefore it isn't there".

"Character of color is the main character of the show sure, but let's be honest, everyone came for [insert white character]

"Character of color is alright but I can only relate to [insert white character]".

From now on, every time someone says "this ____ is racist", and you feel the need to counter with "well to be fair, ____" I want you to:

1) Pause.

Take a breath! You do NOT have to respond immediately, or at all! Did you understand what was written? Do you understand why the person who experienced what they believed was racism feels that way? Do you recognize that racism is never fair?

2) Ask yourself why you feel the need to defend against this sentiment.

Is it personal? Is it because you've seen it in your own behavior, or perhaps a friend's? Are you worried that one day you might do this thing, or enjoy this thing? Is it about your entertainment? Did you offer this much grace to the potential victim before you began to invalidate their experience? Does this happen often? Do you fight against racism as often as you find yourself disagreeing when something is?

3) Can you accept what it means if you are objectively proven wrong?

If you disagree or want to "provide the benefit of the doubt", and you are proven incorrect- are you willing to accept that you have been racist? Are you willing to accept that people essentially saw you being racist for racism's sake? And may not feel safe around you anymore? Does it even matter to you? Is that who you want to be?

It happens endlessly where people want so badly to defend either themselves or some imaginary person they could potentially be, that they don't see who they're being right now. You want to advocate for the Devil, but you don't appreciate being treated like the Devil you're representing!