There's also a thing where like. When people DO vaguely acknowledge that biases can impact fanwork, fandom should be EXEMPT from the same kind of analysis and critique that "media" (usually big corporate media, where indie creators fall in some kind of muddy, hotly-contested middle ground) can be subjected to.
The excuses for such exemptions can include (but are not limited to):
Fandom is for fun and not for profit, as if money changing hands increases the impact that works can have on community behaviors and attitudes (and that doesn't even touch the fanfic-to-tradpub pipeline that's been developing);
(a variant of the above) Fandom is a place to "escape" real world concerns and politics, as if fandom is somehow insulated from people bringing their biases in with them, and other marginalized fans are not also trying to escape the bigotries that affect them irl, but are thoughtlessly perpetuated by other fans;
(a more extreme version of the above) Fandom is where our wildest fantasies get to come to life and run wild, as if our ids are not also shaped by implicit biases and mainstream media isn't also filled with the wish-fulfillment fantasies of their creators (look at the Fast and Furious franchise and tell me that isn't wild fantasizing!);
Fandom is just reflecting the biases of the source media, as if fans are just empty mirrors devoid of agency who don't frequently reject things like the heteronormativity of source media and magnify racism and misogyny;
Fandom has a smaller reach than mainstream media, so its impact is negligible, as if AO3 doesn't have millions of users and harming a smaller number of people with unchecked bigotry is somehow "acceptable;"
Fandom creators are often from marginalized communities, as if marginalized people cannot perpetuate bigotry nor be held responsible for same;
Fandom is filled with bad actors who've "weaponized" discussions of representation/implicit bias in fandom for their own ends (usually involving bullying, harassment, and/or attempts at censorship) and so the whole line of inquiry is now invalid by association, as if that hasn't been a philosophy used to silence progressive thought/analysis since its inception.
I could write whole essays on why each of these points are poppycock - and probably have lolsob - but in short, most of them are based on a staunch American Individualism / White Feminist perspective that fails to have empathy for those most affected by the bigotries that fandom lets run unchecked in our shared community spaces.
gummygunk
vaporwave
theartofmadeline
izzy806
kaledo-art
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
