Curious on the front porch's take on this post https://www.tumblr.com/swamp-spirit/822217683834683392/theres-also-a-tendency-to-conflate-anyone-who
I'm split, partially because I don't think the racism argument applies to the transmasc characters the way the person is trying to.
It's a "if you would just consider" argument.
The problem with all such arguments, even the ones I emotionally agree with, is that there is no way to effectively signal that one has already considered.
To me, insulating fanworks creators from unasked for critique is not about preventing them from ever feeling bad. It's about preventing people from wasting those creators' time.
Plenty of fanworks are gross, but even more "critique" is tedious shipwars dressed up as social justice. Plenty of trends stem from problems in society, but many posts about trends just add up to the panopticon and the double standard that recent post mentioned. One has every right to make a post in one's own space critiquing fandom culture, but a critical mass of such posts tends to just make fanworks creators run away. It doesn't lead to any of the apparently desired outcomes like more numerous high-quality works about character X.
We all know that the vast majority of critique is incompetent, just like the vast majority of fic is not especially well written. An AO3 user is perfectly entitled to make a bookmark saying "I found this fic racist. Reader beware!" They are not entitled to that author's attention or response.
I do agree with them that the kneejerk response to judgy "have you considered" posts is people falling all over themselves with excuses, and the excuses do often stray into "black people just aren't interesting" unintentionally. Ditto the gender version of this. Flailing excuses frequently come out having Unfortunate Implications™ since they're written in the middle of an anxiety spiral.
I think it's important for us to own our taste and start showing some backbone when asked to Just Consider. This won't lead to different fanworks being produced, but it will cut down on flailing justification posts, which create their own hostile environment.
That's something I severely overlooked in the past and it's worth emphasizing: seeing gobs and gobs of "This is why I never like femslash wharrrgarbl!" has a similar negative effect to masses of "STOP AND CONSIDER, YOU MONSTER." We don't need to see nearly so much of either, especially in their most guilt- or rage-laden and unnuanced forms.
"I've thought about the topic before, but I don't want to have this conversation with you" is much healthier for people to see on their dash than "It's not my fault: Female characters are more boring across the board!" and its many unfortunate cousins.
I do see a big double standard in fandom, which is that hostility in a space with diverse characters chases everyone away, but the most toxic-ass fandom for majority characters often won't.
Sherlock fandom had that dumbass top/bottom war about how it was pedo to have the wrong same age white guy top. The fandom kept chugging along because it was already huge and because most people just weren't that nervous about the grand political importance of their horny johnlock fic.
There's no particular cure for this double standard other than blocking liberally so you don't see wank that will sour a fandom for you—or toughening up, I guess, but that's easier said than done.
I wish we could collectively let go of the idea that fandom routinely fleshes out galaga guy as anything other than a one-week joke in 2012.
Black characters who don't get shafted by canon's writing and don't get shafted by canon's filmmaking choices (for live action) and are in a canon that is fun genre fiction but just a little crap or open-ended do tend to elicit a good fannish response. We need more of those canons.
Waiting for black Arthur/Eames is foolish. That kind of thing barely exists for majority characters.
Pushing for that but a different demographic will be far less successful than admitting that fandom mostly likes characters with meaty roles and seeking out media that didn't hamstring fandom from the beginning. I'm in a Chinese media phase, but if I swing back to Western cop shows at some point, you'll hear me routinely singing the praises of one Ricardo Tubbs.
Is Miami Vice problematic? OH BOY, is it ever. But it's also a seminal work of cinematography, brilliant neo noir, and the source of an oft-whumped black woobie who cries single perfect tears. I have made many cheesy, over-the-top vids of my fave.
And while, yes, the old slash zine fandom was ruled with an iron fist by two specific people who hated him for Die For Our Ship reasons, the majority of fans who've gotten into MV later are like "Ooh, buddy cop hoyay!" about Crockett and Tubbs.
If you would like spoilers for the most epic and ridiculous of Miami Vice plotlines, please enjoy:
LOOK! THEY'RE BOTH WOOBIES AND THEY BOTH GET FAKE DEAD!
(Why was no one into this fandom in 2010 when I really cared? I should go check out the MV discord and see if people are still posting.)
Anyway, I think the anger around this kind of topic makes sense. The feelings of alienation are understandable.
But I do feel like there's often an undercurrent that the thing that would make people feel welcome is fandom focusing on their fave. As a small fandoms person... no, I'm sorry, that's just not on the table most of the time. You either follow the boring herd to the thing with the most fic or you settle.
The ways in which it is possible and practical to "fix" fandom all involve access: making it easier for people to post their own fanworks about their faves, even their unpopular faves. Miami Vice in the zine days had one publisher of slash zines, and they hated the black lead. It did not matter how much consciousness was raised elsewhere: this one gatekeeper stood in the way. (Hilariously and tragically, the single best and most prolific writer actually loved my fave but was not in the habit of writing drawer fic.)
Making it easy to get an AO3 account matters. Making it easy to block people who harass you in the comments section matters. Access matters. Demanding labor from other people isn't going to solve anything. I know this type of post doesn't see that as the message, but it often is in there implicitly.
I often feel alone when my faves are not popular, but because of different demographics, I know it's just that I'm a small fandom person, and being alone is the default in fandom. Make the party happen if you want a party. Yes, it's not fair. It will always be unfair. That goes for a demographic of character being unpopular. That goes for a specific character being unpopular. That goes for a segment of fic being unpopular on AO3 though wildly popular elsewhere. That goes for building a fanworks archive. And for everything else. People are doing something wrong if they stop you from making things. They are not doing anything wrong if they are making their own things that aren't the ones you would enjoy most. Block/mute them if their work is offensive and get back to making your own stuff.
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