I think a lot of the resistance to change in a fandom just stems from the fear and embarrassment as a fan of saying “I’m part of the problem, and I’m going to try to change.”
I’m part of the problem, and I’m going to try to change.
I love yaoi. I am sapphic afab who mostly presents as female, and most of the fanworks I’ve created have been focused on male characters and male/male ships. And there are cultural and historical reasons why women are drawn to M/M that go beyond fetishisation and internalised misogyny, but in MCYT it’s different- for a lot of reasons.
So I'm going to start looking into more afab, female, and gender minority creators, as well as creators of colour, and I'm going to have more of a think about what I'm centring my fanworks around.
I'm sorry for the lack of support I've given to these creators and their characters, and any resistance I've had to these discussions.
I think if we want to see change in our fandom, we gotta make it our job to not shame anyone for admitting that they've let their biases influence them. It's not "us and them"- we're trying to be better together. It’s okay if you feel like you’ve messed up, or that you’ve been part of the problem in the past. It’s okay to be scared of change. But in this fandom, consciously branching out from who we usually watch can only really bring us more joy in the long run.
