Fandom ups and downs.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:

What are some improvements that have occurred within the fandom community over the years? What are things that you wish would cease or that people would stop doing?


I would say one improvement would probably be the ceasing of snark communities, where the entire purpose was to mock fans, particularly younger fans, for the fanworks they created. Now, I enjoy a good snark, but the lines can blur easily into just being plain mean-spirited and unfortunately that's what a lot of those communities ended up becoming. And looking back, while it can be fun to mock mainstream entertainment MST3k-style it's not a good idea to do that with fan-created works, especially without their knowledge or permission which was sadly very common back in the day. I have no doubt that stuff like this still exists, since hate communities in general still exist no matter the platform, it's just not as widely known or accessible as it used to be back in the day, which is good. Fandom is supposed to be fun and enjoyable, and seeing hate towards fans, even in a mocking way, can be incredibly discouraging.

I also think that blatant internalized misogyny has lessened over the years. It obviously still does exist, unfortunately, but I also think there's more conversation surrounding the topic of defending female characters (and actresses/performers/creators/etc) and examining this kind of toxic mindset. There's less mockery of Mary Sues, bashing of female characters in fanfiction is greatly frowned upon, and so on.

At the same time, though, I do think that while some things have improved much has also remained the same, just repackaged differently with the social climate we're currently in.

Like yes, internalized misogyny has lessened in certain fandom circles, but it has also created this toxic positive mentality where no criticism or examination of the flaws and nuances of female characters should exist, that women, fictional and real alike, are queens and flawless goddesses that can do no wrong, which is just incredibly dehumanizing and is just as bad as outright hating on them for no reason. This is doubly so for WOC, as well, which yes racism in fandom is still a massive problem that needs to be addressed but this is not the way of combatting it. There are other examples of this, but essentially the gist is that we went from one extreme to a complete 180 into another extreme which is rather counterproductive in fandom spaces where discussions of these particular topics need to be addressed rather than brushed aside or treated like some shallow hot take on social media, be it internalized misogyny/homophobia, generational gaps in the overall fandom community, attitudes towards fanworks vs mainstream media and the influence they both have as a whole, etc. The latter especially since it is very much tied with purity culture, which needs to be eradicated, as far as I'm concerned. Purity culture, and all it entails, has done nothing good for anyone, fandom and non-fandom alike, and seeing so many people repeat these ideologies and views across all sorts of places is deeply concerning to me, to be honest.

So yeah, I think that this gradual shift within the fandom community over the years has been something that has been bothering me for a long time. Whether or not this was the natural state of progression of fandom as platforms and online interaction changed, who knows, it could very well have been inevitable. So while I think some things have improved, other things really haven't, either having gotten worse or more or less remained the same. I do think that, with all things, it will always fluctuate as time goes on, we'll have our ups and downs, improvements and setbacks.


So yeah, this kind of got long, longer than I initially intended, and it's not even everything that I wanted to include because I do have specific examples that I wanted to get into more with things that do need more improvement within the online fandom community, but that will have to wait for another day. I had certain thoughts I needed to write out, I just hope that it was coherent enough to make sense.

Comments

Pt 1

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

. And looking back, while it can be fun to mock mainstream entertainment MST3k-style it's not a good idea to do that with fan-created works, especially without their knowledge or permission which was sadly very common back in the day.

Yep. And I can tell you those fans would have been crushed.



I also think that blatant internalized misogyny has lessened over the years. It obviously still does exist, unfortunately, but I also think there's more conversation surrounding the topic of defending female characters (and actresses/performers/creators/etc) and examining this kind of toxic mindset. There's less mockery of Mary Sues, bashing of female characters in fanfiction is greatly frowned upon, and so on.


You're more of a fandom guru in this way than I am, so I'll leave it to you to help confirm or deny, but I really think GamerGate was the boiling point, and why we started seeing a reversal of all that. I never followed GamerGate to obsessive levels, but from what I understand, it led to a LOT of important discussions about misogyny in fan and gaming circles, and I imagine people have checked themselves. And of course "real life" movements like #YesAllWomen and #MeToo. I always felt even the mocking of Mary Sues had misogynistic elements.

Don't get me wrong — I think OCs are harder to pull off, but it can be done. The fandom I'm in now is very OC heavy, but honestly, I can't think of a single OC I would call a "Sue" or a "Stu." Now granted, my current fandom also seems to be a bit older — I'd say we're mostly in our thirties and up. So you don't have as many people writing themselves into the story. That brings me back to the very sad point about it being mostly teenagers who were getting roasted, though. And of course it was just as bad for adult fans.

In general the snark communities could go too far, and I say this as someone who was part of a few. Not the fic snark communities, that I never really liked, but I was part of one that examined certain BNFs and was adjacent to a few well known fan exposes. I've stayed in touch with some of the saner snarkers, one of them is even a Facebook friend, but most of the ones I've stayed in touch with (including her) also left the group without preamble or explanation, and I don't have to ask why. It started out with pretty good intentions, but it got to the point where certain people were as bad as the BNFs they were mocking. I'm sure this included me at times. I don't even think we were all terrible people, I just think we didn't like being the outliers of fandom and wanted to feel like we were part of A Circle, at least. Except that's not how you do it. And maybe the Mary Sue snarkers felt the same way? There though, I think there's also a lot of internalized misogyny, like you said.

The bottom line is that while it's fine to discuss things that bother you or really problematic people who need to be called out, trying to take down everyone you don't agree with only means bringing yourself down.

Pt 2

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Like yes, internalized misogyny has lessened in certain fandom circles, but it has also created this toxic positive mentality where no criticism or examination of the flaws and nuances of female characters should exist, that women, fictional and real alike, are queens and flawless goddesses that can do no wrong, which is just incredibly dehumanizing and is just as bad as outright hating on them for no reason. This is doubly so for WOC, as well, which yes racism in fandom is still a massive problem that needs to be addressed but this is not the way of combatting it.

If anything, you're still saying there's only one way to write women or POC or LGBTQ+ characters. That's still bigotry, isn't it? And I don't mean that in a MAGA-esque "oh no I have to be nice to people who don't look like me, that's reverse racism" way. But characters should be people, and if you can't write a marginalized character as a person, then that's a huge problem. I'm not saying that there aren't things outside of a privileged person's experience they should consider. But have someone who has lived those experiences read and respond. For instance, I recently wrote a fic portraying a Jewish burial. I asked if there were any Jewish fans who would be willing to give me input or read over my work, because I didn't want to get anything wrong. Respect your characters' identities and that you may be coming from an unfamiliar place, but don't be gross about it.

(I'm sorry if that's not exactly what you mean, and I just rambled nonsensically.)


Purity culture, and all it entails, has done nothing good for anyone, fandom and non-fandom alike, and seeing so many people repeat these ideologies and views across all sorts of places is deeply concerning to me, to be honest.

I hate that purity culture is a thing, and I really hate how much I fell for it at one point in time. Strikes me as strang that fandom has that problem when it's otherwise pretty progressive, but then, fandom always had pretty socially conservative corners, even fandoms you'd think wouldn't.

I do think that, with all things, it will always fluctuate as time goes on, we'll have our ups and downs, improvements and setbacks.


Pretty much!

Re: Pt 2

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

If anything, you're still saying there's only one way to write women or POC or LGBTQ+ characters. That's still bigotry, isn't it?

In a way, yeah. Because it's true, not everyone in a marginalized group is the same nor do they share the same experiences or hold the same views or opinions.

But characters should be people, and if you can't write a marginalized character as a person, then that's a huge problem.

Exactly. And not even with just writing them, but in general treating them like they're human beings rather than putting them up on these pedestals. Just because they're part of a marginalized group doesn't mean they're better than anyone else, and acting or treating them like they are is incredibly insulting.

Attitudes in fandom can be very toxic whenever someone takes a misstep or makes the smallest mistake, and suddenly they are vilifying the person they were praising a moment ago because the flawed version of their character didn't line up to what they envisioned them to be, or worse, are policing other fans for simply acknowledging these flaws and looking at the nuances of their character that doesn't paint them in a perfect light. I've witnessed this happen a lot, and it's exhausting as it is infuriating to see over and over again.

I hate that purity culture is a thing, and I really hate how much I fell for it at one point in time. Strikes me as strang that fandom has that problem when it's otherwise pretty progressive, but then, fandom always had pretty socially conservative corners, even fandoms you'd think wouldn't.

It's honestly really scary, because purity culture is a mixture of a lot of really horrible movements while attempting to paint themselves as progressive and enlightened, when in reality they are just following typical conservative rhetoric and ideology that is taking massive steps backwards instead of forwards.

I do often wonder how much of it is a farce, people only following the trends as in not to get harassed or ostracized by others (and even then that's concerning because it's very cult-like in that way), and how much of it is people genuinely believing in what they're saying, but even if it's just a very loud vocal minority spread across the Internet, I do worry about those who genuinely follow in this mindset since it often feels like they're thisclose to advocating for abstinence only education and encouraging book burnings and wanting to start purity balls/purity rings because "protect the children!" I can tell you anyone who starts with the "protect the children" claim doesn't actually care about children. They've only convinced themselves they do to justify their actions and behaviors, and even upping the ante a bit with certain buzzwords and phrases to elicit a certain reaction from others.

(There are ways of having conversations and finding better solutions to how things are handled online and in media regarding children, especially with social media and its influence, but that? Is not the way to go.)

RE: Re: Pt 2

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Just because they're part of a marginalized group doesn't mean they're better than anyone else, and acting or treating them like they are is incredibly insulting.

Geez — you're absolutely right. That's very degrading and just as bad.


Attitudes in fandom can be very toxic whenever someone takes a misstep or makes the smallest mistake, and suddenly they are vilifying the person they were praising a moment ago because the flawed version of their character didn't line up to what they envisioned them to be, or worse, are policing other fans for simply acknowledging these flaws and looking at the nuances of their character that doesn't paint them in a perfect light. I've witnessed this happen a lot, and it's exhausting as it is infuriating to see over and over again.

Yeesh. Where is this happening? Tumblr? Ao3? I haven't seen it on Ao3. But again, the fandom is a bit older, and while I think they're very understanding of current social issues, it's not to that level. Or maybe I just haven't noticed it yet? There IS a tumblr presence I probably should check out, but haven't. Maybe I'll start updating my tumblr though. Now that we've just acknowledged all the wankfest. ;) No, but I agree, that's a problem.

I can tell you anyone who starts with the "protect the children" claim doesn't actually care about children. They've only convinced themselves they do to justify their actions and behaviors, and even upping the ante a bit with certain buzzwords and phrases to elicit a certain reaction from others.

Yeah, or "family values." Though I have once or twice heard people use language like that for actually good causes, so I guess don't do the faux woke thing and assume either. But be aware of the buzzwords and that while some people may mean them innocently, others may not.

The other thing is that it's very easy for impressionable young people to fall for certain ideas without necessarily even realizing what they're buying into. That 100% happened to me. Not all of it was online, sadly a lot of it was at school because... 'merica, but either way, younger people — especially from privileged situations — may not even question what they're being told, or how they're being told.


I do often wonder how much of it is a farce, people only following the trends as in not to get harassed or ostracized by others (and even then that's concerning because it's very cult-like in that way),

Honestly, I think in general people often know it's wrong, or at least going too far, but no one wants to say anything. I'd say it's generally fear of ostracization, and maybe at times just waiting for someone else to begin the objections. Then they'll feel safe. No one wants to be the first to stick their head out, you know? But I also think people tend to go along with things until it affects them. And you're right, there is something cult-like about it. At the very least, it can get pretty toxic very fast, and it makes it hard when you DO break apart, because you may or may not have support in doing so.

Re: Pt 2

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeesh. Where is this happening? Tumblr?

I personally haven't seen much of that on Tumblr (because I curate the hell out of my space there), only circulating posts referencing some of whatever drama may be happening. Some of it is just general or generic things, some might be inspired by something specific someone saw. I mostly think it's a general kind of thing, sometimes you'll see something in that tags and want to address that kind of attitude (ex: like how people will vilify female characters for being "annoying" despite praising male characters for having those same traits, something that hasn't completely gone away).

Though I highly suspect that you'll see a lot of that kind of attitude over on Twitter, because, well, people are incredibly reactionary there and the toxicity there is just overwhelming.

Maybe I'll start updating my tumblr though.

Oh, you have a Tumblr account?

But be aware of the buzzwords and that while some people may mean them innocently, others may not.

The problem, I find, is that there's a lot of people who take specific words or phrases that are meant for something and completely twist it to fit whatever narrative or agenda they have, and oftentimes it gets so misused, bastardized, and watered down that it loses all meaning despite the initial importance of those words. It sadly happens in a lot of areas, not just with purity culture rhetoric.

But yes, we need to be aware of how those words/phrases are used and in what context and learn how to spot when someone is twisting those phrases for their own agenda. And sadly, it's true, that the younger someone is the harder it will be to look out for those warning signs because they are more susceptible to being indoctrinated into that mindset.

At the very least, it can get pretty toxic very fast, and it makes it hard when you DO break apart, because you may or may not have support in doing so.

Especially if someone was doing a lot of harm towards others, either because they truly believed what they were doing was right or because they were afraid and just following what everyone else was doing, and that they've burned so many bridges that they have nowhere to really turn to, which can be very scary especially when you're young. Like, whether online or in real life, that can be very hard to really grapple with. Fortunately, I have seen some areas supporting people who come out from that particular mindset, and even people willingly coming out with their own personal stories about leaving that toxic community, which is great.

Re: Pt 1

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yep. And I can tell you those fans would have been crushed.

Yeah, it must've made a massive impact on them and probably made them so discouraged. The sad thing is that there were some incidents that I witnessed where some of those fans not only discovered that their work was being mocked, but attempted to politely ask the mods of those communities to take it down, and they were not only refused but also mocked for their attempts. The mods/members would often use the, "if it's posted publicly online it's fair game", which while technically true it's still an asshole thing to do. :/

but I really think GamerGate was the boiling point, and why we started seeing a reversal of all that.

I think you're right about that, there was definitely a massive shift that started from there which led to, as you mentioned, everything involving the MeToo movement where the conversation started picking up when it came to the treatment in women, whether in the workplace, in the entertainment industry, in media, in fandom, etc. So much so that when you look back at how fandom used to be, the way people acted, it was a reflection of how our society and culture was back then and how acceptable it was to basically treat women, shaming them, bashing them, etc. Granted it was always bad even back then, but now that things have culturally shifted in the opposite direction, we're now having larger discussions on these particular issues and shining light on them more than before.

(This also explains the Twilight resurgence that I've seen happening lately, because as much as the story itself was not written well, it's far from the worst thing that's out there and it also wasn't deserving for half of the hate it got, and it's also why people started apologizing to Stephanie Meyer for openly hating/mocking/shaming her for writing pretty much a typical YA vampire story. Stories and pieces of media that are often written by women and where the main target audience is for teen girls and young women in general are often mocked by others, and Twilight, once it gained popularity through the movies specifically, became the biggest scapegoat of that and as much as I don't care for that series, it really shines a big light on the misogyny/internalize misogyny that exploded during that particular time.

It's also perhaps why there's been a lot of people defending the concept of "Mary Sues" and even encouraging people to not be ashamed of writing self-inserts into their OCs, because people, young fans in fandom especially, have always been afraid of being made fun of for this reason and just basically going, "you know what? fuck it, write what you want, have fun, don't pay attention to the haters", has really kind of been refreshing, imho. I don't have to read it if it's not my taste, and that's fine. Let others have their fun experimenting and exploring things through their writing.)

I just think we didn't like being the outliers of fandom and wanted to feel like we were part of A Circle, at least. Except that's not how you do it.

I think a lot of people feel/have felt that way at some point, at least not feeling like they were among the biggest circles of a particular fandom and that they need to connect with others like the BNFs and their little tight knit groups were. But you're right, that's not the way to do it.

RE: Re: Pt 1

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it must've made a massive impact on them and probably made them so discouraged. The sad thing is that there were some incidents that I witnessed where some of those fans not only discovered that their work was being mocked, but attempted to politely ask the mods of those communities to take it down, and they were not only refused but also mocked for their attempts. The mods/members would often use the, "if it's posted publicly online it's fair game", which while technically true it's still an asshole thing to do. :/

Yeah, I stood in for a friend, and while TBH I probably wasn't very diplomatic about asking, the person — who's actually relatively well known even now, I think, which makes it awkward when people mention them — was like "and guess what, I'm going to post this email now too, so thanks." I mean. Come on. You're exactly right, it's technically fair game for being posted publicly, but it still makes you an asshole. At the very least, honor someone's wishes for it to be taken down. That should be your wake up call that the people you're making fun of are still people who were just trying to write for a fandom you both love. The world's not that small, either, and the internet certainly isn't.


So much so that when you look back at how fandom used to be, the way people acted, it was a reflection of how our society and culture was back then and how acceptable it was to basically treat women, shaming them, bashing them, etc.

Exactly. Mary Sue was the easiest target. She was all the women who got made fun of IRL. (And sure, there were Gary Stus, but let's be honest, Pottersues wasn't about Gary Stus 90% of the time.)

(This also explains the Twilight resurgence that I've seen happening lately, because as much as the story itself was not written well, it's far from the worst thing that's out there and it also wasn't deserving for half of the hate it got, and it's also why people started apologizing to Stephanie Meyer for openly hating/mocking/shaming her for writing pretty much a typical YA vampire story. Stories and pieces of media that are often written by women and where the main target audience is for teen girls and young women in general are often mocked by others, and Twilight, once it gained popularity through the movies specifically, became the biggest scapegoat of that and as much as I don't care for that series, it really shines a big light on the misogyny/internalize misogyny that exploded during that particular time.


ABSOLUTELY. I love your theory that the resurgence of Twilight is people realizing all the internalized misogyny from before. That makes a lot of sense.

And you know, I had friends even at the time say "(name), this book series just isn't for you." Looking back, they were absolutely right. I didn't want to read a YA romance. So... don't.


I think a lot of people feel/have felt that way at some point, at least not feeling like they were among the biggest circles of a particular fandom and that they need to connect with others like the BNFs and their little tight knit groups were. But you're right, that's not the way to do it.


I think that's true of life in general (maybe that's what you meant), so it makes sense. Even the term "basic." So someone likes yogurt. Why is that a crime? I love a good yogurt parfait, and I don't think I'm "basic." But even if I were "basic", having a few, or even many, mainstream interests isn't a crime. No one's insulting you by enjoying something.

(I DO make fun of the notion that smoothies and yoga are the only way to attain true happiness, but that's not making fun of smoothies and yoga, that's making fun of toxic positivity. It's fine to love smoothies and yoga and Twilight and blueberry yogurt with granola. Or some of those things. Or none of those things.)

Re: Pt 1

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

And you know, I had friends even at the time say "(name), this book series just isn't for you." Looking back, they were absolutely right. I didn't want to read a YA romance. So... don't.

This is something that I think most people, myself included, need to tell themselves more often. You might try a piece of media but once you realize that it's not to your tastes, just leave it be and move on. No need to publicly bash it and label it "bad" just because you didn't like it. Some things just aren't made for you, and that's okay. Find something else that is.

(It's kind of why I don't really watch those "this [piece of media] sucks" videos on YouTube anymore because, even if it's entertaining to watch or that the person is making good points that you agree on because you felt the same way, at the end of the day what purpose is that video serving? It's one thing to constructively critique a piece of media, it's another to basically say, "this sucks and here's why nobody should watch it" which, while I'm sure it's just a person venting and they can't really control what their audience does with the information that they hear in the video, because people will just take things at face value and not give anything else a second thought, but idk, a lot of the time those videos tend to rub me the wrong way these days for the exact reason of perhaps the simple explanation is that it just wasn't for you? idk)

RE: Re: Pt 1

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

it's another to basically say, "this sucks and here's why nobody should watch it" which,

Yeah, I like the ones where they have valid criticisms but also point out what the movie did well.

I agree that it's sometimes obvious the media just wasn't for them to begin with. That always frustrates me.

I also get frustrated when people talk about book based movies without having read the source material. I see The Princess Diaries mocked a lot, and while I agree the movies weren't the books, the second one was pretty awful IMHO, I'd prefer to see criticism from someone who also grew up reading the series. Though that's not really their fault.

I mean, I even have that issue with some critics of religion online. I have no problem with criticizing extremists, with criticizing fundamentalists, but some of those vloggers get into "and here's why any belief is stupid" territory. At the end of the day, some beliefs just don't align with yours, and there's a difference between all religion being bad and actual bad that comes out of religion. I think we can certainly talk about microaggressions that have a religious bent, but then you're still talking about intolerance. I have beliefs I know those vloggers would say are weird and unscientific, but they're mine and I can't help it. My point is, that's another thing people may not be into, but that doesn't make it inherently bad.

(I even had to stop watching one vlogger because he started talking about how all Muslims are extremists. Nope. Bye.)

Re: Pt 1

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like the ones where they have valid criticisms but also point out what the movie did well.

Exactly, where they are objective and look at both the negative and positive things while critiquing instead of just the negative parts. Or even talk about what they, personally, would have preferred to see. I find those fascinating because it shows that they're able to enjoy something even if it's flawed, or even admit that it wasn't for them but doesn't talk down about it, which is an unfortunate thing that many reviewers often do.

When I guess when we're talking about things like YouTube, videos that are ranting/negative tend to get more views so it's understandable that there would be more of that type than ones that review or talk about things fairly.

I also get frustrated when people talk about book based movies without having read the source material.

I view books and their adaptations to be two separate entities, so I'm not overly bothered by that if people review or talk about a movie and haven't read the source material. Because I've done the same thing, myself, sometimes without really knowing. However, it is definitely frustrating whenever I know the source material and an adaptation is, in my opinion, is incredibly shitty because it missed the point of the message and story and people end up praising the movie version more than talking about the importance of the book, or comparing/contrasting things, like what a movie enhanced from the book or what the book did better, etc. Because while I know it is commonly said that "the book is better than the movie", sometimes it's fascinating to look at both and see what both did good, what they didn't do well, etc, since different mediums can enhance the story depending on its intended audience, and not seeing people talking about that stuff when taking into account adaptations of a certain source material is really disappointing.

And, like yeah, it's not their fault because they haven't read the book to compare it, or prefer the movie to the book because that happens sometimes, different preferences and all of that, but still. I guess I prefer that deeper conversation that not many are willing to have. And again, that's fine, but I wish there was more analysis of those types out there that can get into the grit of it all on that level, y'know?

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

I love a good snark but like most things it works when you punch up not down. Snark at the show/movie etc. doing something ridiculous sure but don't snark at the fans who are just having fun making things. We're all stunningly bad when we start a new hobby. I'd hate to have people making fun of the early icons I made etc. They're not good, but I enjoyed learning.

I've definitely noticed more internalized misogyny when I've gone back and watched shows from a few years back. I'm still on my CSI rewatch and there are some episodes where I note to myself that this was written by a man who hates women. There are some moments where the female characters are so out of character but it's so they can do a "women are crazy" storyline and we're meant to not like the women much. Pass on that.

That said I agree that characters should be allowed to be looked at critically. We don't get good characters if we give people a pass because of gender or race. Previously we gave the mediocre male characters a pass, we should be demanding well written characters across the board.

Purity culture is garbage and just creates shame and guilt. No good comes from it ever.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I've definitely noticed more internalized misogyny when I've gone back and watched shows from a few years back.

It's just so interesting seeing shows, not just older shows but shows from not too long ago, featuring things that would not fly today. I know that conversations and the way things are featured in media shift depending on what is happening in the current social climate, and it's not always something big but something small like, being aware of how women or other marginalized groups are written and treated in media, how certain issues, especially social and sensitive issues, are handled in the writing, etc. It's just fascinating seeing what the turning point was in our society and culture of what happened when all of that shifted.

(Of course, this can create drawbacks where people are either so aware of it that they try too hard to avoid it which causes a lot of problems, to attempting to be self-aware in the way they write things that it comes across as also trying too hard to appear "woke" in the actual text that it doesn't really do much of anything, and neither do anything to fix the issue at hand especially if they're afraid of the social media backlash.)

Purity culture is garbage and just creates shame and guilt. No good comes from it ever.

Seriously, it's so disturbing. :/

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

Then there are some things that do fly today. I remember the first season of the Xfiles reboot had an episode that was so racist my friend and I figured it was going to have a turn and reveal that the real terrorist types were the white Americans but nope, they went straight racism the whole way through. It was an uncomfortable watch.

I find that you can see the ones which are trying to appear woke vs those who just get it. There's a way where characters feel authentic and then sometimes you can tell they slotted in someone who was gay, or racialized, or trans etc. just to check a box and that always shows. Just write people as people and it's fine.

I'm really creeped out by purity balls because it ties young girl's first sexual urges to their fathers in a way that just makes me feel like it's not okay. Plus we don't do purity balls for the boys so clearly it's not about being "pure" but it's about controlling women and letting them know the men in their lives have total power over them.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is, as much as there is some progression in certain areas, a lot of places there just isn't, even when they should be. Racism and negative portrayals of other cultures is still very alive in media, specifically Western media, and it's very frustrating and tiring to see. Whether it's blatant or mild, it doesn't matter, it shouldn't still be happening, especially when in regards to terrorism (like, the whole "War On Terror" nonsense that was during the Bush era that really amped up the fear-mongering of that and it, sadly, still exists today which is something we need to get away from entirely).

I find that you can see the ones which are trying to appear woke vs those who just get it.

Oh yeah, a lot of times it's very obvious in the writing and the way character are being presented, especially the dialogue. Using "woke" language is the first red flag for me, unless it is intentionally meant to be used as satire in the framing of the work itself. I think the biggest issue for me is all these reboots attempting to "diversify" everything and acting like that's enough to get them brownie points for being inclusive when, no, it's not. The unfortunate thing is that this has become a very common marketing tactic in mainstream media nowadays, and while some can pull it off a lot of them can't, and it's very easy to tell which ones are genuinely trying versus the ones that are just trying to get Twitter and online articles to write about them.