dhrachth: The Recent Unpleasantness in SPN fandom... - That all being said, I wish all those people posting on how horrible, mentally traumatising, sexually predatory, or what have you would just shut up already. If you weren't there and are only hearing about this two years later you don't know what happened! Don't pretend like you do know. If you actually were there and want to post on the subject, more power to you. But third and fourth hand, it's just wank. -
giandujakiss: On the recent unpleasantness in SPN fandom - these men were not fans - they were friends of a fan. So they were not role-playing as Sam and Dean for their own pleasure - they were doing it to satisfy and stimulate what they thought were the sexual desires of their audience. And that really highlights how much even people who just watch at a sex party, even people who are just the audience, are participants in the scene. The audience isn't just there milling about; they aren't just background or there by coincidence. -
vylit: look, i've known him for 2 weeks and he wouldn't do something like that - I have people on my flist who are acquaintances, people who I find interesting, and genuine friends. And lord knows, there were dark days when I let my love and friendship with people influence my ability to honestly look at situations. But I think it's important to be able to say to a friend, a loved one, someone who is genuinely important to you hey, I like you a lot, but you're wrong here. -
schmevil: anon =/= hater, liar, troll, coward, wanker, or even unreliable - Whether I'm posting about a baseball game, political philosophy or a real moment of sexual harassment I experienced. Posting anon does not, and should not, automaticaly disqualify me from having and sharing an opinion. -
smilla02: not funny - I find extremely upsetting that when applied to a real life situation like a convention the same safety in expressing your sexuality, in deciding what you want or don't want to do/see/talk about, the same empowerment that fandom gives us, means nothing at all. -
someblazingstar: A Post Relating to Wank - I can't comment on what did or did not actually happen, but I am so appalled by the attitude being presented in response, that police involvement is a requirement for any kind of allegation to be taken seriously - even allegations of behaviour that is not technically illegal; most forms of sexual harassment are not actively illegal - that proof must be provided for anyone to have the right to say anything at all and that someone's word doesn't count, that anyone who was involved and made uncomfortable but won't say so to her face is a lying coward. -
drvsilla: A few small things about something bigIt's natural, if not always excusable, to get irrationally upset and unleash the hounds. To let anger and indignation speak, while simultaneously letting it mask messier, more raw emotions like hurt, humiliation and shock. As a friend, it's natural to default to SOP when a flister angsts mistreatment a/o the anonmeme: Stop. Drop. OH NOES. To offer support, humor or airy dismissal--and mean it--but to then move on.
amazonziti: Further thoughts. - My impression of the WinCon organizers is that they have consistently done everything they can to make WinCon safe and welcoming for people with all different levels of comfort zones. If I went someday, I think I would feel safe -- and if there were something unexpected that happened to affect that feeling, I think I would be respected if I tried to do something about it. Heck yes this is a community I'd like to be part of. -
impertinence: it's not that I'm blaming you, it's just that it's your fault. - One of the most common questions asked of sexual assault victims is, "Why didn't you go to the police?" I did. Here's what happened. Warning for discussions of sexual violence and detailed descriptions of victim-blaming. -
sparkymonster: Good Morning, Lets Talk about Rape Culture! - When someone in the community engages in harassing behavior or assault, and they experience consequences of their behavior (are barred from a party, removed from a position in a group, etc.) I keep on seeing the same pattern of discussion. -
kroki_refur: The word "uncomfortable" no longer has any meaning for me - People may feel uncomfortable about things and inform the proper authorities without telling everyone else in the world. Said people do not forfeit the right to feel uncomfortable or to express the fact that they are uncomfortable. Nor does their reluctance to come forward in public suggest they are lying. There are reasons that there are proper, confidential channels for this kind of complaint in every institution ever ever. -
seperis: meta link: continuin the wincon post at unfunnybusiness - The Concomm's actions are important, above and beyond a simple ban, in placing a line down about what is and what is not appropriate at the private con they are running, and even more importantly, they've set a standard on an issue that for a lot of us feels hazy and uncomfortable to have to think about. -
merryish: Con-space, comfort levels, transgression - I want to move away from this particular situation and talk about something different, but related: how easy it is to transgress in primarily feminine spaces, even unintentionally. Especially when a guy is thrown into the mix; especially when it's an unfamiliar guy. -
celli: rape culture (or: indictments or it didn't happen!) - Whether or not anything happened at WinCon or in any other situation, for anyone to suggest that victims of sexual assault and harassment should "bring charges or shut the fuck up," that, you know, indictments or it didn't happen, that say if the cops weren't called nobody was hurt--I don't care what you or your friend or whoever actually DID, you do not get to fucking say that. It is flat out motherfucking wrong. -
brihana25: This is bri, from silly to pissed off in 30 seconds flat.If you go to a convention and you decide to bring your fandom fantasies to life, that is your own business. If you decide to seek out like-minded people to play your fantasy out with you, that's fine, too.
But if people who don't want to be there, who don't want to be part of that, get drawn into it on accident, they can't scroll past you. They can't hit the back button.
damned_colonial: Real life geek gatherings and body image - So, in my experience, RL geek gatherings (everything from tech conferences to fannish get-togethers) are a huge whirling maelstrom of opportunities for freaking out about body image, especially for women and gender minorities. -
selenak: From a certain point of view... - how does one go about showing convincingly why X does and feels the things she/he does, but simultanously signals this is a distorted pov? -
ssquirrel_fic: Think Instead Of What It Can Do For You... - The thing you should think about is - am I just cutting off my own nose to spite my face? What is fandom in general, and fanfiction specifically, doing for me as the creator? -
indongcho: Benefits of Writing Fanfiction - One accusation I see leveled a lot is that fanfiction doesn't teach a writer to develop her/his own settings and characters. Technically, that's true, but I don't think its quite that simple. Even if you're not learning to do it from scratch, the kind of analysis which goes into fanfiction can teach one a great deal about how these things work. -
hollow_echos: On Stepping into the Maelstrom - I write fan fiction, I consume fan-generated materials. Meta is people who take one step beyond that and start to think about the direction our fandom is progressing as a collective culture. -
That, right there, is basically the heart of all fan fiction. And it's also the heart of literary criticism. Lately, I haven't been particularly involved in the former (not for lack of trying), but I've been way involved in the latter, and this idea that the characters belong to her, which means she has the right to control how her audience perceives it, negates basically every possible critical approach to the text.
1. Fan fiction folks might not like you anymore. People who are into fan fiction read a lot, and I do mean a lot, of stories at all levels of quality, from Holy Shit Pulitzer to Holy Fuck My Eyes My Eyes I See the Reaper Coming for Meeeeeee. Many of us also write. And when you do that, when you read and write a lot, you learn things.[...] So we've all gotten better at reading, and reading critically, and at interacting with the story. And, yes, that means we might not like you anymore.
strina: Terrible, Horrible, Motherfucking Amazing Stories I Have Loved - Because "good" stories often have to temporize, to maintain reality and your suspension of disbelief and the dynamics of the canon. But idfic says fuck that, let's turn this shit up to ELEVEN and SEE WHERE IT GOES. That's amazing! I love that! Fanfic is, at its purest, an expression of love, and just because it's usually held to some standard of objective good doesn't mean it always should be. -