What is wrong with fandoms? | Thoughts & Opinions #7

Welcome to Thoughts & Opinions! 

My blog series where I talk about things that I feel deeply about which usually doesn't involve real-world-issues, but apparently sometimes. :)

Today's topic: Fandoms (Any really)

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As someone who used to be part of a few fandoms in the past, I can confidently say that more often than not, shit is absolutely dogshit insane in these spaces. Please allow me to give you my experiences so you can understand why I think this way and decided to not associate myself with either of the various fandoms anymore.

First of all, let me make one thing clear: Being a fan and being part of a fandom aren't quite the same. You can be a fan of anything and yet not interact with the fan-base, aka. like-minded groups of people. Enjoying a project by yourself is just as normal and common as talking about it with other fans and engaging in a community.

Back when I was active on Amino Apps in 2014/2015, I used to be part of several fandoms, including but not limited to Vocaloid and FNAF. I engaged in all of the theory-crafting and shipping rituals that come with being part of a fandom and I defended my opinions as vigorously as everyone else. 

As the years passed, I soon noticed just how violently aggressive some people would get, as well as the ever increasing allegric reactions to opinions that disagree with another persons way of thinking. It made me distance myself entirely from fandoms all together. Which is unfortunate, considering that the thought behind fandoms is to bring like-minded individuals together to have discussions about their passions, not a war-zone of toxicity.

I very specifically have a problem with the mentioned allergy towards peoples opinion on a certain topic and/or character, as well as the shipping community, that can often be categorized as their own sub-group. I've already talked about shipping in this blog to make my stance clear, but in short: I don't engage in said action, nor do I particularly enjoy seeing it, despite understanding why someone might ship characters.

Having different opinions on a topic is what makes a discussion interesting. It's okay to be passionate about a topic, and of course you want to defend your opinions, negative and/or positive. However, often people will try to convince others of having the same opinion as them. While I can understand the reasons and am defo guilty of that myself, people must learn to accept that others won't always agree with their stance.

To give an example, I personally like Velvette's character from the show Hazbin Hotel. Not necessarily her personality and she's definetly not under my favorite characters, though I think her design is amazing and her voice actor has a powerful voice that I can't help but admire. Unfortunately, one of my loved ones completely disagrees, despite talking about it several times, and that is just fine. Why? Because I understand their perspective as well and can understand why someone might dislike the character.

I believe that the reason so many people are percieved as rude in many fandoms is as follows; in their discussions, they lack the understanding of another persons perspective, let alone the ability to bother listening to opinions that disagree with them. This, along with some other reasons, is why I've decided not to engage with any fandom in recent years. I don't see myself to fit into either of them, because I usually try to take a nuanced stand regarding anything, despite having my biases, and yet most of the people enjoy being on either of two sides instead. (I am aware that this is not only a fandom problem, but an issue that plagues all of the Internet).

If at any point in time, the fandoms that do and will exist, decide to change their ways of interacting with each other, perhaps I will reconsider - though knowing myself I probably won't, lolol. 

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I think there is a fundamental communication problem as well as a noticable disregard towards the source material within many fandoms, the shipping community in particular (excluding possible AUs). While these might not be the newest problems, they are persistant and ever present, hence the reason why I, despite being a fan of many things, have no community I enjoy interacting with.

As always, these blogs are not meant to spread hatred, these are just my personal experiences. It is completely fine to disagree with me. Feel free to share your thoughts! :)

Thanks for reading, love to you & stay determined. <3