oh, fandom, no

[nilchance]

All right, here's the thing.

I think there's a difference between changing (for example) Airbender's cast to "default" white, and the answering fanfic challenge to change white media characters to another race and then address the differences it makes in the story. I think there's a difference between writing JDM slash and writing Adam Lambert as straight. One is subversive; one is reasserting the old stereotypical "defaults" of white, straight, Christian, whatever.

There's a difference between changing a character's profession and changing their religion and/or culture, particularly when that religion or culture is historically oppressed. Especially when that religion has a history of forced conversion to the (that word again) "default" of Christianity.

There's a difference between a writer's hurt feeeeeelings and the hurt a fan may have accumulated over years of interacting with media and/or fandoms that systematically discount their experiences.

Pretending otherwise (calling censorship or special treatment or plain mean-girlness) is bullshit. It's not censorship any more than it would be if you called me a dyke and I went "hey, knock that shit off, it's not cool with me." It's not special treatment any more than hate speech protection is. I don't care how many words went into your offensive statement, or how much work, or how good your intentions were. If you hurt someone, the response is not to flail more and tell them their nerves are WRONG and OVERSENSITIVE and lalala, I'm so oppressed by your bleeding. You apologize. You try over.

Next time, you fail better.

Comments

[minaloush.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[barbarianwinter.livejournal.com]

YES. OMFG, yes.

(Speaking of, I'm still slightly boggled over the time I saw someone chime into a conversation about characters of color being cast with white actors to say that yeah! just like how she was so annoyed when Sue Storm was played by Jessica Alba! Totally the same! *facepalm*)

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

YES. There is a difference. A cultural history of systematic erasure and oppression means there is a difference, and refusing to see that is another form of deliberate, purposeful erasure.

Thanks for saying this.

[frightened.livejournal.com]

I don't care how many words went into your offensive statement, or how much work, or how good your intentions were. If you hurt someone, the response is not to flail more and tell them their nerves are WRONG and OVERSENSITIVE and lalala, I'm so oppressed by your bleeding. You apologize. You try over.

Next time, you fail better.

OMG. YES. THIS. SO HARD.

[deathangelgw.livejournal.com]

all you sista! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamen!