#'booktok brainrot and why its okay to be a hater' by alisha not alihsha

[nomazee]

a month ago i said i would yell about misogyny and patriarchal themes in fanfiction and eventually i will but there are so many thoughts and feelings in my head that it will take me forever to type it down. But i will say this

Be critical of the things you read. i’m not saying you CANT read for enjoyment—you CAN and SHOULD read for fun. But i’m saying that sometimes you should take notice of the themes in writing and think “wow, i wonder why that’s written like that. Is this harmful or is this helpful?”

it’s a given that fanfiction is widely heteronormative because society and media blah blah blah We know all of this … but in my opinion i think it’s important to think about why women in hetero fics are portrayed the way they are sometimes. I think reader insert fics have gone a long way in being more inclusive and less harmful than they were years ago BUT. Do not let that stop you from recognizing themes in the works you read right now

like; Why are misogyny-affected people written a certain way?? Why are there often degrading themes in a lot of tropes and fics regarding women?? Why are there certain roles that misogyny affected people are expected to fulfill even in fiction?? why are women often the “default” for fics with male characters?? think about any of these questions for like longer than two minutes, read a bad fic, and you will probably see where i’m coming from

#this might be mindless nonsense #but i hope whoever is reading this can see where im coming from #there are a lot of harmful tropes in fanfiction #even those without a feminine leaning reader #and i think it's importnat to read for enjoyment while also thinking about the underlying meaning in writing #Everything is written the WAY it is written for a reason #whether the author realizes it or not #whether YOU as a reader realize it or not #i think very strongly of this #there’s a video i watched that re-ignited a lot of strong feelings for me about this #'booktok brainrot and why its okay to be a hater' by alisha not alihsha #very good points and that video mainly talks about like actual PUBLISHED books but that still very much applies to fics #all writing is important #i may maybe delete this later sigh #i really hope i do not come off as some elitist writer #the point is. read and write for fun. but sometimes its important to take the time to think about why things are the way they are #and if what youre writing/reading contributes or takes away from the harm #nora speaks