#gatekeeping

[coulsonlives]

"How can someone write a Marvel character but hate the MCU lol, it doesn't make sense?!"

"You're not a real Marvel fan if you don't like the MCU!"

"Get out of this fandom MCU hater!"

Can I just say:

"The MCU" isn't synonymous with "Marvel". Stop using it interchangeably.

And no, you don't need to like the MCU to be a "real Marvel fan".

You know why? Because the MCU is written by a bunch of specific writers, led by producers with a specific vision, and it has a specific mainstream style, and not everyone is gonna like that. Nobody's freaking out if you hate certain comic book runs due to the writers, whether because the writing is too silly or dark or inconsistent, so why freak out if someone hates the MCU? It's basically the same as a long comic book run.

It's so dumb that someone can read years of comics and love the characters, but feel lukewarm or negative about the MCU's take on that character, then get fingers pointed at them because apparently they're "not a real fan" just because of that.

TLDR, stop being ignorant gatekeepers just because you wanna feel like you're part of an exclusive in-group.

#i saw this take tonight and i was like bruh are you kidding me #like sit down pls imma tell you a thing about the properties you act like you know so much about #(obligatory disclaimer the charts aren't meant to be a generalization) #marvel #mcu #fandom #gatekeeping #meme

[wilwheaton]

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of a fake Trekkie. I haven’t seen ANY of them in full, I just vaguely know the plot lines of all the generations. But whenever I catch my family watching your ready room, I ALWAYS sit down to watch with them. Your enthusiasm for every part of the universe is contagious, and it’s always so nice to share in someone’s passion, even if it’s through a TV screen. Seeing you be so unabashedly excited lifts my own spirits, I guess? Lmao. Anyway, just wanted to say I love watching you in it.

I feel like someone once told you that unless you like Star Trek in this one specific way, you aren't a "real" fan.

I would like to retroactively tell that person to shut up and let you enjoy things.

There are ENORMOUS parts of the Star Trek universe I know nothing about. I still haven't watched a full episode of Enterprise, and haven't seen more than a handful of Voyager.

But you'd be hard pressed to find someone who loves Star Trek more than I do, because the love we feel for things comes from inside us, from a place that an insecure gatekeeper can't touch, unless you let them.

You don't need permission to casually enjoy and love Star Trek, but I'll give you this "Wil Wheaton Says Shut The Fuck Up And He Outranks You" card to play when someone tells you that you aren't a "real" fan, because you can't rattle off the combination to Kirk's safe.

Thank you for watching Ready Room! Live long and prosper.

#star trek #gatekeeping #fandom

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

He did bro so bad homie made another video just to apologize.

#talkin #tik tok #gatekeeping #gatekeep

[sleepy-frog-lady]

I actually hate posts like this so much.

I found this on Reddit, and all the comments were totally onboard with it because Reddit is hell, actually.

It just bothers me so much cuz like, why do we assume “e-girls and blue haired people” can’t also have autism/adhd/ocd/etc ? I’ve certainly met people who would fall into these categories and have disabilities. In fact I don’t even think they’re particularly rare??? There’s a real undercurrent of misogyny and arguably transphobia in the framing of “e girls and blue hair people” as being vapid, shallow people who blindly follow trends without consideration for those it affects.

There’s also the implication that the only real, valid disabled people are those who are professionally diagnosed and constantly miserable. There’s no consideration for those who are, for any number of reasons, unwilling or unable to get diagnosed. Nor is there any acknowledgement that people with disabilities may sometimes want to joke or poke fun about aspects of their own condition.

There’s just a lot going on in this post and I don’t like any of it. Rant over

#autism #asd #actually autistic #rant #ableism #gatekeeping #196

[cairoscene]

Brian David Gilbert on Sad Boyz

feels fandom relevant.

[ID: A series of screen captures of Brian David Gilbert speaking on a podcast: "The thing that you invest your time in can feel so important to your identity that occasionally you feel, like, you need to close it off from other people in order to keep it safe. And I think that's where a lot of nerd culture, all that gatekeeping stuff, all of the toxicity stems from that thing where it's like, "In high school I didn't have a lot of friends or connect with a lot of people, but I did have this comic book, and now this comic book is super popular, but these people don't like me. That must be because they're not real fans."" End ID]

#feels very appropriate recently #oh you didn't read those comics? or these ones? or any? you're not doing it right #oh you're not including my favorite character? you're not doing it right #your fic/headcanons/meta annoys me? you're not doing it right #like come on these comics are 80 years old #obviously fanon vs canon is a battle that exists in almost every fandom but it's been esp prevalent in this fandom i've noticed #let's be real guys the comics are sometimes really bad and sometimes fanon is really good #anyway i watched this and it felt applicable #so that's my two cents #gatekeeping #fandom #etc

[drchucktingle]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you said Bury Your Gays will contain some ace representation? Without spoilers, could you elaborate more on that? This ace buck will be very excited if true.

it is very difficult to talk TOO much on this without spoilers so i will trot out words carefully.

there are three main characters and one of them is ace and aro. in talking to ace/aro buds i found that many buckaroos were tired of a sort of quiet and reserved ace stereotype and this character is basically the opposite of that. she is also up there with my favorite characters i have ever written actually

here is where it gets tricky without spoiling anything. i will say that the concept of ace representation itself is addressed in the book in a very important way with a very important resolution/message. i can also say that all the ace early readers have been very moved by it and given very high marks in this way, so this proves love to me i am very glad

in my most honest and objective way i can muster i think YES asexual buckaroos will be very happy with bury your gays so give it a preorder if you are interested buckaroo

#ace #aro #asexual #bury your gays #tingleverse #gatekeeping #chuck tingle #lgbtqia

[prokopetz]

All the recent discourse about gatekeeping in the tabletop RPG community has got me toying with the idea of a short-form game where you play as literal gatekeepers

I'm thinking one of those "one player, many GMs" dealies. A session begins with brainstorming a gate of some description: it could be an interdimensional portal, a gate of horn and ivory between the waking world and the land of dreams, the literal gates of Hell, whatever. Each player then creates a guardian for the gate; for example, in the gates-of-dreamland scenario, a group of three players might consist of a giant two-headed snake (with one head that always speaks the truth and one head that always lies, naturally), a singing pillar of lambent crystal, and an apparition which takes the form of the querent's mother. Probably this would use a playbook-driven approach which boils the various possibilities down to several broad archetypes.

Play consists of a rotating spotlight in which one player assumes the role of a randomly generated interloper who wants to pass through the gate (in or out!), and the others play as their guardian characters and figure out what to do with this shmuck.

#concepts #gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #game design #gatekeeping #(the literal kind) #swearing

[hussyknee]

One thing you have to remember is that online queer discourse doesn't make a damn bit of difference to systemic queerphobia irl or LGBT rights. No amount of playing respectability politics by identifying the "real freaks" will ever lead to sexual emancipation or prevent sexual violence. No amount of trying to identify and cast out "oppressors" and "infiltrators" will ever make homophobes and transphobes respect the sanctity of your sexual identity. Not letting people have words and flags and colours is absolutely nothing except a weapon for online harrassment and clout-chasing wielded by white and Western weirdos who've drunk the colonizer Kool-Aid.

#queer discourse #gatekeeping #bi lesbian #pan lesbian #pansexuality #aphobia #arophobia #transandrophobia #mspec lesbian #online harrassment #respectability politics #purity culture #kinkphobia #western leftists #white queers #anti radfem #lgbtqia #knee of huss

[riondisease]

i go on the punk tag on tiktok every 2 months to see people’s battle jackets and crust pants n what not and it always just pisses me the fuck off!!! it’s always a bunch of rich kids who’s parents buy them $1000 worth of ‘punk’ clothes making fun of somebody who’s actually participating in the subculture. like rn everyone is making fun scene and alt kids and it’s just like. man. i fucking hate you all. and i know tiktok is notoriously bad for subcultures but it’s so disappointing that punk is literally the opposite of this. like i bet these fucks don’t even loiter in parking lots or sew or be passionate about music or take care of and be nice to each other. it just fucking sucks man. why would you be like this when what you’re faking is actually fun and worth being a part of.

#crust punk #punk #diy or die #rant post #gatekeeping

[transfaguette]

pro gatekeeping arguments usually hinge on this idea that completely non affiliated people are just begging to get in and ruin everything and the only thing stopping them from doing so is rigorous policing and non-stop aggression to the point it overshadows what you even claim to be about in the first place. when in reality almost all of the disagreement is between one group and people that are just slightly different, who are basically claimed to be a slippery slope to Everyone Else.

you are absolutely entitled to gatekeeping like, a private discord server- that’s your right! people might think you’re an asshole, but you can do it. you can’t really gatekeep things that don’t belong to you, though, like identities. you don’t own that. and i think theres probably more benefit to putting the positive progress you want to see into the world than making post after post about how the Really Real Fakers are whats wrong with the world and dividing the community and not your own divisive actions and behaviors.

#coyote.txt #gatekeeping #exclus #not just related to queer communities

[amorphousgenderlesscryptid]

“Most young queer people have yet to deal with structural oppression like housing and employment discrimination, but chances are, they have dealt with invalidation and shame on a personal level. Invalidation and shame starts early in life and it’s easier to spot than the structural stuff, so it forms many young people’s conception of what discrimination is…This also reflects in the endless churning of the discourse machine. Constant infighting about issues that seem simple on paper, or in posts. The same arguments happen over and over – ‘Are asexuals part of the community?’ ‘Who gets to call themselves a lesbian?’ No progress is ever made, no consensus ever reached. Spending time in offline communities, especially among people who came out years or decades before you, you realize these issues are much more nuanced than you thought – well, that, or you realize they don’t matter at all. With lived experience comes the lesson that life is frequently complicated and tough to pin down.”

- Lily Alexandre, "Millions of Dead Genders: A MOGAI Retrospective"

#lgbtq+ #lgbt history #identity politics #queer discourse #gatekeeping #queer community

[agathathetransmechapilot]

Ok so this wrong

Fake fan witch hunt is bullshit specially in a franchise like gundam. A franchise that has been making anime,movies,videogames,manga and toys constantly since 1979,its impossible to catch up to everything in this day and age.

Also,gwitch is an AU which means is newcomer friendly and you don't need prior knowledge of the history of the franchise to apreciatte it.

I know this is a small tumblr blog but this blog is against gatekeeping and everyone is welcome to check gwitch,any other entry of the franchise and ask questions about the franchise.

Personally,i've only watched classic UC stuff,G Gundam,the build series and in the middle of turn a right now and each of those shows are a long time investment since they are around 50 episodes long.

#gundam #mobile suit gundam #g witch #mobile suit gundam: the witch from mercury #fuck gatekeeping #no gatekeeping #gatekeeping #gundam the witch from mercury #witch from mercury #the witch from mercury

[violentvioletsky]

Elitism in the 90s Goth scene.

“We'd show up at a club and the local [Goth] scene kids would be there. They'd get in early because they knew the people putting on the event or whatever. It would be like this taking over. We were on tour going from show to show and these scene kids would take over the backstage and we would be pushed off to the side in the corner. It was this weird thing where we're there to play a show and they didn't want us there. During the Stark Corner tour, back in that day everything was 'snail mail'. He [Mike Vanportfleet] used to get handwritten letters from people. He answered every single letter that he ever got (sometimes he'd send out cassettes). There was a girl that he was writing to a lot and she's like, "I'm going to be at your in-store". So he's at the In-Store, and there's this other guy hanging out with him that's mega Goth. And here's Mike sitting there with his plain white t-shirt and jeans and they're sitting at this table. So, the girl comes up and starts talking to the other guy saying, "Oh my god, I can't believe we're finally meeting. I bought you these vintage postcards" and gushing about this and that. And the guy is like, "I'm sorry but this is Mike". She literally dropped the cards, turned away, and never spoke to him [Mike] again. These are the kinds of things we'd experience. I can remember so many times playing in these uber cool Goth clubs. We would start our music before we went on stage because we had a long intro. We would just stand out in the crowd. I remember in Columbus [Ohio], we were standing in the crowd and people were looking at us like, "who the hell are you? You don't fit here". Then we walked on stage and you physically could see their faces go "Oops!".” — Tara Vanflower of the band Lycia

#lycia #tara vanflower #elitism #gatekeeping #gothgoth #the goth scene wasn't a haven of acceptance and love #goth club #90s goth #goth subculture

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

#talkin #tik tok #j isrocksolid #anime #megan thee stallion #meg thee stallion #misogyny #gatekeeping

[astralbondpro]

One thing I have grown to love in the Star Trek community is this: You get these gatekeepers; the holy fondlers of the canon as it were. The people that when you compliment something modern, they were there to tell you why you are wrong. They are there to tell you if you were a long running fan, you could clearly see why it isn't good. Why in fact, you only like this because you are fed so much shit, that something even marginally decent, seems great. They've done it to my posts. And it's like, dude, buddy, guy, dickhead, I've been watching Next Gen on repeat since the 80s. And these Zoomers and Alphas? They really don't give a shit what your crotchety ass has to say. I'm sorry you're miserable, but I do have to admit that it's quite hysterical to observe that other people's subjective enjoyment seems to make you more miserable. I'd say get a new hobby, but I assume you'd joy stomp that as well.

#Gatekeeping #Star Trek #The Next Generation #Strange New Worlds #Deep Space Nine #The Original Series #Voyager #ST: TNG #ST:TNG #ST TNG #STTNG #ST: SNW #ST:SNW #ST SNW #STSNW #ST: DS9 #ST:DS9 #ST DS9 #STDS9 #ST: TOS #ST:TOS #ST TOS #STTOS #ST: VOY #ST:VOY #ST VOY #Star Trek The Next Generation Text #Star Trek Strange New Worlds Text #Star Trek The Next Generation #AVText

[kiragecko]

cherrystainedknuckles

I guess the only problem with being asked to take a “marie kondo approach” is that in order to find any fanfic that appears to be based in actual canon timeline and plot points and characterization (which does exist, and I’m not sure why fanon fans seem insistent that it doesn’t), I literally have to search for hours. I’m not joking, I consistently make fic rec lists, and I have to search for hours and hours for actual canonical basis. same thing with character tags on tumblr.

I’m not saying fanon fans have to stop enjoying fanon or making up their own content. I’m just saying that when the tags used for both fanon tim drake and canon tim drake are the same tag it just becomes incredibly annoying sometimes, and I understand why people who like to engage with canon (me, often) become frustrated

-

I have definitely had periods where I got incredibly frustrated with fanon! Around 2019, I was wondering if I needed to leave the Batfandom, because it had been so long since I read a new fic where the characters felt 'right'.

-

But, if you're willing to, I'd like you to consider what you mean when you divide 'fanon' from 'canon'. Because I struggle to find a hard line between the two, for several reasons:

1. Fandom is transformative. Every fanfic is going to have some interpretation of the source material. The line between what is too much interpretation and what is acceptable is different for every person. For me, I find it can even vary based on writing style or other odd things - lighthearted fic can have more noncanonical stuff in it than heavier fic, and still seem true to canon.

2. 'Canon' is subjective. I do not consider the movies or video games to be 'canon', and it annoys me when things from those creep into the fic I'm reading. (I'm okay with SOME Battinson.) Some aspects of the cartoons are okay. I consider precrisis Jason Todd to be an alternate reality version, but Donna's precrisis origins are more canonical than the dumb retcons. Wayne Family Adventures isn't my main version of the characters, but I'm not bothered if some elements show up in my stories. I'm ignoring most of the nu52, but I like Duke and I'm still watching this new Lian to see what happens. I doubt your divisions are identical to mine.

(Also, some things that I think of as 'fanon' have shown up in nu52 canon! I do not accept them as any more canon because of this.)

3. Most 'fanon' is based on canon. Canon Tim has weird sleep habits. 90s Dick is really lighthearted and joking around some characters in ways similar to fanon. Dick can canonically not be trusted to take care of himself if his mental health gets low enough. Jason likes classical literature. Etc.

These are exaggerated and/or twisted in a lot of fic, but where is the line where they stop being canon? I wouldn't bat an eye at a lot of this stuff, if it didn't show up SO OFTEN.

4. Most 'fanon fans' do know some canon. What line are you going to set where it will be 'enough'. And are they allowed to mention parts of the canon they haven't read yet? Is anyone allowed to talk about Dick's early Robin days, or only the tiny amount of people who have read the golden age stuff? A lot of the 'mistakes' I see are obviously made by people who have read ABOUT canon, but don't know quite how it fits together.

5. 'Canon' is FULL of contradictions. Yes, there are canon events. Yes, there is characterization that is consistent across 3/4s of comics. But. I'm still working on my sidekick timeline. I've devoted days to figuring out ages and passage of time. I've spent over a decade trying to figure out Jason Todd's motivations, and why Tim treats him the way he does. I've read all the 90s and early 2000s CANONICAL character assassination of Jason.

I spent years thinking that Donna's death was almost as foundational as Jason's, only to later discover that I had just happened to read the specific comics that focused on the fallout, and she only stayed dead for a short time. That happens to fans ALL THE TIME! We read a character summarizing an event we haven't directly read, and just accept it as what happened. But characters have biases, and not all writers care about accuracy.

-

I've read some Tim Drakes that I consider to be almost entirely 'fanon'. And quite a few that were so scarily 'canon' that I got chills. (Not all of which were similar to each other.) But the vast, vast majority have fallen somewhere in the middle.

I definitely do not want the responsibility of deciding which ones count as 'canon'! And I think I would strongly dislike anyone who tried to decide for me.

Being frustrated is logical, and I empathize. But the original post was about the impossible expectations some fans feel. The expectation to read thousands of comics, synthesize all the contradictions, and come to conclusions that match the 'true fans'. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to be complaining about.

If that's what some fans are experiencing, of course they're not going to want to engage with canon! There's no way for them to succeed, so why should they even try?

When you join THAT conversation to discuss your frustration about fanon, it strengthens that perception. When you call them 'fanon fans' it emphasizes their belief that you don't think they belong. And rather than trying to change, it's more likely that they'll double down. Canon is full of gatekeepers, so they'll avoid it.

#gatekeeping #fandom policing #fanon #canon vs fanon #usually don't do stuff like this anymore #I'm old and tired #but sometimes the words want to come out