#what frustrates me in any given fandom is the underlying rhetorics that uphold white supremacist thinking

[the-everqueen]

action items white people can consider to make fandom spaces more inclusive for bipoc:

rec/kudos/comment on fanworks made by poc

consider what roles characters of color take in your own work. do black and brown characters exist solely as emotional support for central white characters? are black and brown characters sidelined for white character arcs? do black and brown characters appear solely to Talk About Racism (aka be the Magical or moralizing force for a narrative)?

(consider: Not Doing That)

reflect on whose voices get centralized/prioritized in any given narrative

listen to poc who express discomfort/frustration/critique of the text or fanon without feeling the need to defend either (or recognize you don't need to insert yourself into some conversations)

conversations around racism in fan spaces almost always get derailed into debates about ships or The Literal Text, but in my experience some of the most alienating aspects of fandom are the subtle ways that white people signal us as "other," i.e. acting as though race and queerness are distinct categories (there are queer bipoc! we invented a lot of queer culture!), framing nonwhite characters as unrelatable or undesirable, and reproducing stereotypes in fanon narratives. these become exhausting to encounter, whether or not we're part of the larger fandom ecosystem, and because it's systemic, it becomes impossible to avoid. which means white people's escapism corner is another site that poc have to navigate very, very carefully.

#fandom discourse #i don't want to get into the debates about shipping #some of my favorite fics involve Main Fandom Ships #i also project onto white male characters in media #that's fine! i'm not here to dictate your desires #what frustrates me in any given fandom is the underlying rhetorics that uphold white supremacist thinking #kill the cop in your head #and that's really all i have to say about that #because i would like to get back to my unhinged reblogging of gifsets and discussions on critical race theory #also again! i know a lot of ppl who are into the Main Ship in the current fandoms #who are doing really really good and nuanced shit #i follow some of them!