![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[meta] Fandom Entitlement
★ FIRST. A pimp for my lovely (former!) roommates, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kasugai_gummie and butterflycages, both of whom are incredibly talented artists with things to sell.
So if you're into Hetalia, Reborn, Gintama, or Okami (or just generally into pretty art and posters and other assorted things), take a look at their SALES POST. ♥ Shiny stuff, we can has it.
★ SECOND. Because my supervisor took the week off without telling me, and I have done as much research as I can without further consulting her and narrowing down the topic, I am left mostly to my own devices today. When I am left with too much time on my hands, I write. I tend to either fic or meta, and today it will be the latter because I have done a lot of fic-writing these past two weeks and am struggling somewhat with starting Donghae's sidestory in the fratboy verse.
So I took some time to read about blogs, blogging, and blogging etiquette (here's a good Ten Commandments of Blogs/Wikis). Fascinating stuff because I wish I could blog in a way that was less fangirly and random, and more intelligent. It would be fun to talk in depth about a subject I was interested in - I was tellingsapphira_angel about this and I think a fandom meta blog would be my ideal. I talk too much as it is about fandom, anyway. I would like to do less fangirling sometimes and more...well, meta. About fandom trends or fandom's hive mentality, or the way people judge others by their grammar or fic headers without giving their actual content a chance. The way people will take things too seriously or condemn others for taking things too seriously, or pick up each other's typing quirks in a sometimes-subconscious effort to better connect or fit in.
Today, though, I really want to blog about Fandom Entitlement. But in a slightly different sense than its usual context (of either me demanding things or complaining about other people demanding things).
Obligatory disclaimer: personal opinions. But, I think, generally applicable. Feel free to disagree though. Kpop-specific because if I try to include animanga or TV shows or other written works, it gets too bulky. Plus there are some things more specific to kpop I wanted to address.
As a kpop fan, what are you entitled to?
You are entitled to love the group or idol for whatever reason you choose: for their music, for their interactions, for their hilarious shows, or solely for the fic you compose in your head.
You are entitled to like some or all of the above, but you are also entitled just the same to dislike any or all of the above. You can dislike their music but still be a fan for their band dynamics. You can hate ficcing them but still adore their songs and musical talent.
You are entitled to think your idols are attractive or adorable or hilarious. You are entitled to think they are rude, selfish, childish, talentless so far as you have seen. As you do not know them personally, you are not entitled to judge their character except as you have seen.
You are entitled to wishing such-and-such idol would hurry up and release a new album. You are entitled to feel sad if such-and-such other idol reveals he has a girlfriend. You are entitled to be happy or disappointed or angry by the things the idols do or say, but you are not entitled to demand things from them. You are not entitled to demand that they share your values, for example, or that they have a North America tour, or that they make an official announcement about whether they are or are not still in your favorite band. You are a fan and they appreciate your support, but you do not control their lives. Wishing is okay; demanding is not.
You are entitled to write your idols letters, to leave them messages where appropriate, or to contact them or meet them in approved venues and circumstances. You are not entitled to stalk them or call their number incessantly to disrupt their personal lives. You are not entitled to ask about their personal lives; you are entitled to what they tell you and what they allow the public to know, but you are not entitled to prying.
You are entitled to writing and reading fic, to creating imaginary lives and stories for these people, as long as you realize there is a distinction between reality and fiction. You are entitled to create fictional people based on your idol's RL characteristics and call them by the same name, but you are not entitled to force your beliefs that so-and-so is so truly in love with so-and-other-so on the rest of the world. (In other words, you are entitled to be delusional if you want, but you are not entitled to inflicting said delusions on everyone else.)
You are entitled to do things for fandom such as writing fic, scanning magazines, translating lyrics, subbing shows, making icons, uploading videos, and the like. You are entitled to want to be appreciated for your work, but you are not entitled to demand it. If you are doing it for gratitude and not to better help other fans appreciate your idols or bands, then you may want to reconsider your motives. (I can't tell you that you are Doing It Wrong, because I'm not entitled to, but I can still judge you for it.) Sadly, you are not entitled to thanks or reviews, however much you may deserve it (or feel like you deserve it). Fandom should be a give-and-take community, but in reality it is not. So you should appreciate your thanks, but holding hostage fics or videos from the world at large just because silent readers or leechers exist seems counterproductive.
You are entitled to lock your fics or videos or icons, as long as you realize it comes with a cost. While some people will friend you or join your comm, others will judge you or find it too bothersome. You will lose people: it's a fact.
On the other hand, as a fan you are entitled to partake in what others willingly share. You are entitled to request things, politely, but never to demand. You are entitled to show your appreciation, but you are also entitled to say nothing at all - however rude that may come off. You must also realize this can cause people to not share, or lock posts, so it becomes a cost-benefit analysis of how long it takes to say "thank you" or "I love this!" versus the additional complications of joining comms or finding alternate options.
You are entitled to whatever opinion you want to hold, and you are entitled to express them as you will in private, and politely in public. You are entitled to respectful, polite discussions about your opinions that do not include personal attacks; similarly, you are entitled to disagree with people, but you are not entitled to make personal attacks on those who hold opinions you disagree with.
You are not entitled to being right, or not having people disagree (sometimes angrily, sometimes vehemently) with you. You are not entitled to immunity from repercussions of stupidity; if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.
You are entitled to have fun, but not to deprive others of having their own fun, however their definition may differ from yours. In the same way, you are entitled to judge others, but not to tell them that they're doing it wrong. If they're having harmless fun, it's none of your business.
You are entitled, essentially, to being a fan. You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
--
I feel like I am forgetting some other huge aspect(s) of being a fan and not being a douche, but I can't think of it. Discussion would be welcome! I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities; I think lurkers and leechers are a fact of fandom life and bitching about them is solves nothing, so you might as well accept them; and I loathe to pieces people who judge you for what music or groups you like, people who hold their opinions are the only and the right ones.
Ummm but yeah. Generally I love fandom. I keep myself to the nicer, saner parts that bring me happiness and not wank. :)
kasugai_gummie and butterflycages, both of whom are incredibly talented artists with things to sell.So if you're into Hetalia, Reborn, Gintama, or Okami (or just generally into pretty art and posters and other assorted things), take a look at their SALES POST. ♥ Shiny stuff, we can has it.
★ SECOND. Because my supervisor took the week off without telling me, and I have done as much research as I can without further consulting her and narrowing down the topic, I am left mostly to my own devices today. When I am left with too much time on my hands, I write. I tend to either fic or meta, and today it will be the latter because I have done a lot of fic-writing these past two weeks and am struggling somewhat with starting Donghae's sidestory in the fratboy verse.
So I took some time to read about blogs, blogging, and blogging etiquette (here's a good Ten Commandments of Blogs/Wikis). Fascinating stuff because I wish I could blog in a way that was less fangirly and random, and more intelligent. It would be fun to talk in depth about a subject I was interested in - I was telling
sapphira_angel about this and I think a fandom meta blog would be my ideal. I talk too much as it is about fandom, anyway. I would like to do less fangirling sometimes and more...well, meta. About fandom trends or fandom's hive mentality, or the way people judge others by their grammar or fic headers without giving their actual content a chance. The way people will take things too seriously or condemn others for taking things too seriously, or pick up each other's typing quirks in a sometimes-subconscious effort to better connect or fit in.Today, though, I really want to blog about Fandom Entitlement. But in a slightly different sense than its usual context (of either me demanding things or complaining about other people demanding things).
Obligatory disclaimer: personal opinions. But, I think, generally applicable. Feel free to disagree though. Kpop-specific because if I try to include animanga or TV shows or other written works, it gets too bulky. Plus there are some things more specific to kpop I wanted to address.
As a kpop fan, what are you entitled to?
You are entitled to love the group or idol for whatever reason you choose: for their music, for their interactions, for their hilarious shows, or solely for the fic you compose in your head.
You are entitled to like some or all of the above, but you are also entitled just the same to dislike any or all of the above. You can dislike their music but still be a fan for their band dynamics. You can hate ficcing them but still adore their songs and musical talent.
You are entitled to think your idols are attractive or adorable or hilarious. You are entitled to think they are rude, selfish, childish, talentless so far as you have seen. As you do not know them personally, you are not entitled to judge their character except as you have seen.
You are entitled to wishing such-and-such idol would hurry up and release a new album. You are entitled to feel sad if such-and-such other idol reveals he has a girlfriend. You are entitled to be happy or disappointed or angry by the things the idols do or say, but you are not entitled to demand things from them. You are not entitled to demand that they share your values, for example, or that they have a North America tour, or that they make an official announcement about whether they are or are not still in your favorite band. You are a fan and they appreciate your support, but you do not control their lives. Wishing is okay; demanding is not.
You are entitled to write your idols letters, to leave them messages where appropriate, or to contact them or meet them in approved venues and circumstances. You are not entitled to stalk them or call their number incessantly to disrupt their personal lives. You are not entitled to ask about their personal lives; you are entitled to what they tell you and what they allow the public to know, but you are not entitled to prying.
You are entitled to writing and reading fic, to creating imaginary lives and stories for these people, as long as you realize there is a distinction between reality and fiction. You are entitled to create fictional people based on your idol's RL characteristics and call them by the same name, but you are not entitled to force your beliefs that so-and-so is so truly in love with so-and-other-so on the rest of the world. (In other words, you are entitled to be delusional if you want, but you are not entitled to inflicting said delusions on everyone else.)
You are entitled to do things for fandom such as writing fic, scanning magazines, translating lyrics, subbing shows, making icons, uploading videos, and the like. You are entitled to want to be appreciated for your work, but you are not entitled to demand it. If you are doing it for gratitude and not to better help other fans appreciate your idols or bands, then you may want to reconsider your motives. (I can't tell you that you are Doing It Wrong, because I'm not entitled to, but I can still judge you for it.) Sadly, you are not entitled to thanks or reviews, however much you may deserve it (or feel like you deserve it). Fandom should be a give-and-take community, but in reality it is not. So you should appreciate your thanks, but holding hostage fics or videos from the world at large just because silent readers or leechers exist seems counterproductive.
You are entitled to lock your fics or videos or icons, as long as you realize it comes with a cost. While some people will friend you or join your comm, others will judge you or find it too bothersome. You will lose people: it's a fact.
On the other hand, as a fan you are entitled to partake in what others willingly share. You are entitled to request things, politely, but never to demand. You are entitled to show your appreciation, but you are also entitled to say nothing at all - however rude that may come off. You must also realize this can cause people to not share, or lock posts, so it becomes a cost-benefit analysis of how long it takes to say "thank you" or "I love this!" versus the additional complications of joining comms or finding alternate options.
You are entitled to whatever opinion you want to hold, and you are entitled to express them as you will in private, and politely in public. You are entitled to respectful, polite discussions about your opinions that do not include personal attacks; similarly, you are entitled to disagree with people, but you are not entitled to make personal attacks on those who hold opinions you disagree with.
You are not entitled to being right, or not having people disagree (sometimes angrily, sometimes vehemently) with you. You are not entitled to immunity from repercussions of stupidity; if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.
You are entitled to have fun, but not to deprive others of having their own fun, however their definition may differ from yours. In the same way, you are entitled to judge others, but not to tell them that they're doing it wrong. If they're having harmless fun, it's none of your business.
You are entitled, essentially, to being a fan. You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
--
I feel like I am forgetting some other huge aspect(s) of being a fan and not being a douche, but I can't think of it. Discussion would be welcome! I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities; I think lurkers and leechers are a fact of fandom life and bitching about them is solves nothing, so you might as well accept them; and I loathe to pieces people who judge you for what music or groups you like, people who hold their opinions are the only and the right ones.
Ummm but yeah. Generally I love fandom. I keep myself to the nicer, saner parts that bring me happiness and not wank. :)
no subject
You are not entitled to being right, or not having people disagree (sometimes angrily, sometimes vehemently) with you. You are not entitled to immunity from repercussions of stupidity; if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.
I've always found it interesting that people are so insistent on being right over hearing someone else's viewpoint. Hell, you never know--you might even find yourself agreeing if you can just accept for a second that maybe the other person's argument has some validity. I personally welcome any kind of comments on my opinion posts, because they help me look at the subject from multiple points of view.
...and because I'm an attention whore sometimes, but that's neither here nor there.
Really I just agree with everything you've said here. So many people make fandom a job nowawdays, and it's sad, because...that's not the point. I mean, if it makes you happy, more power to you, but I personally have to rely on the standard of "this is ticking me off, I'm walking away now." I'm not in this to get pissed, you know? It might happen, but I'm not going to go looking for it to.
I don't know if you're a member of
no subject
Interested to see your meta post! Sapphy and I were considering opening up a fandom blog for meta, reviews, etc. and we were wondering if you'd be interested in making it a group effort (so no one feels pressured to post all the time).
no subject
no subject
How about you are not allowed to physically or emotionally attack idols who have done nothing wrong because you feel they "DON'T BELONG IN THE GROUP" or are not your favorite and you feel don't contribute anything to the group.
no subject
Kibum-haters make me want to...idk, throw things. Rawr.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
This line made me cheer inside my head.
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
so basically, iawtc ;D
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
Also, meta is ♥.
Haha, I totally judge people by their grammar and fic headers. Fic can be a somewhat competitive corner of fandom and I compare it to advertising. People decide whether your fic is worth their time in a matter of seconds, often less, basing their decision on a number of factors. Who are you? Are you a known author? Known for what? What about your title? Your pairing? Your rating? Your summary? Your word count? Your warnings?
Your obnoxious poorly-designed graphic?Like that.It's interesting to see how typing quirks or language change, too. Lately the widespread thing is 'dies', 'crying', etc. without asterisks or other such action indicators. I don't think I'll ever get into that myself (far too attached to my asterisks, I blame years of chatroom RPing), but it is everywhere now.
But okay, sleepy times for Sapphy now. Will think more on the fandom blog! IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE ELSE WHO COULD JOIN, please suggest. I'd feel more secure with 3-4 people. XD; And stuff. :3
lol randomly, also, so I discovered the awkwardness that is searching my own name(s) on delicious and feeling kind of awful that some of my fic is locked. I am considering unlocking everything and then praying to some deity that my college friends never get that curious.
no subject
Before fic comm I locked stuff too, so there may still be links floating around that link to locked posts - but it's not people locking their fics or posts that bothers me, since everyone has that right. It's if they then deliberately go post a link to that locked post in a public forum, thus forcing people to either friend them/join the comm or not read/access. It drives me nuts. >:|
no subject
Especially when it comes to reviews. "I spent so long working on this the least you could do is spend a few moments of your time reviewing." And then they complain later about it. And to be honest with how mature the authors often are they wouldn't like it if I left them an honest review because "What the hell would I know about writing or what they're trying to say."
I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities
Uhh ... is a little guilty because I did a friends only some time ago (before my writing journal came into existence) and any old links prier to that lead to a locked entry. But it wasn't at the time.
There are so many douche aspects of fandom though. That's why I'm so thankful for my flist because you're what make it worth while, even if we don't fandom the same things anymore.
no subject
Review entitlement wank is so common and ugh. Still as annoying every time.
♥
no subject
b-but Hanchul!
No, lol, I actually agree with everything you say. I have demanded that bands do things (BOY'S GENERATION NEEDED SUNGMIN, KEY AND HEECHUL) but I'm joking. I know that I can't actually make them do it, which is where the difference comes in. If you're demanding that they do something and honestly believing that they should follow what you say, then you probably belong in a white room.
And fic, fic annoys me. People who lock fic, idg, and people who whine about not getting enough comments. It shouldn't be about that, it should be about doing something you enjoy and doing something for fandom and maybe even just for your closest friends. I'm easy enough to fic whore to, but only because I like doing things for people.
THAT SAID I DEMAND SOMEONE UPLOADS THE ENGLISH VERSION OF NOBODY FOR ME.
no subject
IS THE ENGLISH VERSION OF NOBODY OUT ALREADY?! WHERE IS IT. I ALSO NEED IT ALSKJFLSD.
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
This... whole post is just made of alksjdlka win! I swear 90% of fans forget at least one of the above that makes being in fandom a very very painful thing for the rest of us! And people demanding things of the singers, creating their own image of them and slitwristDIE when they find out that omg they actually don't like boys! And of course he's married to him. Right well okay I'll just be over there while I stay sane tyvm :(
'holding hostage fics or videos from the world at large just because silent readers or leechers'
...may very well be the worse thing about the newer fans of the fandom (& even old ones!) Like, I'm sorry, what? We must be friends to read your fic? Oh. Okay. Well. I don't want to be your friend then :(
'some people will friend you or join your comm, others will judge you or find it too bothersome.'
Yeah, clearly that's me.
'if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.'
Why yes I do forget people are not 3 years old in the kpop fandom :( How sad. People jump at wank like bees to honey :|
'not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.'
Couldn't have said it better myself ♥ Apparently manners are rare in fandom, almost as rare as common sense.
What a wonderful meta, Mei. I love your procrastination methods ^-^v
no subject
no subject
this post needs to be shared
shovedat a whole lot of people. *sigh*You are entitled to think your idols are attractive or adorable or hilarious. You are entitled to think they are rude, selfish, childish, talentless so far as you have seen. As you do not know them personally, you are not entitled to judge their character except as you have seen.
yesyesyes. ♥
and that bit about delusional fans and their pairings? oh so true. i have to admit that fans usually turn me away from a certain pair, or even an idol too sometimes. i try not to let them get in the way of my own fangirling but... :(
no subject
Yeah it sucks when fangirls turn you off a group or person or pairing. :/ I try to get into things on my own and see if I like it before other people spoil i for me...which is why I sort of limit myself in fandom, I guess. But if it works out to me having more fun in the end, I think I'm all right, heh.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
well actually she's like "I'm losing all my indie cred nuuuuuuuu don't judge me" but, you know, it's all in good fun.
no subject
Mmmm also other shows?? IDK I AM FALLING BEHIND.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
but basically, agreeing almost 200% with this meta and props to you, this actually made me believe in fandom again when i was mostly going "D: oh fandom, why" this past few months. OTL.
i feel like picking out bits and pieces and small excerpts to comment on but if i did i'd probably requote the entire post back to you, lol.
but this: You are entitled, essentially, to being a fan. You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
nice summation, A+++
no subject
no subject
no subject