Category: Fandom

[Stitch Talks Ish] Episode 8A: Map of the Soul ON:E – Day One Reaction

Stitch

Transcript

0:01
Hello, Darlings!

0:03
I think this is officially episode eight. The episode looking back at BTS’s releases from Dynamite, their Japanese release Map of the Soul: The Journey, and anything else that I didn’t cover in my last two BTS album related episodes – that’s still in the pipe works. I’m lazy, so – and busy – so it is taking me a little bit longer than I expected to get to that.

0:39
But one thing I have gotten to do in October is watch a BTS concert.

0:46
Like everyone around the world in 2020, all live music entertainment has kind of ground to a halt unless the artist you’re interested in is doing virtual, digital – on tact, I believe is the term many Korean artists are using – performances where it attempts to forge digital intimacy with a global audience.

1:14
So I’ve seen four concerts so far: Wonho’s kind of debut concert, his solo concert after exiting Monsta X-, A.C.E.’s virtual concert which is my second A.C.E. concert, because I saw them live in December 2019, and again two BTS concerts, both nights of the Map of the Soul ON:E concert.

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Thread Collection: Education Central (5/20/2018)

Stitch1 Comment

Thread originally posted May 20, 2018.

A really good fix/help for fandom racism would be education because many people just don’t know what racism looks like in fandom, fanworks, and anything smaller than an outright hate crime.

However, there are three main problems with that:

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Thread Collection: Scapegoats (6/6/2019)

Stitch

Originally posted as a thread on Twitter on June 6, 2019

Can we all agree that it’s beyond fucked up that across multiple fandom spaces, Black people IN fandom, when critical OF fandom (usually for racism/racist fan works), are seen/portrayed as ATTACKING or POLICING “real members of fandom” and ruining fandom for THEM?

I got accused of attacking people when I was nice, when I was actually mean (mocking folks who were missing the point on my posts), and even now when I don’t engage.

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Thread Collection: FFA Racism Instance (7/22/20)

Stitch

Originally a thread on Twitter. Collecting threads to make things more accessible since I essay there too for folks off of twitter.

Oh sorry not gone because guess what, people keep lying on me (and Rukmini) in this whole AO3 thing amd like I actually state clearly what I’m about but these smooth brained racist mother fuckers turn off their reading abilities when they see me referenced (ffa.rocks/?t=2609548751)

(Aside from the fact that even if the OTW reached out to ask me if I could come on as a consultant, I wouldn’t do it because

a) full time job where I’m valued and

b) I’m not willing to fling myself into THAT racist fire, the anger at the idea that people could pay me for anti racism training is one that is actually been going on as long as I’ve had a patreon.

Nevermind, again, that 90% of my content on racism in fandom is free and either here or on my site. Or that the people who hate me won’t read it anyway. I’m apparently the only person in fandom who cannot charge for my work in fandom – which I’m already NOT ACTUALLY DOING.)

Anyway: I wonder how many of those racist little worms still have blm in their Twitter bios? (That link is a fail fandom anon mobile version which means that anons can and will say all kinds of nasty shit they want about fans of color like me, Holly, and Rukmini even as they pretend they care about anti racism in fandom. Tagging won’t solve this shit either. Like these people don’t know me and they apparently can’t read and yet… Here they are.)

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What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Phone A Friend of Color

Stitch2 Comments

Did you know that on Twitter and Tumblr, there’s a thing folks do where they literally tag in another person of color to take over shouting at a person of color talking about race and racism in fandom or media?

Folks will see a fan of color say anything critical of a piece of media or in a particular fandom and if they disagree hard enough or they’re bored and want to start shit, they’ll tag a user they know disagrees publicly on Tumblr or Twitter, effectively turning them into an attack dog in the name of that specific thing.

And friends, I am here to tell you how that’s racist as hell.

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Apologies, Please

Stitch

I don’t apologize unless I mean it.

More people should be like that.

Especially when it comes to minor to major antiblackness in media like the kind we constantly do see from Korean pop and hip-hop artists. If you don’t mean it when you apologize, why are you apologizing in the first place?

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What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Fandom Wank

Stitch2 Comments

Labeling the posts that fans of color make about racist fanworks (from accidental issues of representation to purposeful content created to harm) and racism from fans (again ranging from “I didn’t know this was an issue” moments to sustained targeted harassment) as “wank” or “drama” actually does contribute to people writing off what we’re talking about and experiencing. (Contrary to the “talking about racism in fandom makes it harder for folks to care about Real Racism” stance…)

If you don’t use “fandom wank” to refer to (for example) a fan creating really racist art of a Black character because they were accused of whitewashing them, but you do use it when talking about the people calling that out…

Well.

At the end of the day, if you use “fandom wank” or “drama” as your tags or terminology when you’re talking about folks talking about racism in fandom, you’re actively contributing to a culture of fandom that ignores that real harm is happening to fans of color in fandom because of the different levels of racism here. 

It’s not something I expect to see change anytime soon because this is something I’ve seen done for at least a decade and folks do love their familiarity, but – 

Consider that what’s wank and drama to you in conversations about racism in fandom – and why you tag and talk about it as such – is actually serious for many fans of color who are frustrated to see their experiences dismissed as “wank”.

Short, Sharp, and Simple: I’m Tired of White Fragility in Fandom

Stitch4 Comments

Please understand how funny it is to see someone (who I don’t know and who certainly does not know me considering how much they’re lying about me in that tweet alone) publicly admit that the reason they don’t like my work is because they have decided my goal is to make them feel bad to be white.

That’s what happened at the start of August when a twitter user I have had blocked for months started going off on a tear because I made fun of her “I write smut so edgy that Prince would’ve loved it” tweet: she actually went mask off-hood on and said that she didn’t like my articles because  “it became implicit that whiteness was a born sin in most of her tweets and articles“.

Like that’s what scared her away from my work… the idea that I, a Black person growing up in a world that makes it clear that we do not matter no matter what we do and writing at a time in history where Black people are being maimed and killed by features of whyte supremacy at really high rates, might not love whiteness right about now.

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Some tough truths for you…

Stitch

Originally, this was a tweet thread I did last night.

You’re not going to convince me that any white person who is super hostile at the mere idea that fandom is racist by default and design (especially the folks who just love to tone police fans of color and call us mean/bullies for being done with racism in fandom) is an ally or that they will be any actual help in the horrifying future we’re heading towards.

No one who frames fans of color talking about racism in fandom as bullies, ideological purists, haters, cops, antis, etc actually cares about people of color (outside of their sometimes treasured tokens).

People who think that harassing people because they talk about racism in fandom will NOT be using their privilege or visibility to fight racism online or offline.

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[Stitch Talks Ish] Episode 7: Stitch Gets Nostalgic

Stitch

Transcript

Hello, Darlings, this is our first Stitch Talks Ish issue episode, my bad, since May or June. If you missed that episode, it was an episode about the way that non-black people — not just white people, this also includes non-black people of color — were utilizing the phrase “Black Lives Matter” while also being incredibly anti black in practice, and to specific black people, like myself. And it’s been several months since the start of widespread conversations about police brutality, fatal anti blackness, systemic oppression, and the universality of anti blackness; and the important thing to note is that it hasn’t gotten any better.

As I record this right now. There’s another… There are two black men who have been shot by police officers one, I don’t know where he’s from, I don’t think his hashtag is currently trending. But one was shot seven times in front of his children after getting into his car following breaking up a fight. Like dude was completely unarmed. He was basically shot for being a good samaritan and trying to stop shit. And as I write this, as I, as I talk to you guys, I’m very much aware of the fact that we are hurtling towards a time when the United States is not going to be safe at any level for any of us, and kind of especially black people. And the same people who have plastered Black Lives Matter across their… their social media, while publicly and privately slandering black people, who will accuse black people, like myself, of using Black Lives Matter to gain some sort of clout in a world that hates us, and does not care about us, are currently pretending they care about Black Lives Matter, Black people our very, very fucked up future that is looming or speeding towards us.

And so I suggest if you haven’t listened to that episode already, please listen to it; and please be better about who you, are what you do in fandom spaces in, your social spaces, if you have them. But this episode is supposed to be a lighter episode. So no more talk of that, I guess.

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Fandom Racism 101: Feeling Fragile

Stitch2 Comments

No one likes feeling as if they’re under attack when they’re just trying to do their thing and vibe in a space that feels right.

Fandom is comprised of digital and physical spaces populated by people from various marginalized communities and with vulnerable backgrounds or traumatic pasts. We’re talking about people constantly under fire from someone, usually for something that they are or that they’ve gone through. In fandom, sometimes criticism at every single level is constantly taken as an attack and for the most part, I do understand the process behind rejecting critique that seems aimed to injure instead of educating others.

Except when it comes to racism in fandom.

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[Video (Re) Post] Cultural Appropriation, Choice, and Some Cornrows

Stitch

In this video, we’re looking at the recent dustup with ATEEZ Hongjoong’s cornrows, KQ Entertainment’s statement in response to criticism, and how even here fandom is full of people who CHOOSE to be antiblack *to their fellow fans* in the name of their idol favorites.

Links:

ATEEZ Parent Company KQ Entertainment Issues Apology for Hongjoong’s Cornrows (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ateez…) – My news coverage for Teen Vogue The statement from KQ Entertainment on the Daum fancafe (http://cafe.daum.net/ATEEZ/n62e/173)

“K-pop’s online activism for Black Lives Matter is complicated” – Vox’s Reset Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fix…) – Start at the 16-minute mark for Miranda Larsen’s incredible segment!

The Cultural Appropriation Conversation So Very Hairy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vidw…)

Appropriation, Appreciation, and Good Ole Chicken Noodle Soup (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yXnC…)

What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Antiblackness in the K-Pop Industry and Its Fandom Spaces (https://stitchmediamix.com/nonficpost…) – The masterpost for my ongoing project!

K-Pop Fandom Racism Bingo

Stitch

New to my weird need to make bingo cards for racism I’ve seen in the fandoms I’m in? Check out my Black Panther and Star Wars fandom racism bingo cards!

Unfortunately for everyone who follows me… I’m at it again.

Nothing new has happened in my primary fandoms. I just like making these cards. (Because both the Black Panther and Star Wars bingo cards were born directly from witnessing or experiencing antiblackness, but this has just been on my to-do list for a month or so.)

So here’s my fandom racism bingo card for… various K-pop fandoms. It’s majorly multi purpose so it can be used in reference to almost anything when it comes to racism in these fandom spaces.

Now, here are some helpful explanations/unhelpful snark!

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What Fandom Racism Looks Like: The Cult(ure) of Nice

Stitch4 Comments

In the OTW Election Q&A segment on “AO3 Content Policy and Warnings”, there’s a merged question that asks the candidates:

How will you protect fanworks and meta which are upsetting or offensive across your platforms? What about if those fanworks or meta express views which are illegal/censored in some countries, but perfectly legal in others? Say a fan’s works don’t challenge problematic values endemic to older canons, or espouse problematic values directly. Providing they politely abide by AO3’s TOS, do you believe this fan deserves equal protection under Ao3’s TOS (a posting platform, confidential treatment of their RL identity, ability to report harassment)?

Mind you, this question clearly is more focused on protecting fans creating content that could be considered problematic or harmful than it is on considering that fanworks aren’t more important than fans – and we’ll talk about how this sort of questioning elides conversations of race and racism to make it out to be about kinkshaming and anti-queer rhetoric another time, probably tomorrow.

But what stands out is the last part:

Providing they politely abide by AO3’s TOS, do you believe this fan deserves equal protection under Ao3’s TOS (a posting platform, confidential treatment of their RL identity, ability to report harassment)?

While I’m sure, if pressed, the people responsible for that Frankenstein’s monster of a question will deny that racism and racist fanworks are the kind of content they’re talking about (because they always say “we weren’t talking/thinking about racism in fandom” and uh… duh) –

Let’s work this word problem out with some fandom racism:

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Fandom Racism 101: Clocking and Closing The Empathy Gap

Stitch4 Comments

How does fandom’s empathy gap come into play when the trauma of POC is on the table? Why does the empathy that fans extend to white characters, fans, and performers, hit a hard wall at POC – especially when it comes to Black characters, fans, and performers in my direct experience?

In the Slate.com article “I Don’t Feel Your Pain”, author Jason Silverstein uses the following example as he describes the racial empathy gap:

Let’s do a quick experiment. You watch a needle pierce someone’s skin. Do you feel this person’s pain? Does it matter if the person’s skin is white or black?

For many people, race does matter, even if they don’t know it. They feel more empathy when they see white skin pierced than black. This is known as the racial empathy gap.

The way that non-Black people literally do not believe that Black people feel the same levels of physical pain – documented through over a century of studies – is one way that we see the empathy gap play out. However, this isn’t the way that it tends to play out in fandom because there’s no one out there pricking fans of color with pins to see if we bleed the same color and amount. (Yet.)

But what they do is constantly privilege white feelings over Black ones.

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