fandomshades

[fandomshades]

Upcoming posts:

Multi-part series about fandom history, including my personal perspective on the rise of anti-ism >>'00s - ship and let ship; fandom as counter culture; the origins of AO3 >>'10-'15 - fandom in the mainstream; queerbaiting; social justice, radical feminism and in-fighting >>'16-'20 - fascism in America; tumblr's porn ban; the escalation of anti shipping >>'20s - current trends in anti shipping

Exploring the culture and impact of key fandoms (First up: Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Star Wars VII - IX)

Online cults: >>The BITE Model >>The Cult Layer Model >>Mechanisms of online cults >>Is anti shipping a cult? (Maybe.)

Defense of self and autonomy: >>Practicing critical thinking >>Resisting emotional manipulation >>Building trustworthy support networks

Long term projects:

Interviews with former antis

Research into the impacts of fandom harassment

Surveys into fandom experiences and attitudes

[fandomshades]

Hi and welcome!

I'm a fan who's been active in online shipping fandom spaces since the '00s, when I was in my early teens. My engagement with fandom and my political views have changed a lot over the years, not always in a straightforward fashion, and it's given me a perspective on this subculture that I think is worth sharing. My goal with this blog is to discuss the cultural shifts I've seen, further my research into cults and radicalisation, and hopefully shed some light on the phenomenon of anti shippers from the perspective of someone who was one, starting way back in the early days of 2013.

My position is that anti shipping is an online cult, or at least a movement that has enough in common with cults to make this a useful lens to explore it through. If you don't agree, that's fine, I'm not here to persuade anyone. I only want to lay out what I think and why, so that anyone who's interested in these topics can consider it and decide for themselves.

I believe that most antis have good intentions and are acting in accordance with their values to challenge oppression and protect vulnerable people. At the very least, that's why I was an anti. I still hold those values, but I no longer believe that the anti movement is the way to protect people.

As an anti, I acted in ways that violated my other deeply held values, like anti-violence, harm reduction, sex positivity and freedom of expression. I've spent a lot of time reflecting on how this could have happened to me and researching similar stories, and ultimately, I think anti-ism caught me at a time when I was emotionally vulnerable, and abused my empathy and my passion for equality. My actions came from a place of desperation, because I had been convinced our goals were urgent in a way that justified extreme tactics, and because I felt helpless and angry in the face of a wider culture that seemed hostile to justice and dismissive of art's vital role in promoting social change. I was also surrounded by people telling me that I couldn't trust my own judgement, that I should defer it to those most impacted by a given issue, so I stopped evaluating arguments on their merits and started absorbing - and perpetuating - increasingly extreme beliefs uncritically.

As this blog project progresses, I intend to expand on my experiences as an anti, including the social contexts they happened in, and explain how I think they relate to online cults. I am not an expert and this blog should not be considered a deprogramming manual, but I hope it can provide some perspective on what it means to try and leave an environment like that. I also hope to explore proactive measures to build more positive communities, strategies to promote critical thinking and ways to connect with like-minded fans. I'm trying to create the kind of fandom culture that I want to be a part of.