#fandom ageism

[cryptidanathema]

Everyone who thinks people over the age of 25 that still have hobbies are inherently predatory creeps, enjoy the excruciating existential crisis you're gonna give yourself in 3-7 years 🎉

[catgirl-catboy]

Fuck it.

I was going to wait until post notifs can be turned off, but nah.

Minors: You can't cry ageism whenever you get treated like a kid, but also expect random ass adults on the internet to parent you.

Part of parenting is teaching kids that sometimes life isn't about their opinions, so in that aspect I'm doing a decent job in an area your parents are clearly neglecting if you are old enough to use the internet and think you are the fucking boss of strangers.

And guess what? You can't decide when you do and don't want to be parented. Life does not work that way.

If I wanted a kid, I'd adopt one. I'm not being paid to babysit you. This blog is a hobby I run on my own free time, and you aren't entitled to moderate it for me.

If you are a teen on the internet and want to be treated as an equal, stop acting like a toddler. I do treat teens with respect. But those specific teens earned it first, the same way the adults I treat with respect on this site earned it first.

And also? Don't bring up my age in an argument if you don't want me to bring up yours. -_-

[insomniamamma]

Oh he's had work done, he's had a chemical peel, i need his skincare routine--

you know what? Shut the entire fuck up. 49 is not old. Stop acting like it is.

[fivequartersoftheorange]

What's great about the youngins who keep saying people 30+ shouldn't be in fandom is that we all get to sit back, relax and watch as the slow march of time eventually catches up to them and they too soon will be in their 30s until the cold hand of death lays its gnarled, leathery fingers upon their shoulder.

You bite the hand that feeds you young one. Who do you think created all that fandom space? And all those fics you devour?

[moved-to-piersgender]

Listen, I literally do not care WHAT they're doing, if your default reaction to a woman doing something that disgusts you is to immediately start calling them withered old hags who should be taking care of babies and paying taxes, that IS a sign that you're ageist as fuck and probably sexist too. I don't care if they're the worst person alive, it's extremely telling that your first reaction to disgust is to viciously denigrate aging people and try to make them feel ashamed of their bodies. I can't find that image of the insult deflecting off the bad person you hate that doesn't care and on to an innocent bystander but that is very much what's happening here.

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

It's a weird feeling finding a fandom where the main characters are all adults over 30, but then the x-reader and x-OC fan works are all pairing them with 19-21 year olds and making drama (both in-story drama and fandom discourse) about the age gap. Like...I KNOW people in their 30s onwards are still very much in fandom, writing fic, so where are they? Is it so out-there to imagine these characters romancing a person their own age? Is ageism in fandom THAT bad, where adult writers cannot imagine a character their own age wanting them?

[princeescaluswords]

My Ground Rules

Let me put this out there:

When I am discussing racism (in fandom or in the culture at large), and I am talking with someone who is a Person of Color, this means that they have insight into the situation that I do not have and that I will never have. This means I must listen and consider what they have to say, and I will. It does not mean that they are always right and it does not mean they get to determine the duration of my interest or the boundaries of my thinking.

When I am discussing misogyny (in fandom or in the culture at large), and I am talking with someone who is a woman, this means that they have insight into the situation that I do not have and that I will never have. This means I must listen and consider what they have to say, and I will. It does not mean that they are always right and it does not mean they get to determine the duration of my interest or the boundaries of my thinking.

When I am discussing homophobia (in fandom or in the culture at large), I am aware that my being gay gives me insight into some situations but not others. This means I must listen to other queer people and straight people and consider what they have to say, and I will. It does not mean that they are always right and it does not mean they get to determine the duration of my interest or the boundaries of my thinking.

And so on.

Being a potential target of racism, misogyny, homophobia or any other form of prejudice does not render an individual immune to participating in racism, misogyny, homophobia or any other form of prejudice. Cultural influence is profound. I also know from personal experience that it is entirely possible to indulge in a self-damaging prejudice. I struggled with internalized homophobia for decades even while I was an activist.

That leads to my age. I am 55. I am actually quite proud of that fact considering some of the boneheaded things I did when I was younger. My being older doesn't mean I am always right, but it also means I am not always wrong. I am allowed to be interested in what I am interested in. My desire to engage and explore has not faded with time, and that's a good thing which I very much hope everyone younger than me gets to experience. Bringing my age up as a negative is not the trump card some people think it is.

I will talk about what I want to talk about on my blog, and I will react how I wish to react on other people's posts. I will strive to be polite, but I won't be silent in the face of what I see as injustice. It's the least I can do in gratitude for the life I have lived.

[gorgeousgreymatter-x]

My favorite thing about shit people who go after anyone over 25 in fandom is I know it's pretty much because they're fucking miserable. Sorry being in your teens/twenties is a fucking nightmare, but I promise when you turn 30 your IDGAF alarm will go off and you will truly begin to live

[heartbreakercupcake]

I would like to talk about ageing with in "fandoms" cause some of the follow just so happen to come out when you where younger and you end up growing along with it or some stuff just stays with you and it never leaves and everyone's around you are so young that you end up feeling out of place sometimes.

Like I want to talk about these things and connect with people close to my age so I feel less out of place

BUT LIKE ONE BIG ISSUE IS LIKE

When I talk about these things I come from a place of like "is it okay to still have comfort characters?" "Is it fine that I still like to dabble in OCxCanon" "Why didn't I grow out of finding fictional people hot?"

Not like...ship wars about minor characters or like self shipping with minor characters or making an argument for incest shipping or huge age gaps

Like, I just "Fandom" as like an umbrella term cause I happen to enjoy works of media and don't mind talking about them or discussing them or drawing/reblogging fanart and "fandom" just seems to be the Best term rn to describe it

[letteredlettered]

Genuine question: where did the perception that fandom is for young people come from? When I first got into fandom it was mostly middle aged ladies. Fandom as we think of it today was invented by middle aged ladies; AO3 was invented by people who certainly weren't kids or teens.

Like I get there is both sexism and ageism involved--adult women aren't supposed to have hobbies etc etc, but presumably in, say, knitting fandom, the sexist and ageist comments aren't, "knitting is for young people and you're creepy to want to discuss knitting online." Presumably the vitriol is about wasting time or something, because as we all know the stereotype about knitting is that it's for little old ladies.

My question is how (and when) did the stereotype about fandom become that fandom is for young people?

[the-pen-pot]

I don't think it's millennials who ruin fandom. I think it's people like this who cannot get over their ageist, bullshit prejudices and decide they're the fandom police.

[cryptidanathema]

Sometimes I'll start being like "ougghh I'm over 25 I'm a creepy adult invading a childrens space I should go do my taxes reproduce and become an alcoholic like the withered old hag I am" and then I remember two well known figures of the 2010s creepypasta community are still active on here, significantly older than I am and just as prone to getting into stupid fanwank arguments as ever and I'll suddenly feel MUCH better

[catgirl-catboy]

Honestly, we should stop shitting on the adults in fandoms for kids shows. Because, who do you think primarily buys fandom merch and comics, which causes new fandom content to be made? Adults determine if stuff like artbooks are profitable.

A fandom made of 100% kids prob wouldn't last very long.

[mataglap]

whenever some dumbass teenager posts about how adults having hobbies and participating in fandoms are cringe, there are always voices amidst the backlash asking “why do you engage with a child’s opinion?” well, maybe because adulthood is a neverending struggle bus of trying to keep yourself and your loved ones fed, clothed, housed and healthy, and then along comes a dipshit who has never in their life had to worry about any of these things, and tries to tell you you’re not allowed to partake in activities that have been keeping you sane for all these years, and as they say in my native tongue: a switchblade opens in your pocket.

[johanirae]

“Why are you in fandom if you are in your 40s?!”

It’s actually immensely liberating, because you encounter fandom bullshit, decide you are way too old to engage with wankery and just block them. 👍

[moved-to-piersgender]

...is anyone gonna break it to the discourse blog teens that they're gonna be 40 someday too