shudder I’m autistic and fandoms used to be my happy place… I used to go to cons, make so many friends online, just shoot the shit, read whatever, wrote whatever… I miss those days. I had to leave fandom spaces and tumblr entirely as of 2 or 3 years ago because of how nauseatingly toxic most fandoms are these days. I miss the days of dead dove and Don’t Like Don’t Read being respected.

Thanks for sharing this article, honestly this kinda stuff been such a quickly growing problem that its hard to even tackle. I remember people involved in fandom TRYING to get folks to listen but because its fandom it was mostly more of a punchline.

What especially sucks is how puritanism has infested leftist spaces, in which its common to hear “porn-addict” as a common perjogative.

I wish I could give you a 100 upvotes. This is very true and twitter has only made it worse.

I was big in fandom spaces circa 2002-2008 and it’s pretty crazy to me how much the culture has changed. Livejournal is where I got introduced to the concepts of social justice and intersectionality and all that, and it’s morphed into something pretty weird.

I’m personally kind of a prude and am uncomfortable with oversexualization but I don’t think this puritan, regressive path is the way to go.

people seem to have forgotten what the findings of all that complaining about video games and violence from the 90s and 2000s actually were (spoilers, media doesn’t have that direct 1 to 1 influence like that)

and there’s also that wonderful kurt vonnegut quote about the effect of art on the vietnam war that feels relevant here too…

I don’t pay attention to Fandom anything or any of that stuff, but the broader strokes definitely have affected sites and payment processors. I hate the whole purity culture under the guise of “protecting the children” when the internet is not a playplace for kids. Never has been, never will be. Kids should be supervised or only have access to cold computers so that they don’t talk to strangers or watch something fucked up about a graphic school mass shooting on fox news.

At the same time, adults should have their own places and sites, and this includes sex and sexuality. Places like r/Bisexual too, where adult discussions can happen.

I really like this write-up, especially because it goes in depth into the slow transition from “this isn’t something that people should emulate” to “even showing that this exists is encouragement for people to recreate it”

That’s a super harmful viewpoint in every respect, but especially in sexual contexts.

This is a concerning article about the state of affairs. Back when I was younger, fandoms were known for shipping and all sorts of nonsense, hyjinks, shenanigans, and acts of absolute dedication, at least from my perspective. Yes, there are some problematic issues like mob justice and “the shipping wars,” but ultimately it was a community where people could bond. Where else do you find people who would make drawings or comics just because they enjoyed it? Or even an animation team that made a Moomin movie?

Fandoms are a way to find community about a niche aubject, and eventually friends. It’s how I found some of mine.

I was, however, surprised that such a small law, the FOSSA law, would have such a big impact on online discourse. This would end up having a domino effect.

It makes me sad and upset that kids and teens are soaking up the toxicity of the world like sponges. As the older generations we should be setting good examples for them, not worse ones.

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AI-summary:

The internet has become increasingly puritanical, with outspoken anti-sex advocates on social media criticizing and labeling various forms of sexual content as immoral. This trend has been particularly prominent in online fandom communities, where discussions about sexual content in media have given rise to a movement known as “anti-fandom.” The passage of the FOSTA-SESTA bill in 2018, which cracked down on online adult content, has further fueled this puritanical shift. Fandom, once a space for passionate celebration and creative expression, has become a battleground for purity culture, with individuals labeling certain ships and sexualized content as harmful and even equating fictional harm with real-world harm. This puritanical mindset has extended beyond fandom communities, affecting broader online discourse and leading to the censorship of sexual minorities and sex-positive content. The weaponization of social justice language, the rise of “call-out culture,” and the moral panic surrounding sex have all contributed to this puritanical trend, making it increasingly difficult to have open and healthy discussions about sex.

We really need a pro-sex lobby, but there’s no money in that.

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I don’t really like this article. It falls into the trap of conflating the vocal minority of people who complain about things as silly as fan pairings with slight age differences and heights with people who don’t like pedophilia being romanticised and sexualised. It strawmans anyone who may disagree with the article as not being able to seperate fiction from reality. The truth is its far more nuanced and we know from things like propaganda and the jaws effect that how real life topics are portrayed in fiction affects real peoples opinions on them. It also conflates the vague boogey man of ‘antis’ with all sex negative people which are different issues. The article seems very careful to refuse to outright mention the actual things “antis” typically take issue with. Which is nsfw art and writing of child characters specifically designed to titilate the consumer rather than make any statement of condemnation.