I've met many people who aren't in Fandom but are tremendously fannish about everything from the Transformer movies to basketball teams. Fannishness, to me, is deeply associated with being obsessive about something. In this corner of the internets, it's mostly related to media stuff (but, really, Fandom exists even if there's no evidence of it).
fandom is home for me. It is comfort and joy and fun and all the things I want in my relationships, and I have to roll my eyes when people talk about not being on the computer all day derogatorily because, you know? WHATEVER. Everyone does relationships differently, and there is nothing less valuable about mine just because they're primarily electronic, and personally, I feel like they're MORE valuable because there's an inherent language fans use that means we can have (at least from my observation about the boring, superficial topics my fellow consultants discuss at dinner) more in-depth, meaningful conversations that still allow for respectful differences of opinion. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that particular dynamic of fandom. SO MUCH.
Oh, what a beautiful sentiment (as well as v., v. TRUE).
It's really interesting to see how there's this ever-growing divide between the people who understand being friends with someone online and those who refuse to accept that. There are a million and one reasons why online friends matter and I can only quirk and eyebrow and say "Your loss" to those people who are snooty about the validity of online friendships.
no subject
THIS. SO MUCH!!!
I've met many people who aren't in Fandom but are tremendously fannish about everything from the Transformer movies to basketball teams. Fannishness, to me, is deeply associated with being obsessive about something. In this corner of the internets, it's mostly related to media stuff (but, really, Fandom exists even if there's no evidence of it).
fandom is home for me. It is comfort and joy and fun and all the things I want in my relationships, and I have to roll my eyes when people talk about not being on the computer all day derogatorily because, you know? WHATEVER. Everyone does relationships differently, and there is nothing less valuable about mine just because they're primarily electronic, and personally, I feel like they're MORE valuable because there's an inherent language fans use that means we can have (at least from my observation about the boring, superficial topics my fellow consultants discuss at dinner) more in-depth, meaningful conversations that still allow for respectful differences of opinion. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that particular dynamic of fandom. SO MUCH.
Oh, what a beautiful sentiment (as well as v., v. TRUE).
It's really interesting to see how there's this ever-growing divide between the people who understand being friends with someone online and those who refuse to accept that. There are a million and one reasons why online friends matter and I can only quirk and eyebrow and say "Your loss" to those people who are snooty about the validity of online friendships.