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So the topic of gatekeeping comes up a lot in games, and lately it's come up in the fiber/textile world, too. I want to mention a form of gatekeeping that I've always found grating, and it will sound SUPER minor, but it bothers me: "the Teacher's First Name Drop". I'll explain.
(This very same phenomena happens in the dance community, which I was a part of for a while, btw.)
You're a newbie spinner or knitter, and you decide for the first time (in a non-Covid world) to go to a fiber event. Your first! You're SO EXCITED.
You're a newbie spinner or knitter, and you decide for the first time (in a non-Covid world) to go to a fiber event. Your first! You're SO EXCITED.
You sit down nervously at a table full of people you don't know. But they're friendly. They're knitting or spinning, and they seem so experienced! You want to learn to be that good. They strike up a conversation with you, and then get around to the classes everyone is taking.
Then at least one person says some variant on, "well, have you taken Joan's class?"
You blanche. You panic a little. Who is Joan? Joan WHO? Why don't I know her last name? "Oh no," you think, "I clearly don't belong here."
You blanche. You panic a little. Who is Joan? Joan WHO? Why don't I know her last name? "Oh no," you think, "I clearly don't belong here."
The person who said that to you probably didn't MEAN to gatekeep, but they absolutely were. Maybe subconsciously, but maybe consciously. They were implying, intentionally or not, that if you don't know who she's talking about by first name along, you must not be a REAL knitter.
You're left feeling totally embarrassed, and maybe you decide you don't belong at the next fiber event. Maybe you feel like you'll never be as good a knitter as those people at the table. You feel left out of the hobby.
Fellow textile friends, and anyone in a niche hobby: PLEASE don't do this to people. Don't assume that the people you talk to know all the lingo and all the names. Take a moment to find out how new they might be and how much they know or don't know.
And for God's sake, don't namedrop a teacher's name like y'all are best buds. (This is behavior I actually can't stand in general and I've seen this in both fiber and dance hobby culture, the ingratiation to teachers.)
