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This is a good article and something I've been thinking a lot about lately. There seems to be a a trend of conflating moral policing with critiquing (and calling it critiquing when it's moral policing) when that's not what's being asked of fandom at all. https://twitter.com/TeenVogue/status/1359541411973124111
Good faith criticism doesn't mean "canceling" every "problematic" trope or kink or fics that have objectionable content. Rather it should mean fandom looking at itself & realizing that people are people & the real world issues that plague us don't go away once you join a fandom.
Fandom should be able to look at itself & ask if a specific trope applied to a particular ship reinforces racial stereotypes. Does an au setting that works for one fandom work for another when historical & cultural context are applied? Whose voices are being heard? Left out?
There's nuance to these convos that keeps getting lost. You can say content creators should not be harassed for preferring specific sexual dynamics & also say if a work expressly harms minorities then they should be held accountable. Those are not mutually exclusive statements!
The intense moral policing fandoms been subjected to has made it extremely difficult to explore that nuance. Horrendous accusations are thrown out over darkfic and the like so often I get why the knee-jerk reaction to criticism is negative. But that still doesn't make it right.
If fandom is a refuge and place of enjoyment for everyone then we need to ensure it truly is a refuge for everyone, and if that means having difficult and uncomfortable convos then so be it.
