#decolonize fandom spaces
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Leaving Kindergarten Mafia
There have already been a few posts floating around about the Discord server implosion of Kindergarten Mafia. They do a great job of outlining the events that happened, with documentation, directly from the folks who were harmed by the server owner (Hann) and mods that helped enable their racism. (Snake and Mouse, Jinx1, Jinx2, mousydentist, Faye, among others.)
So I'm not going to do that.
These are my own thoughts on the specific racism and tenets of white supremacy that I observed in the server as well as a general commentary on joining fandom spaces.
Rarely do I emphasize my age but it's relevant so here we are : I am 35 years old this year and Kindergarten Mafia was part of my first baby steps into any fandom. Ironically, my hesitation to join fandom ended up being proven because I had heard, for a very long time, that fandom spaces were dominated by racism and a failure to acknowledge POC fans. For a long time, I was complacent and felt "safe" in that server of 300+ folks.
Until one Native member spoke up about the usage of "spirit animal" as appropriative and the cracks in the foundations began to show themselves to everyone and not just the people with marginalized identities.
I had already started to feel uncomfortable in how the server dealt with ableism. There was also a member who I've previously called out on Tumblr, for usage of the m*dget slur in their story, and who became extremely vocal recently. (Spoiler alert - they wrote an entire essay excusing their usage of it, multiple times in the fic, because they couldn't be creative or bothered enough to come up with an alternative for a "short person".)
Without further ado, let's get into it. These are all from the link above, "tenets of white supremacy in organizations" (and yes, a Discord server of 300+ people absolutely DOES count as an organization).
1. Sense of Urgency, such as prioritizing quick or highly visible results that can exclude potential allies.
-> In the server, both server owner and problematic mods continued to emphasize that their "missteps" (i.e. racism) was due to needing to seek a solution ASAP for the good of the server.
2. Worshipping the Written Word, such as valuing strong documentation and writing skills.
-> Rebuttals to POC/marginalized folks were constantly full of dictionary definitions, copied over.
3. Believing in Only One Right Way, such as concluding something is wrong with people who refuse to adapt or change.
-> POC members and allies were banned when anger was expressed because OUR anger suddenly made it an "unsafe" space for the server owner and problematic mods.
4. Paternalism, such as decision-making processes that are only understood by those with power and unclear to those without it.
-> Despite multiple server users disagreeing with the server owner's tactics (including the co-owner, who stepped down), Hann continued to defend + make decisions.
5. Defensiveness, such as spending energy trying to protect power or defend against charges of racism.
-> There's too many examples to cite here. But in the end, it was claimed that the initial problem was solved. And then the problem mod was invited back. With additional defense of why.
6. Power Hoarding, such as feeling threatened when anyone suggests organizational changes.
-> Instead of wanting to listen to marginalized identities, the server was threatened with a shut-down. Multiple people stepped up to take over as server owner. But power hoarding was more important so not only was the server shut down... it was resurrected from the dead to include their favorite (white) people. This leads us to...
7. Believing I’m the Only One, such as thinking that if something is going to get done right, then ‘I’ have to do it.
8. Fear of Open Conflict, such as equating the raising of difficult issues with being rude or impolite.
-> The initial issue around the problematic phrase was ridiculously hush hush. POC members were banned for their (rightfully so) angry remarks.
9. Believing in Objectivity, such as considering emotions to be irrational and destructive to decision-making.
-> Not just the server owner but the people who rushed to defend them and the problematic mods, claimed to be impartial and objective, based on their queer identities or other things. As humans, none of us can actually be objective and all of us are a little racist because racism is a systemic problem that we were raised under.
10. Claiming a Right to Comfort, such as scapegoating those who cause emotional or psychological discomfort.
-> In the end, it was clear that only whiteness was valued when POC folks + allies were banned or made to feel uncomfortable enough to leave (such as myself).
I know I've only posted my thoughts/feelings vs documentation (which, you shouldn't always demand because see above for "worshipping the written word") but if this screenshot of the new rules for the new server doesn't convince you that something (racism/cult-ism) is wrong with these folks... I don't know what will.
TL;DR - Ownership and modding of a large Discord server doesn't make you a god. You are, unfortunately, still a puny mortal with the biases that come along with being as such. I'm sure it was a fun power trip for those involved but I am happy to expose the rotting underbelly in a way that I see fit.
In conclusion, I leave you with further reading that will help decolonize your mindset and has done a much better job at showing that the problems with the Kindergarten Mafia are not unique (as they claimed). It is one that those of us with marginalized identities face constantly and we are fucking tired of running into this and being treated in a way that emphasizes the problem with our existence in real life. Intersectionality and decolonization is what will actually liberate us, and without both, online spaces are simply the same reflections of real life.
At the very least, I hope it gives some of you food for thought.
(I will also post my Scathing Letter™ that was my last message in the server as a separate post because I am wordy AF and this is already too long.)
[1/26/2024 update] Now with part 2 because apparently I had more things to say.
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i need to take to heart that staying silent on things can be read as a form of commiseration.
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tell me you've never actually set foot in a "pro-palestine space" without telling me:
- "the pro-palestine movement has an antisemitism problem"
- "it's like a fandom" / "it's a trend" / "it's not strategic"
- "why does no one say decolonize the US"
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I just can't deal with how US-centric fandom spaces are, now. I love Ao3, I really do, but I just can't with all these loud, obnoxious Americans anymore.
I'm not white. I'm not neurotypical. My first language isn't English. I've lived in the US only for a very brief period before going back home. The only thing that would make me "privileged" is that I'm straight, which is not something that I discuss online.
Still, in fandom spaces I get the worst possible shit from people who have now made "End OTW Racism" their entire identity.
I write fics about a mixed ship and one of the character is of the same race and background as me. According to these cunts, who I doubt even knew that my country existed before this fandom was born, I'm racist, don't know how to write characters of my own ethnicity, and I'm divulging dangerous stereotypes (most of them, I swear, they made up after entering the fandom. Some of the shit they say is a "well known stereotype for X people" is stuff I've never heard before in my life. They're so stupid and racist that they're making up their own stereotypes about my people so that they can harass others about it).
Even after I wrote long posts saying that I'm of the same background as the character, "proving" myself as knowing more than them, I still get attacked by these Americans who think that their ancestors coming from a non-white country a century and a half ago makes them somewhat special.
They accuse me of living with internalized racism and send me links to Stitch's articles to, and I quote, "decolonize myself." Because Stitch, an American cunt who knows shit about nothing and I'd be surprised to learn speaks a second language or has travelled outside her own backyard, clearly can teach me how I should consider myself and my own compatriots.
Americans treat Stitch like the savior of the people, but as far I've seen (in first person, in other fandom spaces, here too), very few people have found comfort in her articles. They are constantly used against them, if they weren't being made fun of by Stitch herself, which only contributes to even more harassment.
I'm really tired of them, of Stitch, of this new character that is Dr Pande and that we're supposed to treat like a prophet, of their useless movements, of how everything has to fit American standards otherwise you're evil and deserve to be executed, of everything.
--
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in a follow up to my reblog from @jynxed13, i wanted to share Thoughts on the situation and essentially back up why i left and would encourage others to stay away. disclaimer is that i'm white!! so i wasn't directly impacted by the racism but as a human being who contains the ability to be empathetic it got to a point where it became abundantly clear that there would be no meaningful change.
i want to start w the fact that the channel where all discussions of the original racist incident plus the mod follow ups plus a lot of racist nonsense were all purged yesterday, so unless you were there for it and actively following along there's no "proof." i can say that a mod was racist to a server member and abused their power, and that select other mods were content to let that remain private knowledge and let the mod gracefully 'step down,' but again, you'd have to take my word and the word of BIPOC server members. idk how far that goes on the internet when nobody knows me but at least it's out there.
what is especially distressing to me is that to anyone new to the space, or to anyone who was happy with the dysfunctional way things were, it looks like nothing is amiss! it’s a very strange feeling that i haven’t encountered before, because in physical spaces, there’s a certain level of accountability you can hold people to (or maybe I’m naive and inexperienced, or have been lucky to exist in spaces where that’s the case). erasing it doesn’t change the fact that it’s wrong, and deleting messages or banning members w/out warning (which also happened yesterday) doesn’t erase the past or how people feel. the longer the server continues to delude itself that that is the case, the more their community will fester.
i'm sure they're thrilled! anyone who stood up to them is out! doesn't seem like they'll face any consequences for it, but that's for the universe to decide.
i want to appreciate the time, labor and energy of the people who have been harmed and acknowledge the hurt this has caused and the absolute shitshow it's been. none of it was deserved (and again, that doesn't come from a place of dick riding, it comes from basic decency, but anyway) and all i can really say is if your approach to fandom isn't decolonized, i'm not interested ✨
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I Am Mundus Artis (it/she)
The term is roughly translated to 'Art of the World'. I am a mixed media artist based out of the Pacific Northwest. I write World of Darkness stuff on Storytellers Vault, and occasionally publish short form science fiction on Medium. I paint with watercolors and make many of my own paints using found objects. I also engage in film photography and heavily favor urbex and Chiaroscuro portraiture. I enjoy taking the core elements of a subject and reorganizing them into representational surrealism, also known as biomorphism.
I am an unapologetic lover of nature and especially mushrooms, moss, and especially wolves.
I block most AI image creators and apologists on sight. If I accidentally reblog AI-generated content, please let me know.
I am a disabled, demisexual, transgender butch lesbian elder, and I have opinions. I generally don't consider this blog friendly to minors, and I tend to block on sight, though I mostly keep my lesbian shitposting here (NSFW). I stand with Palestine, but also do not condone antisemitism in any form. I believe Black Lives Matter, and support Landback efforts, along with the ideals of decolonization. Sex Work is Work. This blog holds space for marginalized voices from all walks.
In addition, I am a part of numerous fandoms, and you can expect to see liberal reblogs of Dark Crystal, Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death content.
I am an avid fan of the World of Darkness, especially Werewolf: the Apocalypse and am a Storyteller of over 25 years experience. You'll see frequent posting covering the topic of Werewolves in general on this blog. I'm an aggregator of Useful Shit for Storytellers and My Ask Box Is Open for those seeking world-building advice or ST tips.
In fact:
I believe Werewolf is an Inherently Queer Medium
I am also trying to hold the World of Darkness to higher standards of inclusivity
I'm the project director behind Werewolf: the Essentials, which aims to bring queer inclusivity to the horror tabletop. Book 1: Cliath comes out next Halloween, and you can follow the Official Blog here.
#world of darkness#werewolf: the apocalypse#werewolf the apocalypse#dead mountain#world building#werewolf the essentials#queer artists#queer writer#lesbian writer#demisexual writer#demisexuality#ace spec#demisexual#disabled writer#disabled artist
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Here’s a tag directory for my blog! (Not every fandom on this list is something I’m currently into – I’ve included old fandoms if I have a lot of posts in the tag.)
The Gallifrey audios have been my main fandom for several years, and this fall the October Daye series became my current main fannish interest.
If you follow me and haven’t listened to all of Gallifrey, I’m happy to tag for spoilers past the audio of your choice – just let me know! Same thing for if you follow me and would like me to tag October Daye spoilers past a certain book.
Currently tagging for #gallifrey spoilers post-Time War 1, and not tagging for October Daye spoilers. (Note: Gallifrey tag directory includes Gallifrey characters/relationships through Time War 3 and October Daye tag directory includes October Daye spoilers.)
my stuff
fic tag | ao3 account
edits
text posts
answered asks
fic talk
main fandoms
gallifrey audios tag directory
october daye tag directory
(note: those are separate posts because I hit the link limit on this post.)
audio
big finish ( non-gallifrey )
the adventure zone ( balance / amnesty )
the strange case of starship iris
the mortal path
wolf 359
second star to the left
tv shows
doctor who
avatar: the last airbender
legend of korra
steven universe
steven universe future
she-ra and the princesses of power
good omens
merlin ( merlin text posts )
taskmaster
once upon a time
movies
star wars
the old guard
everything everywhere all at once
marvel cinematic universe
books
the locked tomb
leagues and legends
the alliance trilogy
wayward children
wayfarers
this is how you lose the time war
percy jackson / heroes of olympus
the kane chronicles
warrior cats
artemis fowl
musicals
wicked
hadestown
come from away
cats
games
stay?
general
creative arts: art | writing | worldbuilding | publishing | fiction | poetry | music | dance | theatre | fashion | figure skating | bookbinding | video essays
tabletop games: dnd | general rpg tag
recs from others: books to read | general media recs
natural world: animals | nature | gardening
relationships, gender, sexuality: relationships | lgbt+ | gender things | sex ed | polyamory
politics & social justice: us politics | racial justice | black lives matter | decolonization | environmentalism | environmental justice | climate change | reproductive justice | disability rights | accessibility | neurodiversity | labor rights | palestine | ukraine
brain things: mental health | brain soup
fandom: ao3 | dreamwidth | tumblr | fandom
other topics: space | food | health (us health insurance system, vaccines, etc.) | electronics | time loops
misc: reference | ‘for later’ | general (catch-all) tag
#tag directory#did a major update of the tag directory and it worked best to make a new post (plus the separate posts for fandoms with lots of tags)#this is how i learned you can only have 100 links in a post!
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To be honest, I find your answer contradictory to a commitment to anti-racism. I don't "claim decolonizing efforts." I am employed by my Band in an advocacy and policy role. Personally, I don't see racist microaggressions attributed to Izzy as more narratively significant than those from Stede or Pete - but I also don't consider serious flaws incompatible with liking a fictional character, or else I wouldn't love Ed. Anti-racism work is hard, inclusive, uncomfortable work. This is fannish play.
"I don't see racist microaggressions attributed to Izzy as more narratively significant than those from Stede or Pete" so you're saying that Stede being slightly ignorant and Pete making assumptions about Ed based on the stories he hears is equal to izzy purchasing Ed, threatening his life and forcing him to become the kraken to survive? okay
i think if you really loved Ed, you wouldn't go to bat for izzy like this. but what do i know?
bigotry that happens in fiction is reflective of real life, acts of bigotry even online has real life consequences. ever heard of propaganda? even as a poc, it's not up to you to dictate how the rest of us choose to make ourselves comfortable within this fandom, be it call out the racism or join a server. whatever i say here will inevitably be taken as performative by you, since you see your real life work more important than anything that happens in fandom spaces. at the end of the day, you don't know what people who want to combat racism in this fandom do irl, and i don't think you genuinely care
i hope you get the all validation you need from your fellow izzy fans though! love and light <3
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fandoms come & go, but I will always be in love with William Afton
Cassius
↳ "What do the good know, except what the bad teach them by their excesses?"
amateur urban musher
slasher simp
find me at Afton Robotics
[ I like things to drop in my queue. ]
I'm not going to argue about fictional content. Tag your shit, or get out-- Content warnings are a courtesy, but we should strive to make spaces more inclusive.
I don't tolerate Evangelical nonsense. Decolonize your brain.
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Imagination Gaps: Crowdsourcing and Decolonizing Fandom
Previously, I talked about the linguistic and racialized gaps in fantasy worlds, specifically with respect to the construction of magic and magic systems. I’ve been pondering a lot about that still: how do we emancipate magic? Do we racebend, as in the case of a Desi Harry Potter? Do we rewrite histories to reflect the diversities of lived experiences across the world? Or do we still yet create new worlds of our own where Whiteness (and the Western world) is not the baseline for existence?
To be clear, I think it’s probably all three, happening simultaneously. In a chapter discussing the existence of a racebent Hermione who is Black, Elizabeth Ebony Thomas says:
“Today’s readers are using the tools of social media to make meanings that are not just independent of authorial intent but that can also deliberately contradict it—which is to say that meaning itself is in the process of becoming outsourced and jointly imagined.”
EBONY THOMAS, ELIZABETH. “HERMIONE IS BLACK: A POSTSCRIPT TO HARRY POTTER AND THE CRISIS OF INFINITE DARK FANTASTIC WORLDS.” IN THE DARK FANTASTIC: RACE AND THE IMAGINATION FROM HARRY POTTER TO THE HUNGER GAMES, 156. NEW YORK: NYU PRESS, 2019.
The idea of crowdsourcing meaning is endlessly fascinating and amusing to me; fan communities have been doing it long before it became a mainstream process. However, as often as queer readings are crowdsourced in fandoms, racialized readings are still marginalized to a large extent.
As Thomas says:
“While the production of transformative fanwork and vigorous discussion show that fans are invested in alternate worlds, there is a vast gulf between the acceptance of slash celebrating homosexual relationships between White cisgender male characters and the disdain for racial and ethnic diversity in many fan communities. This shows that not all alterities are created equal and creates an ontological dilemma that must be reconciled.”
EBONY THOMAS, ELIZABETH. “HERMIONE IS BLACK: A POSTSCRIPT TO HARRY POTTER AND THE CRISIS OF INFINITE DARK FANTASTIC WORLDS.” IN THE DARK FANTASTIC: RACE AND THE IMAGINATION FROM HARRY POTTER TO THE HUNGER GAMES, 157. NEW YORK: NYU PRESS, 2019.
Fandom, I think, is at a crossroads in some ways; reconciling this ontological dilemma can be as simple and as complex as recasting Hermione as Black. It involves admitting that fandom has a racism problem, and decolonizing not just fan spaces, but the fannish, participatory self as well.
“But ultimately, emancipating the dark fantastic requires decolonizing our fantasies and our dreams. It means liberating magic itself. For resolving the crisis of race in our storied imagination has the potential to make our world anew.”
EBONY THOMAS, ELIZABETH. “HERMIONE IS BLACK: A POSTSCRIPT TO HARRY POTTER AND THE CRISIS OF INFINITE DARK FANTASTIC WORLDS.” IN THE DARK FANTASTIC: RACE AND THE IMAGINATION FROM HARRY POTTER TO THE HUNGER GAMES, 169. NEW YORK: NYU PRESS, 2019.
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Departure letter
As mentioned in this post, that outlines why I needed to let this be my last message in the Kindergarten Mafia Discord server... here is the Scathing Letter™.
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It is time for me to go.
I absolutely loathe having to do a departure announcement because this is not an airport and I’m sure not a lot of people care.
But as someone who has spent 10+ years of their life actively decolonizing and liberating my viewpoints, it would be absolutely remiss for me to not leave final remarks here expressing my utter disappointment and feelings of not being safe in this space. Not just as POC but someone chronically ill and autistic. Y’all have not made it kind for someone who has any sort of marginalized identity, as evidenced by the public dogpiling in this thread as well as the now deleted messages in clarifications.
I’m not going to address the majority of the drama except for what started it all : someone refusing a Native person’s (well-deserved) call out for a culturally appropriative phrase.
It is devastatingly clear to me that a large portion of folks in this server have a poorly curated personal life extremely lacking in diversity.
The defensiveness and elitism (really? Dictionary definitions?). Refusal to actively listen and instead attack others about lacking critical thinking. Self-claimed expertise. I could go on.
So I revise what I had posted previously. Everyone is a little racist and this server is full of white supremacy tenets.
https://rrapp.hks.harvard.edu/the-culture-of-white-supremacy-in-organizations/
This is my last attempt at educating some of you, which will go poorly, I’m sure.
I spent an inordinate amount of time/energy/spoons to provide coherent context the last time but to find the entire thread deleted with no respect for the effort I spent there, has been one of the final straws.
Frequently mentioning your volunteer status is frankly laughable. I have volunteered for quite a few places, including mutual aid organizations, and across multiple timezones and never have I seen so many excuses to say that y’all do not care about POC. (1/2)
I don’t care how old anyone is, what their job IRL is, what works you’ve posted with how many kudos, etc. I *do* care about the fact that multiple people, when speaking up, are treated with callousness and hurtfulness. That is a larger indication of your mental age and capacity than any other words you can type.
That I felt safe enough to be so vulnerable in this space for a while was an illusion. There are continued indicators that POC words are ignored, especially calling out that I know both Jynx and William have requested their labor be deleted in the server but have not been.
Last, but not least, I’m sure people will read this and think oh it’s Phoenix banding together with their friends. I say this with as much passion I can muster : I would have the same amount of disdain for the actions seen in this server without any personal friendship ties and emotions. That is how the social justice aspect of my autism works.
You all have so much work to do when it comes to respecting other human beings that have different experiences than you. If I weren’t so consumed with the feelings of my actual divorce, recent termination, and the continued trauma of world events like that in Falasteen, I’d feel bad for you.
As it stands, I believe my energy is precious and I simply cannot spare any more in spaces where I (and others) am not welcome or given respect to. Let it be noted that I’ve actually gone viral on social media before and I still have not left THOSE spaces and yet am choosing to leave this one. The troll comments I received on Tiktok can be ignored because they are from complete strangers that I do not give a single fuck about. The ones here, purportedly from those who claim it’s “safe”, are even more insidious in nature.
Whatever race or ethnicity you are, to take people who have shown you their vulnerabilities and turn around to show your entire behinds in the least sexiest way ever, is not a good look. Ever.
Leave the ass scenes to KinnPorsche.
#announcing my departure#it's not an airport#but i'm taking flight#bye racists#good riddance#kindergarten mafia#decolonize fandom spaces
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Things for White Fandom Nerds to Consider
Hey y'all,
After seeing a post where fans of color wrote about their frustrations with the ways white fans prioritize our comfort over their wellbeing and access to safe fandom spaces where they can have fun, be comfortable, and have their needs responded to and respected, I wanted to build out a separate post specifically addressing a few of the things I notice we white people tend to do in fandoms, and also offer resources for those of us who may be looking to break down our internalized white supremacist shit and change.
So, some questions for my fellow white fandom nerds to consider:
Are you attempting to learn more about white supremacy and how you've been raised on it, whether you like it or not?
When fans of color in a discord/forum/comments section name harm they are experiencing in said space, do you downplay that harm, ignore it, or outright contradict them, because well, things have been nice here for you?
Do you prioritize peace in fandom spaces over the comfort, wellbeing, safety, and joy of fans of color? Pushing for discussions of racism to be shelved or ended because they make you uncomfortable?
Do you insist that you can't be a force for white supremacy, because of another marginalized identity you hold? (True facts, my fellow white disabled queers, we are still mechanisms for the white supremacy machine against communities of color whether we want to be or not. There are people of color living with the same queer crip identities we have who are navigating vastly different roadmaps because they're Black and brown, and we need to build skills in acknowledging those differences and being able to engage in real conversations and work around them)
When someone points out racism creeping into your fanworks, do you recognize that as an act of good faith, that they are trusting you to receive that knowledge and change? Or do you become defensive and dismiss them?
Are you only interested in characters of color if you think they're hot and want to watch them kiss whoever else you think is hot? Do you flatten them down to being a white character's love interest/bestie/confidant without building them out the same way you do your white faves?
When you do come up with headcanons for characters of color, are you considering the ways racism may be playing in there without you thinking about it, because you don't have to think of those things? (I'm thinking of the deeply fucked up "Miles Morales shoplifts" thing I saw drifting around a while back. Shoutout to the humans who said fuck that and went "Miles Morales takes up Ballet instead because I loved that shit personally")
Do you love reinterpretations of characters as people of color and share art and writing that shows these depictions, but prioritize this from other white creators over creators of color? (This does not me white creators shouldn't draw or write characters of color, the issue here is who gets praise for "diversity" in their work and who gets ignored or criticized)
Do you care for people of color when they're characters in the things you enjoy, but struggle to care about systematic oppressions without relating them back to your fandom (Thinking this time of the surreal "If you like K-pop care about orientalism" situation that happened like two weeks ago)
Do you get caught up in feelings of shame and guilt around the power whiteness gives you, and seek out people of color to make you feel better about how good/bad you are as a white person?
There is not a magic wand for undoing racist and white supremacist values we've internalized. And there is no "Tada~ you've hit the end of the journey, all your racism is gone and now you are a Truly Good White Person" moment. Because things are way muckier than that. Racial Justice work, and becoming a traitor to white supremacy is about the ongoing practice of :
building self-awareness
having the resilience to face our harmful actions
taking accountability for our behavior
developing a cultural identity outside of the sterilized concept of White that white supremacy has constructed
speaking out against racist policies, practices, and interactions in the spaces we are in
supporting the movement towards abolition
developing resilience in ourselves so we don't run to people of color in our lives for reassurance every time white guilt screeches in our ear
Learning how to be in spaces where our every thought fart is not the center of attention
relearning history from a decolonized lens
Way more than could be condensed into a Tumblr post which will be rapidly forgotten or metabolized by the internet
That said if you're the reading type, might I recommend checking out Rachel Cargle's Community POC Reading Recommendations spreadsheet?
This spreadsheet is not specifically for Racial Justice, but it is broken up by genre and the nonfiction section has a lot of work by authors of color talking about Critical Race Theory, racism, white supremacy and related subjects.
#critical race theory#Fandom Racism#White people#Whiteness#Anti racism#racial justice resources#white fandom#allyship#queer ally#ranting about racism while loopy from insomnia wise choices we make here today
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hello! i want to ask if it's considered wrong to think of modern AU with the characters since they are deities? it's just that, sometimes i imagine them in today's society (for funsies,,, like how they would interact using social medias), and i want to know what's okay and not okay..
hi anon! i took some time to reflect on this because i wanted to make sure i provide a thoughtful answer.
my gut response regarding modern AUs—specifically referring to the common fandom practice of copy/pasting characters into the 2020s—is that i'm not really comfortable with them.
the point of eotm's setting is to escape into a world that hasn't been colonized. so unless modern!AU headcanons intend a world where the archipelago (because the concept of "the philippines" as a homogenous country is in and of itself colonialistic) was never colonized or occupied by spain, japan, the US, etc. then it would be ignorant of and disrespectful to the intent of the story.
i actually do really think that imagining a decolonized modern world with fantasy elements in it would be really fun and also freeing so i encourage that! what would manila be like in modern times if it wasn't a commandeered seat for corrupt government? what kinds of advancements would people have made by now if the islands' indigenous cultures weren't purposefully erased?
there's also some creative space to explore what "social media" could be in eotm's current setting. i can see tala rearranging constellations as a clever callout to someone that annoyed her, or making the stars shine brighter above duma's mountain to tell him to wipe the frown off his face bc she's on her way home to him soon.
all in all, i'm glad that my story has inspired you to engage with it. i hope this answer doesn't dissuade you from continuing to do so but rather gives you ideas to expand how you think about stories, characters, and worlds intentionally set outside of the west's colonial, imperial, and capitalist society.
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by hes5thlazarus
Was prompted by ToasterBonanza to write about Kira Nerys repatriating an artifact sacred to Bajor from Cardassia, and this is what we got!
The Shakaar cell leads a procession after Cardassia returns the Orb of Contemplation to Bajor, to collective joy. Kai Opaka says, "So I say to you my people, the survivors of atrocity and keepers of the wormhole—the Prophets cried for you millennia before you were made. They sent their Tears from their temple as a safeguard as to what was to come. And now that it is safe, now that we have won—their Tears are for all."
Featuring Latha having an Orb experience, explaining why he became a vedek.
Words: 1181, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: Gen
Characters: Kira Nerys, Lupaza (Star Trek), Furel (Star Trek), Latha Mabrin, Shakaar Edon, Kai Opaka, The Prophets (Star Trek)
Additional Tags: Alien Mythology/Religion, Alien Culture, Fictional Religion & Theology, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Author Is Not Religious, Epiphany, liberation theology, Resistance, Decolonization of Bajor
from AO3 works tagged 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' https://ift.tt/3m7aSxO
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Week 2: Decolonizing the Web
Online colonialism can take place in many forms, but one form of it that is particularly harmful to young people is the messaging that they are exposed to in film, television, etc. Certain Western cultures, ideologies, lifestyles and norms are perpetuated through these visual mediums, and it can be almost impossible to avoid in an era of mass media consumption. It may seem like an inconsequential example, but the media that kids are exposed to early in life helps to shape their worldview and their ideas of what is and is not accepted and normalized in culture. In these instances, I believe the lines between high culture and popular culture are blurred, because young viewers are given the impression that they are watching representations of real life. When television series fail to include characters of color, LGBTQ+ characters, etc, it sends a message to the viewers that those identities and not the norm in society, leading to feelings of dismissal and confusion for people who are members of those marginalized communities.
Some digital sources that I believe combat marginalization on the web are platforms used for publishing fanfiction and other works, such as Archive of Our Own and Wattpad. As I spoke about in my presentation this week, sites like these have tremendous power in helping shape the identities of younger users. The research shows that engaging with fanfiction provides young people with a sense of belonging to an amorphous community, helps them come to terms with their own gender identity and/or sexuality, and exposes them to a safe space where they are able to explore and learn about their identities. By engaging in these fandom practices, users are carving out a small corner of the web for their community to exist and to be comfortable. Fanfiction stories and platforms for fanfiction engagement combat the narrative that LGBT stories aren’t worth telling, and they have a profound effect on young people. Young fans are able to rewrite the stories in a way that makes them feel more seen or represented and at the same time contribute to this beautiful community that can provide a sense of solace for other readers.
Finally, of course it should be mentioned that no webspace is perfect. Unfortunately, as we read for class this past week, marginalized communities “faced the same challenges on Tumblr as they did in real life,” showing that there is still plenty of work to be done in decolonizing the web.
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Fandom is racist. It is important that I say that as a white fan and as a scholar of fandom. Fandom is built on racism and white privilege; films and novels that we build our fandoms around are racist, the classics and literary canon are forged in racism, we create and enjoy with colorblindness despite its harmfulness. As fans, the stories we write, the art we make, the cosplays we call ‘canon’, the money we gain from selling our merchandise is all based in our white, colonizer privilege. Fanstudies and other institutions that study fans/fandom are built on racism. AO3’s response to racism in fandom is inadequate. Fandom has long excluded fans of color, especially black fans, from its spaces. Fandom is not a utopia. We are not exempt from racism nor should we stand for this any longer.
I see my whiteness in my own fan writing: I’m not okay with that. It will take hard work and education to rectify and learn on how to do better, but it is work worth doing. It’s work we have no choice but to do.
If you would like to read academic books/papers about decolonizing fandom, I recommend this list as a starting point: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DASV2eulNmTOdtwWMJBpuUW1vkWkxvVOAKP0JxZR9T8/edit
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