Nobody's saying that men can't enjoy fanfic or shouldn't read fanfic--or at least I've never seen anyone saying that, and I'm a male who frequently reads the gender discussions on metafandom and frequently participates in them from a male position. But "it's not written for you" isn't exclusionary--except from a position of male privilege which thinks everything should cater to the experience of men. In fandom we men face what women face every day, a thousand times worse: a discourse that doesn't cater to our needs and desires. But that's not exclusion. It doesn't mean men aren't welcome to read and write and participate--because they are. (They aren't welcome to be assholes, of course, and when men are assholes it won't be read as an individual being an asshole but part of a pattern of male behavior--because the pattern, the historical context is there and cannot be denied.)
It means that women have built this place--often in the face of the jeers of their male counterparts--they've come to this community, as a place where they can talk about things including sexuality, where they can come to terms with things like sexuality, where they can interact (somewhat) outside the structures of patriarchy and capitalism. And when they see a bunch of men want to co-opt their community for the sake of patriarchy and capitalism, they rightly get upset and, yeah, I think gender's a real issue.
It doesn't mean that men like me aren't welcome. It means that in a sexist world, where men and women aren't equal and it's disingenious to say everyone should be treated as if they are and then not go on to address the sexism systemic to the structure, women need and deserve a Room of Their Own so to speak, and historically for some time fandom has provided them with that space. We males get to run the rest of the world (and as much I try to work to change that fact, I don't see that changing any time soon, so in the meantime some coping mechanisms need to be put into place).
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timeasmymeasure
Re: stupidity vs. sexism
Date: 2007-05-26 10:34 am (UTC)Nobody's saying that men can't enjoy fanfic or shouldn't read fanfic--or at least I've never seen anyone saying that, and I'm a male who frequently reads the gender discussions on
It means that women have built this place--often in the face of the jeers of their male counterparts--they've come to this community, as a place where they can talk about things including sexuality, where they can come to terms with things like sexuality, where they can interact (somewhat) outside the structures of patriarchy and capitalism. And when they see a bunch of men want to co-opt their community for the sake of patriarchy and capitalism, they rightly get upset and, yeah, I think gender's a real issue.
It doesn't mean that men like me aren't welcome. It means that in a sexist world, where men and women aren't equal and it's disingenious to say everyone should be treated as if they are and then not go on to address the sexism systemic to the structure, women need and deserve a Room of Their Own so to speak, and historically for some time fandom has provided them with that space. We males get to run the rest of the world (and as much I try to work to change that fact, I don't see that changing any time soon, so in the meantime some coping mechanisms need to be put into place).