#ableism in fandoms

[tiredaf23]

Every time I see fan art of Curly with the caption "get what you get" or some shit like that, I die a little.

He didn't deserve to be disabled, you dumb fuck. Don't ever approach a real disabled person in your fucking life.

[demiaroacejadeharley]

I'm still pissed off about the people who used Autism as a way to excuse Stolas' actions. Stolas is not canonically Autistic, and even if he was, it's still no excuse to defend his actions. As an Autistic person, I found this extremely disgusting, especially as an Autistic woman since Neurotypical people heavily infantilze Autistic men.

[ghoulwings]

›looking into a fandom with a disabled character

›ask someone if their fandom is playfully joking about character or ableist

›they doesnt understand |>pull out illustrated diagram explaing what is playfully joking about a character and what is ableist

>they laugh and say "it's a good fandom sir"

>get into fandom

>its ableist

[ithinkimnormal]

Sorry but It's actually so annoying how much people downplay the crucial role piltover's corrupt council games played in derailing jayce/viktor's work and pretty much putting shackles around their lives. The council is directly responsible for and directly FUNDING so much of the misery that happens in this show, before the story has even started. Before Powder ever finds the gemstone. They single-handedly doom half of the region to death.

Just during the show: Jayce wanted to create magic to aid and uplift the common people, the council wanted trade route instant teleportators to make themselves richer.

Jayce & Viktor wanted to work on technology to help miners and steelworkers and artisans who are trying to survive in the industrial hellscape of piltover and zaun; the council wants it shelved for another 20 years. (yes, heimer is part of the corrupt council - no matter how much his image is laundered by the fandom.)

They are inept and self-serving leaders, elected by themselves and their blood inheritances, utterly obsessed with ultimate profit. You can really see how parasitic their relationship is to the people at the beggining of act 1. Jayce is a token nameless life, so disposable to them that they were going to burn down all of his research and throw out all of his titles, making him not just a lower-house vassal but an EXILE, and the only reason why that doesn't happen is because they realize how much money they can suck out of his work.

This applies to Viktor too. See the way that Heimerdinger tells him over and over again that no other paths can be taken, he has 'fulfilled his purpose' and he should be content to die. See how Mel looks at Viktor like a bug she wants to squash under her palm when he rejects the idea of making weapons for council. See how they speak over him and only address Jayce, as if he's worth less than nothing.

You are only as valuable as the profit you're willing to create. You are a problem that has to be dealt with as soon as you refuse their orders. They have the power to ruin your life, and if they find an excuse, they will. This is a direct threat pointed at Jayce & Viktor during ACT2, when Jayce is pressured into becoming one of them to protect 'the bottom line profit' and, personally speaking, to avoid that ire being redirected towards Viktor. He's pushed into compliance and told a target has been painted on his back.

Arcane jayvik are doomed in big part not for wanting to do harm, but being forced to exist under the beck and call of billionaire leeches. They are both immigrants. They are both struggling to get a degree and keep themselves afloat and they want to help people so goddamn much but they have to keep postponing their dreams to serve uncaring masters. I really wish there was more fan content focused on these very real bonds of understanding and solidarity between them.

When Viktor says 'Jayce will understand' that's not a fluke; he's lived in this environment for years. He knows Jayce is being pushed down the same way that he is and that deep down they've been kept captive by the exact same people. When Jayce agrees that Viktor should do whatever he needs to do to keep himself alive, he means that from the heart.

[risetherivermoon]

i dont really like it when people dumb down Curly's characterization to just the guy enabling Jimmy. I get that that makes it easier to not like him, so that's why a lot of people do that, because they feel guilty about sympathizing with someone who's done smth fucked up like that, but i really don't think it's giving Curly the justice he deserves.

regardless of if you like him as a person or not, Curly is still a victim and he suffered greatly at Jimmy's hand. Just because he did something fucked up doesn't make him a 'monster' (sorry because i saw someone say that he looks like a monster post-crash and thats sticking with me because why TF are we saying disabled burn victims look like LITERAL MONSTERS- yall use some common sense I BEG)

Dumbing down characters is what fandom does best, but i think it particularly irks me in Mouthwashing because of the nature of the story. Jimmy already thinks of the rest of the crew poorly and doesn't see them for how they really are, we don't need to be doing that too.

I also feel like people don't really recognize the fact Jimmy manipulates and abuses Curly too, even before the crash. What Curly did was fucked up but for the love, don't dumb him down to just this one thing he did.

[love-for-burgundy-blog]

I personally hate it when people dislike others because they have a lot of energy.

Like Cilan isn’t hurting anyone by being energy driven or hyperactive. He is just excited about his interests and hobbies. He still is a kind gentleman.

People need to stop calling out people for being stressed or hyperactive since sometimes they can’t control it. People who are obsessed with other people’s stress levels just because it is so easy for them to be calm is just absurd.

Hot take

[anomalial]

we should not have introduced "fancy" subtitle formatting like impossible to read coloured text, moving subtitles, and subtitles that deliberately overlap to the youtube music video subtitle makers out there, like uh! it's cool that your subtitles are aesthetic and cool... but THE INTENDED PURPOSE IS TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE THIS ISN'T ACCESSIBLE PLEASE

[dalishious]

I am honestly just SO tired of what I'm gonna unironically call fake fans of Dragon Age. The Steam Community needs to be shut down at this point, because at least 75% of the discussions are... like this.

I'm gonna make a longer post, or maybe even a video, about this at some point. But I really am just reeling from what I've seen and need time to actually process my thoughts into something coherent.

[soullessjack]

not only should any autistic character who’s ever been infantilized by their fanbase kill and maim more people, but they should also fuck as nasty as possible too. as a treat

[pinkeoni]

It’s funny how audience members view Mike as their underdog-average-straight guy who is a total nerd but got an awesome girlfriend anyway when the character they are actually looking for is Dustin Henderson

[sassydefendorflower]

I want to talk about something. I want to talk about ableism in fandom. And sexism in fandom. Oh, and racism in fandom.

Mostly though, I wanna talk about how the discussion about these things often gets derailed because people don't understand what trends and typical behaviors actually are.

Whenever a Person of Color, a woman, someone disabled, someone queer (or an intersection of any of these groups) points out that certain fandom trends are bigoted in some shape or form, half the replies seem to be "but they are my comfort character! Maybe people just like them better because they are more interesting!" or even "people are allowed to have headcanons!" - the very daft even go for a "don't bring politics into fandom" which is a personal favorite because nothing exists in a vacuum and nothing is truly apolitical. But alas~

What most of these replies seemingly fail to understand is something very, very simple: it's not about you.

You, as an individual, are just one datapoint in a fandom. You are not the trend. You do not necessarily depict the typical behavior.

When someone points out that there is racism in fandom, that doesn't mean every fan is racist or perpetuating racist ideas*. By constantly mentioning your own lack of racism, quite often, you are actively derailing the conversation away from the problems at hand.

When someone names and describes a trend, they don't mean your headcanon specifically - they mean the accumulated number of headcanons perpetuating a harmful or outdated idea.

I am not saying this to forbid anyone from writing fics about their favorite characters or to keep anyone from having fun headcanons and sharing their theories and thoughts - quite the opposite actually. A critique of a general trend is not a critique of you as an individual - and you're going to have a much better, and more productive, time online if you can internalize that. If you stop growing defensive and instead allow yourself to actually digest the message of what was pointed out.

I am saying this to encourage some critical thinking.

Allow me to offer up some examples:

Case 1: A DC blogger made the daring statement that maybe Tim and Jason were such a popular fanfic focus because they are the only two undeniably white batboys. Immediately someone replied saying "no, it's all the fun traumatic situations we can put them in!". Which is an insane statement to make, considering the same can be said for literally ANY OTHER DC Batman and Batfam character.

The original post wasn't anything groundbreaking, they didn't accuse anyone, didn't name any names... but immediately there was a justification, immediately there was a reason why people might like these characters more. No one stopped to take a second and reflect on the current trends in fanfiction, no one considered that maybe this wasn't a declaration against people who like these characters but a thesis depicting the OVERALL trend of fandom once again focusing on undeniably white (and male) characters.

(don't get me started on the racebending of white characters in media that has a big Cast of Color and the implications of that)

Case 2: A meta posted on Ao3 about ableism in the Criminal Minds fandom caught my attention. A wonderful piece, very thoughtful, analyzing certain characterization choices within the fandom through the lens of an actually autistic person. The conclusion they reached: the writing of Spencer Reid as an autistic character, while often charming and comforting, tended to be incredibly infantilizing and at worst downright ableist. They came to that conclusion while CLEARLY stating that the individual fanfic wasn't the problem, but the general fandom trend in depicting this character.

Once again, looking at the replies seemed to be a mistake: while many comments furthered the discussion, there were quite a few which completely missed the point. Some were downright hostile. Because how dare this author imply that THEY are ableist when they write their favorite character using that specific characterization.

It didn't matter that the author allowed room for personal interpretation. It didn't matter that they noted something concerning about the entire fandom - people still thought they were attacking singular people.

Case 3: I wrote a fic about abortion in the FMA(b) fandom (actually I've written a weird amount of fics about abortion in a lot of fandoms, but alas) and I got hate comments for it. Because of that I addressed the bias in fandom against pro-choice depictions of pregnancies. I pointed out that the utter lack of abortion in many omegaverse stories or even mpreg or het romances, painted the picture of an unconscious bias that hurt people for whom abortion was the only option, the best possible ending. The response on the post itself was mostly positive, but I got anon hate.

(which I can unfortunately not show you since I deleted it in the months since)

And I'm not overly broken up about it, but it also underlines my point: by pointing at a general problem, a typical behavior, a larger trend... people feel personally attacked.

This inability to discuss sexism, ableism, racism, transphobia, etc in fandom without people turning defensive and hurt... well, it damages our ability to have these conversations at all.

Earlier I said YOU are not the problem - well, i think part of this discussion is acknowledging that: sometimes YOU are in fact part of the problem. And that's not the end of the world. But you can only recognize yourself as a cog in the machine, if you can examine your own actions, your own biases, your own preferences critically and without becoming defensive.

And, again, this is not to keep you from finding comfort in your favorite characters and headcanons. This is also not to say that I am free of biases and internalized bigotries - I am also very much a part of the system. A part of the problem.

This is so you can comfortably ask yourself "but why is there no abortion in this universe?" or "why are my favorite black characters always the top in my slash ships?" or "why do I write this disabled character as childish and in need of help?" - and sometimes the answer is "because I am disabled and I want comfort", and that's fine too.

There is no one shoe fits all in fiction. There is not a single trope that captures all members of a group. There is no single stereotype that isn't also someone's comfort. No group is a monolith, no experienced all-encompasing (or entirely unique).

There is never a simple answer.

But that doesn't mean you should stop questioning your own biases, your own ideals.

Especially, if you grow defensive if someone points out that a certain trend you engage in might be racist. Or sexist. Or queerphobic. Or fucking ableist.

*this does not mean negate the general anti-blackness perpetuated by most cultures as a result of colonialism and slavery

[shoplifting]

Your silent protagonist doesn't have to use sign language btw. They don't have to write things down, either. They don't have to use language at all. Not every single person who doesn't talk can use words the same as you, or use them at all, so your favorite silent character shouldn't have to use what you consider a grammatical language to communicate in your fanart and fics. AAC exists. Drawing exists. Gestures and body language exist. Btw.

[qtubbo]

There’s genuinely been such much ableism directed at Tubbo these past few days it’s been hard to deal with, just completely open ableist remarks with /rp at then end or I love ccTubbo but… Constant remarks of him not following social ques, being too loud, having issues with tone, mocking him for having trouble reading the signs, saying that he’s neglecting Sunny because he’s not emotionally aware, ect. It sucks, I don’t like having to see so much of the fandom be openly ableist, why can’t people just be normal able disabled people of any kind. Also saying Tubbo shouldn’t rant about his interests because it ruins your immersion is just horrible and you all know it.

[ellstersmash]

seeing a lot of posts about being prepared to avoid fandom discourse this time around and while I will also be bobbing and weaving that bullshit, let's also make it a point to gear up and watch out for the bigotry and abuse that will inevitably come to light--and not to avoid it, but to actively participate in making fandom a hostile place for it to thrive.

challenge your friends when they say something transphobic on the discord server. ask your fave if they meant to whitewash that character in their art. watch for harmful tropes and stereotypes in the fic (and source material!) that you read. when other people bring it up, don't dismiss it as discourse. most importantly, when trans people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and victims of abuse share their experiences, listen.

[1863-project]

Please reblog for a bigger sample size - this is part of the same project as my earlier polls! (For extra data, please feel free to mention the character(s) in question in the tags if you've experienced this!)

PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER THE POLL IF YOU ARE NOT AUTISTIC. This is specifically for autistic people's testimonials.

[bougiebutchbinch]

This is a grumble that has been brewing in me for some time. But it just keeps happening - so, yes, I am going to talk about it.

The Disableds(TM): hey maybe you shouldn't make a huge thing out of how this one character you dislike had one bout of incontinence? Maybe you shouldn't go on and on about how gross and disgusting incontinence is, and act like incontinence deserves mockery rather than empathy, and pretend that this character is permanantly incontinent for the sole purpose of making fun of him? There are people in this fandom who are incontinent. We deal with this every day, and the way you treat this topic is kinda hurtful and insensitive.

You: oh my god it's just a joke, lighten up 🙄

The Disableds(TM): hey maybe you shouldn't keep making 'jokes' about how a disabled character who cannot communicate in a conventional way should be given a literal dog toy rather than AAC or any other less dehumanising communication aid? And stop making comments like 'awwww he's learning so quickly!!!!' when he is a whole-ass adult man being forced to communicate with animal/baby toys? In fact, just stop treating him like a baby in general. It's infantalizing and weird.

You: oh my god it's just a joke, lighten up 🙄

The Disableds(TM): hey maybe you should stop saying that these morally grey characters 'deserve' to become disabled and live every day in constant agony. Stop acting like disability is a just & fair punishment that is inflicted on people who do bad things. There is an incredibly fucked up Christofascist idea that disabled people are being Punished by a higher power for their own moral failings that pervades society to this day and affects us IRL. You should stop contributing to that.

You: but they're not 100% Perfect Moral Characters! Therefore they deserve disability! You silly Disableds(TM) need to stop getting so offended by everything! Anyway, we're just joking. Lighten up. 🙄🙄🙄

Enough. Some of you need to think critically about how you 'joke' about disabled characters in fandom.

Just ask yourself - who is the butt of these 'jokes'? Is it a character whose inability to do a 'normal' thing is being mocked or infantilized? Why do you find that amusing? For some of these 'jokes', do you only find them amusing when you dislike the character in question or think they're a 'bad' person who 'deserves it'? Why do you think that changes how you feel, and what does this suggest about your internal biases about disabled people?

Stop getting so defensive when disabled people point this stuff out. Stop doubling down and tone policing when called out. If you even pretend to give a damn about making fandoms welcoming to everyone, not just able-bodied white people, this is something you should care about.