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asteracaea · 9 months ago

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very very interesting article

Last month, in the heat of the Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion beef, TMZ reported that the cemetery where Megan’s mother Holly Thomas is buried had to bolster security after the location was doxxed on social media by one of Nicki’s fans, collectively known as “Barbz.” Nicki had nothing to do with the threat, but the brazenness was nonetheless regarded as a low point for stan culture and led many to ponder if that depth of celebrity stan-dom was a mental illness in itself.

Stan culture is a matter of obsessive fandom: fans crying over Playboi Carti snippets, streaming Nicki’s songs to the top of the charts as they sleep, and compulsively purchasing whatever Ye or Travis Scott put up for sale. But the rise of social media has also given music fans a digital battlefield to defend their favorite artists. People who criticize many of today’s biggest acts run the risk of being doxxed and harassed, displaying behavior that can’t simply be attributed to the quality of someone’s music.

Stan culture, the pop culture manifestation of parasocial behavior, isn’t new. Eminem’s “Stan,” about a homicidally obsessive fan came out in 2000. But, notably, Eminem didn’t mention the internet once in the song. Live streaming has given fans more access than ever to artists who routinely go on sites like Instagram Live and Twitch to engage their fans. Artists like Tee Grizzley have GTA servers where they run amok of the GTA universe with their supporters. Artists like Kenny Beats and former Brockhampton member Don Mclennon run Discord servers where they interact with fans and share music-making insights. These kinds of interactions bolster an artist from a poster on a fan’s wall to someone they could conceivably interact with, strengthening the parasocial bond.

That dynamic also occurs on X, where Nicki Minaj’s Barbz celebrate having their tweets liked and quote-tweeted by the Queens rapper. That’s especially true in the heat of discourse surrounding Megan’s ”Hiss” and Nicki’s “Big Foot” records, where her most ardent supporters vied to prove that they’re wartime stans. These frenzied interactions have become so prevalent that some stans might become public figures in their own right in the upcoming documentary film Stans, about superfans and appropriately executive produced by Eminem.

Professors Sally Theran and Azadeh Aalai tell Rolling Stone that studies are still being done on the intersection of obsessive fandom, social media, and music. Theran is a Professor of Psychology at Wellesley College and a licensed clinical psychologist. She says that parasocial relationships are one-sided, and take place in the imagination of a fan of a public figure. “You might have imaginary conversations with [your fave] in your head,” she says. “You might imagine what kind of advice they would give. You might imagine what it would be like to have them as a friend.”

Parasocial relationships aren’t inherently bad. In 2009, author and then-Arizona State University professor Jimmy Sanderson released a study of activity on boy band New Kids On The Block’s official website that explored the “relational maintenance” between the group and their fans. The study showed that “audience members shared how NKOTB had shaped their moral character as well as NKOTB had served as a crucial support mechanism for them during difficult experiences they had endured during their lifetime.” Though Donald Glover’s Swarm showcased the horrific downside of a fan obsessing over an artist loosely based on Beyonce, Theran says that Queen B is a similarly positive figure for her fanbase. “She’s so self-actualized. She’s such a powerhouse. She has created everything that she has accomplished,” Theran says. “You can imagine if you’re a 14-year-old if you think about who you want to be and then you start to internalize some of Beyonce’s characteristics, that could be really helpful and powerful.”

Azadeh Aalai is an author, associate psychology professor at Queensborough Community College, and an adjunct psychology professor at NYU. She says that the figures most likely to draw parasocial relationships are adroit at stimulating a sense of connection with fans. Aalai credits Taylor Swift’s intimate lyrics with stirring a “strong and loyal fanbase.” She also notes that the lack of “polish” in Britney Spears’ social media presence “elevates their perception that she’s being very authentic and that creates the sense that they really know her, and that can elevate that emotional attachment that you develop. That’s one of the hallmark properties of developing a larger parasocial relationship.”

The people most susceptible to parasocial relationships are typically younger (and more impressionable), and/or have a dearth of personal relationships. Both professors say that the isolation of COVID-19 quarantine intensified parasocial behavior in ways that researchers are still parsing. “Social media use, and more generally, our use of technology did increase, especially in the beginning phases of the pandemic when people were largely socially distancing and things like that. So that could have kind of heightened this intensity of the connection,” says. Theran adds that, “a lot of people look to public figures for connection if they’re lonely or feel more isolated. It can be really helpful for them to have that kind of imaginary relationship [where] they get some of their needs met. It can’t substitute for a real relationship in person, but it can be, I would think of as supplemental.”

Is the cure to male loneliness obsessive stan-dom? Probably not, but some people are clinging to whatever will get them by in a post-quarantine isolation epidemic. Many people secluded themselves during the COVID-19 quarantine and never re-adjusted to the outside world — and some can’t for health reasons. A recent Atlantic story explored how people are replacing real-life interactions with more screen time. Streamers, Tiktokers, and podcasters aren’t the industry’s rising forces for no reason; they’re benefitting from a generation of people spending an alarming amount of time alone. New York Mayor Eric Adams is attempting to sue social media companies for conceivably “fueling the nationwide youth mental health crisis.”

So, will there be an official diagnosis to address obsessive fandom in the next DSM, the standard mental illness index used by American mental health professionals? Both professors say that the studies are still too early to say.

“I could see something along the lines of obsessive-compulsive disorder being in the DSM as a provisional diagnosis, which is kind of where most diagnoses start,” Theran says. “So for example, binge eating disorder is now a diagnosis in the DSM, but before this, it was provisional. I do think there’s a difference between your average person who’s super engaged with a media figure, and then someone else who takes it to extremes. What we look for is a pattern of behavior that’s disruptive or interfering with your quality of life. And for most people with parasocial interactions, it’s not interfering with their life.”

“I don’t anticipate anything like that anytime soon being in the DSM,” Aalai says. “There would have to be a lot of research to justify something like that. To the extent that you would be pathologizing or identifying a specific disorder related to that. I still think that’s going to be more on the fringes in terms of problematic parasocial relationships. I don’t think the parasocial relationship on its own is going to trigger negative things, unless you’re talking about a really, really problematic public figure.”

Theran says that the prevalence of Instagram and Twitter has increased the perception of access to public figures. “It’s very challenging for people to disentangle themselves from their favorite celebrity’s social media, and to recognize that often it’s run by a professional,” she says. “It’s not actually the person that they’re interested in engaging with them.” But, sometimes it is an artist posting on their account, and the interactivity of an Instagram Live or Twitter Q&A has only intensified the parasocial dynamic.

Aalai says that social media, especially X, created a community for people in parasocial relationships with the same public figures. “The parasocial relationship is between the user and the public figure, but it could further be reinforced or expanded by the larger community that are also fans of that same person,” Aalai says. That’s not always a bad thing; it can be beneficial for people experiencing loneliness to meet like-minded people who are fans of the same artist. And those fans banding together to raise awareness about their faves’ releases is a positive. But when stans are defending the figures they appreciate, they can treat their timelines like digital war zones.

Nowadays, rap beef isn’t just about artists at odds, it’s about dueling fanbases, which we’ve seen in battles between Nicki and Cardi B, Drake and Kanye, and others that dominate X timeliness and Subreddits. Recently, a Taylor Swift fan declared a “Swiftie Emergency” and urged fellow stans to stream Beyonce’s “Texas Hold Em” to keep supposed Swift nemesis Kanye West from having a Billboard No.1. Kanye had to address the fuss in a since-deleted Instagram post, telling Swifties “I am not your enemy, ummm, I’m not your friend either, though, LOL.”

Aalai says the worst examples of parasocial relationships manifest from fans who have what she calls “underlying vulnerabilities.” On the extreme end, she references former President Donald Trump inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2021. She also references fans of Kurt Cobain who died by suicide in the same manner as him in 1994. “The majority of Nirvana fans aren’t doing that,” she says. “That’s a very specific segment of his followers that are already emotionally unstable that are going to be compelled to engage in that kind of copycat behavior.”

There are less dire, but still troubling, examples in the entertainment world. The Barbz are infamous for harassing rival artists and doxxing those who criticize the legendary rapper. Last November, she took to her Instagram Story to tell her fans: “Dear Barbz, be sure to never threaten anyone on my behalf, whether on the internet or in person. Whether in jest or not. I don’t [and] never have condoned that.”

Aalai notes that “a lot of times you find that [the problematic behavior is] not necessarily being directly encouraged by the public figure themselves. It could just be fan bases taking it upon themselves to engage in those behaviors, and maybe even to use their fandom as a cover for more problematic or antisocial kind of behaviors.” She says “You could make the argument though that a lot of these kinds of behaviors are being normalized on social media platforms,” citing male fans of artists who harass women accusing their male fave of violence. But, she says, it’s just hard to draw conclusions because I don’t know if we have the research yet to back up those specific anecdotes.”

Both professors agree that parasocial relationships aren’t inherently problematic, and can have benefits depending on who the figure is that’s being idolized. But they slightly differ on how to characterize the extreme fan willing to dox and harass on behalf of their fave. Theran says, “This group of people are pretty much a separate category from people who invest in parasocial relationships.” Aalai says that it’s essentially a corrupted version of parasocial behavior fueled by underlying issues: “I would say the concern about it becoming overly obsessive or problematic would probably also be accompanied by underlying vulnerabilities for mental illnesses and things like that.”

Parasocial relationships, violent stan-dom, and the attention-seeking nature of social media are amalgamating to make music fandom a minefield. Beef between artists turns into social media pissing contests between fanbases. Anyone levying a legitimate critique of an artist is ripe to be harassed. That’s why Theran says that public figures should be responsible about how they engage and galvanize their stans, citing Taylor Swift telling her fans not to harass her exes.

“I think having this kind of fandom is incredibly powerful, and it’s up to the individual how they build that power,” she says. “I think history will reflect poorly on those who weaponize it in a destructive way.”

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thedivinefish · 10 months ago

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Sleep better with the Night Passage Process

New Sleep Meditation MP3

Hi JimmyGmail, It's been such a whirlwind of activity to start off 2024 but we knew we had to find the time to prepare this exciting new guided energy audio process which is different from any others! This unique process debuted live on Season 26 of Darius' You Wealth Revolution summit in October 2023 and we named it "Going Empty". The original on air process is unavailable but we have exclusively re-recorded it here as a BRAND NEW 9-minute audio MP3 AND it is enhanced with 432Hz earth grounding resonance background music. Our new name for it is, "The Night Passage Process" 🌙 🛳️ We joke that it's as if you're on a cruise ship sleeping when the captain, crew and ship are doing all the work. Most people felt like this was more of a meditation where I guide you on a little voyage of emptying your mind of overthinking and obsessing about any obstacles, challenges, burdens or worries. Your mind will be taken to such a place of space where you can release all thought and belief, to allow time to pass you by, and in the stillness you'll be able to enter into a vortex of energy, frequency and vibration where all things are possible. Read what one listener wrote:

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All you need to do is listen to it and either sit comfortably or lay down with your eyes closed. Listening to this process will allow you to have improved meditation and better sleep results that could very well open up new possibilities and clear the space for you to co-create the changes that you're looking for now!

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Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations:

JANUARY 25TH

"Focus on your relationships instead of consumption, embrace every day as a new world and live it as if it were to be your last. Transcend the obstacles that afflict body, mind and spirit. Always keep the ball moving down the field. Accomplish all that you can in one day and play just as much as you work."

TGIFunny

Forward

Jimmy Mack | Appointments 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins Transformational Healing of Body, Mind & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations! Download the My Liquid Fish™ Starter Kit Audio MP3 Downloads and books to improve your life! Get Certified in My Liquid Fish™ Change Made Simple™ Watch Free Videos on YouTube Radio Show Archives http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com Copyright ©1996-2024 Jimmy Mack LLC All Rights Reserved.

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divinefishingtips · 10 months ago

Text

Sleep better with the Night Passage Process

New Sleep Meditation MP3

NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FOR JUST $19

Download it Now - Only $19

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations:

JANUARY 25TH

TGIFunny

Forward

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365dailyaffirmations · 10 months ago

Text

Sleep better with the Night Passage Process

New Sleep Meditation MP3

NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FOR JUST $19

Download it Now - Only $19

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations:

JANUARY 25TH

TGIFunny

Forward

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advancedthetapractitioner · 10 months ago

Text

Sleep better with the Night Passage Process

New Sleep Meditation MP3

NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FOR JUST $19

Download it Now - Only $19

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations:

JANUARY 25TH

TGIFunny

Forward

0 notes

lotsofplanetshaveadeathstar · 2 years ago

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Why is this feeling?

Hey look, a Rough Day™ that's not a Monday, plot twist! (Tuesday wasn't wonderful, but I'm generously saying that 40% of that was bc I was some kind of sick, so I'm just gonna leave it at that and move on.)

So for a looooong time, like YEARS, I didn't go on any social media that wasn't Twitter basically ever. No FB (except for the work page to do shift trades/giveaways, but that was it), no IG, no Snapchat, no Tumblr, nothing. I was solely active on Twitter, and it's still my preferred site (I really do hate everything going on with the new management though, it's horrible), and I saw a tweet not too long ago that summed up why that was - it was a words site, not a picture site. I am definitely a words person. I can take and edit a picture like the best of them, but the way some people treat it, as if their profile and what they chose to post there is what defines their life, has never been overly appealing to me - when I post, it's usually for something important or celebratory or my annual pumpkin carving reveal, not a filtered selfie with a "quirky" caption or a shot of myself weirdly posed in front of some mildly interesting background for no reason. I can express myself and my thoughts in words that are truer to me than most pictures could ever be, and I can mostly do so in 280 characters or less, which is honestly quite a skill for a person who is great at taking a short informal phrase and turning it into an essay-length formal statement. (Also, you can retweet things on Twitter with two clicks, you can't share anything on Insta nearly that easily, just saying...)

So what does my self-imposed distance from social media have to do with today's emotional mess? Well, one of the reasons I stopped going on the more photo-based sites was because of how seeing everyone's *posted* lives (HEAVY emphasis on *posted*, bc I am keenly aware that the overwhelming majority of social media users only post the A roll stuff that makes their lives look like sunshine and rainbows 24/7, which they absolutely are not) was starting to have a negative effect on my mental wellbeing.

Like a lot of people, probably 99.99%, my life didn't follow the path I thought it would when I was a bright-eyed baby adult fresh from high school. I thought that I would go to college and meet people and maybe get a boyfriend and then I'd get a job right out of graduation and have a place of my own and everything would just fall in line and be perfect.

This VERY MUCH did not happen. I mean, some of it did, but the whole picture never came together in that way. I did go to college and meet people and made some really wonderful friends, but I never got my "dream job" (I still don't even know what it is, tbh) and I'm still single and I don't have a place of my own (honestly a blessing and a curse at this point).

I am very much aware that everyone's path in life unfolds in its own time, and that it is incredibly frustrating that most of the time there is nothing that can be done to change this.

Rerouting back from this little tangent, what was happening was that I wasn't where I thought I would be in life at that point, and seeing people's happy (and curated) posts showing off their great new job or fun relationship or some other milestone that I hadn't hit yet, and it was starting to make me feel like I was failing at life in some way and that everyone else was doing so much better than I was and how could I ever figure it out if I hadn't already done so by this point? It was just a constant stream of everyone showing off their successes (which they absolutely should, no shade there, everyone should be able to celebrate their accomplishments in life, it's well-deserved), and the pressure seeing all those posts created, as well as the pressure to constantly be online to see all those posts and to try and time my own posts to when they would be seen by the most people, was creating so much negative energy inside myself directed towards myself that I stopped going on FB and Instagram pretty much cold turkey. Almost immediately, I noticed a positive change in my brain, which, for me, was worth being out of the loop on people's daily lives and falling out of touch with those whose only relationships with me was commenting "Happy Birthday" when prompted by the FB reminder notification. I would still occasionally post on Instagram and have it cross-post to FB or add to my IG story when at a "show-off worthy" event, but other than that, I almost never used either app for more than a few moments a month for several years.

Fast forward to now, where, for some inexplicable reason, I have started browsing on both apps again, often to the point of refreshing to get new content (mostly funny reels on FB bc I refuse to download TikTok). Most of my long-term FB friends from high school rarely post on the platform anymore, so the content I do see, if any, is usually something along the lines of a vacation photo dump or a holiday outfit or a couple's pic, and Instagram is usually along similar lines with stories showing off a night out at a concert or vacation or some other fun excursion. These kinds of posts are mostly harmless to my psyche, probably bc most of the posters are more on the acquaintance level at this point, so I can look at their lives from a more objective outsider's perspective. Even the posts that deal with life milestones I thought I'd be celebrating as well by this point are usually fine bc I know I'm not at the point in my life where I'd be ready for them (I honestly don't know how some of my classmates have multiple children already, even the idea of having to keep a small human alive exhausts and frightens me).

But sometimes, there's a post that feels like a dropkick to the emotions and we end up here at another Rough Day™.

I don't want to go into details about what the post was, but I think I can figure out why it affected me the way that it did.

Obviously, I'm happy for the person who made the post bc it was celebrating that person being comfortable in their own skin in all the ways for the first time in a very long time, and that is a great thing. However, I think this just happened to kick me right in my insecurities about similar things and that's where my feelings are coming from.

I know that there's no reason to be jealous of what this person posted, because this person has had challenges that I haven't had to face, and for them to be at this point is a huge win. But I think I always kind of held on to the idea that we were both insecure and upset about where we were for certain aspects of our lives as some kind of lifeline, however ridiculous that might be in hindsight, and now that lifeline is gone (whether actually or perceivably makes no difference for the present moment) and I feel left behind once again, just like I did when it seemed like everyone on my social media feeds were achieving all kinds of great feats while I was stuck down below.

I know where my insecurities about this come from, and I am hoping with all my heart and soul that everyone is right in saying that I will look back on this in the future and think how silly I was to be so unconfident about my life and to have these insecurities at all.

I know that my decision to go back to school and be close to a decade older than most of the other students is a major cause of some of my insecurities. It's really hard to escape the idea that my age will only be a hindrance, and tbh I don't know what would make me not believe that, so I hope there's something out there that will someday.

I know that nobody is going to hold themselves back for me, and obviously I agree, nobody should. But sometimes it feels like I'm floundering out here on my own, and having someone else who feels similarly is sometimes the greatest sense of relief, and having to let that go is almost physically painful at times.

I'm fairly positive that feeling like everyone else is outpacing me is a huge negative factor in my current emotional state. It's just really hard to feel like everyone else is on track and going full-steam ahead and you're just stuck in a tiny canoe paddling with one oar and going in circles.

I have a final in two days for a class that I almost certainly will fail if I don't do very well on the exam, which would be a first for me and is probably adding to my Rough Day™. I've mostly accepted my fate either way, but it's hard to say how I'll feel if and when it actually happens. But the idea of failing definitely isn't boosting any morale in conjunction with the aforementioned post.

Sometimes I get really lonely and I miss people who have left or even people who never really were here to begin with, and sometimes people who never existed outside of my brain. That definitely doesn't help anyone's mental wellbeing.

I think this is kind of devolving from its original purpose...

So I saw a post that really kicked me in my insecurities and I needed to get it out to get through this Rough Day™, which is how we got here. Now how to deal with it...

First, I think I'm going to go back to restricting my social media consumption. Maybe it won't be as harsh as it used to be, maybe it will, we'll just have to see what balance is healthiest for me. I also think I might start posting a little bit more on Instagram, maybe as a way to celebrate my own milestones and accomplishments and have a way to look back on them in the future.

Second, once Saturday has passed (and it's gonna be a beast between the exam and then work afterwards), I'm going to make a list of all the things I need and want to do, of all levels of importance and difficulty and size. Maybe this way I can get a little more organization into my life and then use that as a way to keep moving forward with other aspects.

Third, I'm going to aim to do something at least once a month that is just for me and that works as a sort of reset moment, whether it's a trip to a park by myself or making my own double feature at the movies, just something to re-ground myself and help build up my confidence in myself and doing things by myself for myself.

I think it helped, at least a little, to get this out. I think I just needed to take a moment and sort through the emotions and breathe and remind myself that someday soon, there's gonna be a day that I'm gonna want to post about, and while it might not be for the same reasons as this post was (I can all but guarantee it won't be, if and when that day comes, it'll be wayyy in the future), it'll be important for me and that's the only part that matters.

I'm still a little emotionally jumbled but I can get through that soon enough. Here's hoping there's no more Rough Days™ ahead for this year, because I'm really getting tired of them.

(If you've made it to the end of this and are not my future self rereading this, please reevaluate your life choices bc even watching paint dry would have been a more productive use of your time.)

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the-resurrection-3d · 8 months ago

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ME ME ME I LOVE COMPLAINING !

alright who got that defunctland tweet?

so, for me, I had an entire era back in 2018/2019 where I was incredibly negative about writing. Basically everything about it.

I think the big paradox at the heart of creating is that in many cases it's so fucking hard to find an audience who gives a fuck about your work, but there's also little point, for many, in expressing yourself through art if no one is listening. I also think a lot of the advice given around dealing with this dilemma is trash, especially when it comes to publishing. "Write for yourself!!" is good at its core, but a) 99% of these posts never elaborate on how exactly one might do this, and b) writing and posting are two different things. If I'm writing entirely for myself. why should I then take the time to edit, format, upload, tag, title, and then post my work? Why should I take the time to submit to magazines, which often COSTS MONEY, just to get rejected time and again? Be for real.

Honestly the part about this statement that REALLY annoys me is that a lot of times, it's coming from the same mfers who either actively mock fanfic/fandom or will complain about there not being content they personally enjoy. STFU. Your parents divorced because of you. Around this time, I was even in a fandom where people would actively complain about there not being any good fics yet refuse to comment on or share newer fics, to the point even the big fanfic recommendations blog only ever posted about stuff that was at least a year old.

So that was one part. The other part was realizing just how little language can actually convey when it comes to difficult or complex emotions. A big turning point for me was writing a fic inspired by my relationship with my partner where I tried to imagine what I would feel if he died, and I cried while writing it. Then when I sent it to people, including him, there was no real reaction. Okay, that's not true-- their reaction was basically trying to nicely say it was cringe. And when I reread it weeks later, it was cringe. But that's obviously a very humiliating experience.

Later that semester, I tried creative nonfiction for the first time, and while I was praised in class and by my instructor, when it came time to revise it for finals, I couldn't help but feel a deep, instinctive sense of disgust at both the essay and myself. And y'all know me, I've written cannibalism, infanticide, incest, necrophilia, all that gross shit, so when I say the essay disgusted me, I'm not exaggerating. Other things that happened that semester just made me feel very repulsed with how trauma is often presented in literary fiction, where the presence of horrific abuse and trauma is itself rewarded even when literally nothing about the piece on a craft level is working. There are a lot of ideological implications to the kind of very cold, detached writing style I'm thinking of, which is funny because it in terms of creating horror it actually generally works very well -- I've talked about it a lot elsewhere, if anyone gives a fuck go read the comments section of my fic "doggo epstein."

I had to do a lot of reading and experimenting with my writing styles to resolve the latter problem, but for the former, the REAL bit of helpful advice I've gotten is to set goals for myself that ONLY I can accomplish. Like "getting published before I'm 30!" is a goal that relies on other people making decisions for me, but "finishing a draft of a novel before I'm 30" is something that only I can do. Even "get a 100 rejections in a year" is an admirable goal because most people would have quit by then.

At this point, though, my biggest bit of advice is stop giving a fuck. People who write the truly dog-ass terrible content do not give a single fuck about posting their bullshit. They don't. Why should you? Does your art have less of a right to exist than fuckin Paw Patrol necrophilia? I also try to be specific about what I want to accomplish with each project, even if that specific thing is simply "I made my friend happy" or "I made myself laugh." Make it as disconnected from your readers' responses as possible. Like, yeah, it does bother me sometimes that I publish stuff with magazines and then no one ever seems to actually read it, but realistically, the author-reader relationship in magazines is different from fandom, and my real goal with mag publishing is to help build up my CV.

I've also realized that, at this point in my life, everyone who disagrees with me about literally anything should just kill themselves. Decide for yourself what level of irony I'm on.

I wish writers would talk about how writing can be such a love-hate relationship.

hard agree. i'd love to hear more of your thoughts about it? and anyone else who might want to share about their own love-hate relationship with writing.

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continuations · 4 years ago

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The World After Capital in 64 Theses

Over the weekend I tweeted out a summary of my book The World After Capital in 64 theses. Here they are in one place:

The Industrial Age is 20+ years past its expiration date, following a long decline that started in the 1970s.

Mainstream politicians have propped up the Industrial Age through incremental reforms that are simply pushing out the inevitable collapse.

The lack of a positive vision for what comes after the Industrial Age has created a narrative vacuum exploited by nihilist forces such as Trump and ISIS.

The failure to enact radical changes is based on vastly underestimating the importance of digital technology, which is not simply another set of Industrial Age machines.

Digital technology has two unique characteristics not found in any prior human technology: zero marginal cost and universality of computation.

Our existing approaches to regulation of markets, dissemination of information, education and more are based on the no longer valid assumption of positive marginal cost.

Our beliefs about the role of labor in production and work as a source of purpose are incompatible with the ability of computers to carry out ever more sophisticated computations (and to do so ultimately at zero marginal cost).

Digital technology represents as profound a shift in human capabilities as the invention of agriculture and the discovery of science, each of which resulted in a new age for humanity.

The two prior transitions, from the Forager Age to the Agrarian Age and from the Agrarian Age to the Industrial Age resulted in humanity changing almost everything about how individuals live and societies function, including changes in religion.

Inventing the next age, will require nothing short of changing everything yet again.

We can, if we make the right choices now, set ourselves on a path to the Knowledge Age which will allow humanity to overcome the climate crisis and to broadly enjoy the benefits of automation.

Choosing a path into the future requires understanding the nature of the transition we are facing and coming to terms with what it means to be human.

New technology enlarges the “space of the possible,” which then contains both good and bad outcomes. This has been true starting from the earliest human technology: fire can be used to cook and heat, but also to wage war.

Technological breakthroughs shift the binding constraint. For foraging tribes it was food. For agrarian societies it was arable land. Industrial countries were constrained by how much physical capital (machines, factories, railroads, etc.) they could produce.

Today humanity is no longer constrained by capital, but by attention.

We are facing a crisis of attention. We are not paying enough attention to profound challenges, such as “what is our purpose?” and “how do we overcome the climate crisis?”

Attention is to time as velocity is to speed: attention is what we direct our minds to during a time period. We cannot go back and change what we paid attention to. If we are poorly prepared for a crisis it is because of how we have allocated our attention in the past.

We have enough capital to meet our individual and collective needs, as long as we are clear about the difference between needs and wants.

Our needs can be met despite the population explosion because of the amazing technological progress we have made and because population growth is slowing down everywhere with peak population in sight.

Industrial Age society, however, has intentionally led us down a path of confusing our unlimited wants with our modest needs, as well as specific solutions (e.g. individually owned cars) with needs (e.g. transportation).

The confusion of wants with needs keeps much of our attention trapped in the “job loop”: we work so that we can buy goods and services, which are produced by other people also working.

The job loop was once beneficial, when combined with markets and entrepreneurship, it resulted in much of the innovation that we now take for granted.

Now, however, we can and should apply as much automation as we can muster to free human attention from the “job loop” so that it can participate in the “knowledge loop” instead: learn, create, and share.

Digital technology can be used to vastly accelerate the knowledge loop, as can be seen from early successes, such as Wikipedia and open access scientific publications.

Much of digital technology is being used to hog human attention into systems such as Facebook, Twitter and others that engage in the business of reselling attention, commonly known as advertising. Most of what is advertised is furthering wants and reinforces the job loop.

The success of market-based capitalism is that capital is no longer our binding constraint. But markets cannot be used for allocating attention due to missing prices.

Prices do not and cannot exist for what we most need to pay attention to. Price formation requires supply and demand, which don't exist for finding purpose in life, overcoming the climate crisis, conducting fundamental research, or engineering an asteroid defense.

We must use the capabilities of digital technology so that we can freely allocate human attention.

We can do so by enhancing economic, information, and psychological freedom.

Economic freedom means allowing people to opt out of the job loop by providing them with a universal basic income (UBI).

Informational freedom means empowering people to control computation and thus information access, creation and sharing.

Psychological freedom means developing mindfulness practices that allow people to direct their attention in the face of a myriad distractions.

UBI is affordable today exactly because we have digital technology that allows us to drive down the cost of producing goods and services through automation.

UBI is the cornerstone of a new social contract for the Knowledge Age, much as pensions and health insurance were for the Industrial Age.

Paid jobs are not a source of purpose for humans in and of themselves. Doing something meaningful is. We will never run out of meaningful things to do.

We need one global internet without artificial geographic boundaries or fast and slow lanes for different types of content.

Large systems such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, etc. must be mandated to be fully programmable to diminish their power and permit innovation to take place on top of the capabilities they have created.

In the longrun privacy is incompatible with technological progress. Providing strong privacy assurances can only be accomplished via controlled computation. Innovation will always grow our ability to destroy faster than our ability to build due to entropy.

We must put more effort into protecting individuals from what can happen to them if their data winds up leaked, rather than trying to protect the data at the expense of innovation and transparency.

Our brains evolved in an environment where seeing a cat meant there was a cat. Now the internet can show us an infinity of cats. We can thus be forever distracted.

It is easier for us to form snap judgments and have quick emotional reactions than to engage our critical thinking facilities.

Our attention is readily hijacked by systems designed to exploit these evolutionarily engrained features of our brains.

We can use mindfulness practices, such as conscious breathing or meditation to take back and maintain control of our attention.

As we increase economic, informational and psychological freedom, we also require values that guide our actions and the allocation of our attention.

We should embrace a renewed humanism as the source of our values.

There is an objective basis for humanism. Only humans have developed knowledge in the form of books and works of art that transcend both time and space.

Knowledge is the source of humanity’s great power. And with great power comes great responsibility.

Humans need to support each other in solidarity, irrespective of such differences as gender, race or nationality.

We are all unique, and we should celebrate these differences. They are beautiful and an integral part of our humanity.

Because only humans have the power of knowledge, we are responsible for other species. For example, we are responsible for whales, rather than the other way round.

When we see something that could be improved, we need to have the ability to express that. Individuals, companies and societies that do not allow criticism become stagnant and will ultimately fail.

Beyond criticism, the major mode for improvement is to create new ideas, products and art. Without ongoing innovation, systems become stagnant and start to decay.

We need to believe that problems can be solved, that progress can be achieved. Without optimism we will stop trying, and problems like the climate crisis will go unsolved threatening human extinction.

If we succeed with the transition to the Knowledge Age, we can tackle extraordinary opportunities ahead for humanity, such as restoring wildlife habitats here on earth and exploring space.

We can and should each contribute to leaving the Industrial Age behind and bringing about the Knowledge Age.

We start by developing our own mindfulness practice and helping others do so.

We tackle the climate crisis through activism demanding government regulation, through research into new solutions, and through entrepreneurship deploying working technologies.

We defend democracy from attempts to push towards authoritarian forms of government.

We foster decentralization through supporting localism, building up mutual aid, participating in decentralized systems (crypto and otherwise).

We promote humanism and live in accordance with humanist values.

We recognize that we are on the threshold of both transhumans (augmented humans) and neohumans (robots and artificial intelligences).

We continue on our epic human journey while marveling at (and worrying about) our aloneness in the universe.

We act boldly and with urgency, because humanity’s future depends on a successful transition to the Knowledge Age.

#the world after capital

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sophieakatz · 2 years ago

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Thursday Thoughts: How to Be an Introvert

[Image: This Tweet]

Okay!

[Note: This is definitely a parody of the article linked in that tweet. But if the advice actually helps you, please let me know!]

Do you get anxious when there’s no one to talk to? Do you only feel like yourself when you’re surrounded by a crowd, the center of everyone’s attention? Would you classify yourself as loud, impulsive, and outgoing? You might be an extrovert!

Now, it’s important to note that there’s nothing wrong with the way you are. Most people consider themselves to be somewhere along the spectrum between introvert and extrovert, anyway! But whether you see yourself as an extrovert or you’re just looking to be more self-reflective in general – after all, being alone with your thoughts as an adult can be daunting for anyone – there are lots of ways to accomplish this. Here’s where to start.

1. Be confident in who you are

Accepting yourself is an essential part of any journey of personal growth. Don’t try to be an introvert because you feel like you “should” be doing this, but because you really do want to get to know yourself better! The best part is that self-confidence will help you be a better introvert. When you’re comfortable in your own skin, you’ll find that you don’t need constant validation from other people – you’ll be happier on your own!

2. Know that it’s okay to be outgoing

Remember that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying other people’s company. However, it’s also healthy to understand yourself and be independent. Your family and friends expect you to be a complete, independent human being – not just a part of a group – so it’s good to be able to both happily interact with other people and comfortably spend some time alone with your thoughts.

3. Step outside your comfort zone, then refuel

If you want to be more introverted, try turning down plans every once in a while. Say no when you want to say yes! You never know when inspiration may strike, and when you’re spending that time alone instead of with others, you may gain a valuable perspective on yourself or discover a solo hobby you may like. Afterwards, be sure to recharge yourself by making plans with friends to nourish the extroverted part of you.

4. Plan solo activities ahead of time

A lot of people with extroverted tendencies worry about not knowing what to do with themselves when they’re alone. This makes it important to plan out your self-reflection time, so you don’t just sit there! Look up writing prompts online for journaling. You can also buy some books, puzzles, or crafting supplies.

5. Try to befriend an introvert at work

You can learn a lot from the people already around you. Find someone at work who is happy keeping to themselves. Be sure not to bother them too much – they are an introvert, after all – but find out what interests you may share. You can suggest a book for them to read or ask them for a recommendation!

6. Say no to work functions, or at least leave early

Extroverts tend to worry that if they don’t always show up for every social event at their workplace, then their coworkers might think they don’t like them. The truth is that people won’t even notice most of the time that you’re not there for the whole party! It’s also very likely that your work friends will appreciate how you take time for yourself to focus on self-care.

7. Ask yourself easy-to-answer questions

While practicing self-reflection, don’t try to go too deep too quickly. It’s easy to scare yourself away when you’re new to this practice! Think about it like you’re having a conversation with yourself, and start by focusing on things that you’re interested in. Ask yourself about your likes and dislikes or about how things made you feel today. You can write down your answers in a journal if you’d like!

8. And then, when you’re comfortable, go deeper

Think of this like you’re going past small talk and into the more important conversations with yourself. The simple questions are a great place to start, but they do little to satisfy your need to deeply and authentically connect with yourself. Ask open-ended questions that will help you discover your struggles, passions, and dreams. Be courageous in your self-reflection!

9. Try recording yourself

If you’re not comfortable sitting in silence or you find that you’re not a fan of journaling, have your self-reflection conversation out loud! Turn your inner monologue into an outer monologue and record it to reflect on later. It’ll be great to look back on how far you’ve come as an introvert!

10. Become what you behold

Use your observational skills to notice the behavior of introverts in your life – your friends and coworkers – and emulate them. You can also ask loved ones for feedback and make adjustments from there.

11. Learn to manage loneliness

A part of becoming an introvert understanding that it’s good to have a tolerance for loneliness. Instead of wanting to avoid being alone with your thoughts, get used to it! We all have busy lives, and it’s good to be able to do things on your own.

12. The more present you are, the less awkward you’ll feel

The best thing you can do with all of these tools, as an extrovert, is alter your thinking. While you’re on your own, be fully present. Pay attention to yourself, your feelings, and the activity at hand. The more you get into that mindset, the more natural it will feel!

Keep in mind that no two extroverts are exactly the same. Some pass for quiet introverts, while others have a difficult time calming down when they’re feeling chatty. No matter what type of person you are, there’s no wrong way to be – so pick which of these tips will work best for you!

#thursday thoughts #introvert #extrovert #satire #listicle #listicles #self reflection #advice

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yourreddancer · 3 years ago

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HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

April 20, 2022 (Wednesday)

Yesterday, Arizona governor Doug Ducey brought the Republican governors of 26 states together in the “American Governors’ Border Strike Force” to serve as a “force multiplier” in what he says is “criminal activity directly tied to our border.” For all of Ducey’s rhetoric about how the force is supposed to “accomplish what the federal government has failed at, protecting our communities from ruthless transnational criminal organizations,” the “strike force” is supposed to “share intelligence, strengthen analytical and cybersecurity efforts, and improve humanitarian efforts to protect children and families.” This measure is pretty clearly a political ploy before the midterms.

As the Texas Tribune reports, since 2005, Texas governors have launched widely publicized border initiatives during political campaigns, insisting that they would manage what the federal government was ignoring. Billions of dollars later, it is not clear they have accomplished anything.

Most recently, with Operation Lone Star in 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott deployed more than 10,000 members of the Texas National Guard and state troopers to the border, at a cost of about $25 million a week for the troopers and $2 billion a year for the National Guard members. That’s almost five times what the legislature had budgeted. While the administration has claimed success, an investigation by ProPublica, the Texas Tribune, and the Marshall Project suggests that it is taking credit for arrests that had nothing to do with border issues and were often handled by law enforcement officers unconnected with Operation Lone Star. Most arrests are not of human traffickers or smugglers, but of people accused of trespassing on private property.And so, it appears, messaging for the midterms is in full swing.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis continues to threaten to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District in his anger over Disney’s opposition to the recently passed “Don’t Say Gay” bill that restricts instruction in gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools in vague language that leaves the door open to silencing minority voices. Since 1967, the existence of the Reedy Creek Improvement District has given the company the right to govern the Disney park as if it were a town.

The Walt Disney Company delivers to the state more than $409 million in sales taxes for tickets alone, employs more than 80,000 Florida residents, and supports more than 400,000 more jobs. Today, the Miami Herald reported that repealing the company’s governing authority would raise taxes on families in the area by $2,200 each.

Florida state representative Michael Grieco (D) tweeted: “The FL Legislature cannot unilaterally dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. It’s an exercise in futility… This whole thing is an effort to deflect attention away from the unconstitutional redistricting of Congressional districts and diluting of the black vote.” Grieco was referring to the governor’s redistricting map that heavily favors Republicans and that DeSantis drew himself after vetoing a more reasonable map—although still favoring Republicans—passed by the Florida legislature.

On Monday, federal judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask mandate on public transportation, saying the rule exceeded the CDC’s authority. The decision raised ire in part because it was transparently ideologically driven: former president Trump appointed the former clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas—she was then 33 years old—to a federal judgeship with just 8 years of experience practicing law, and the Senate confirmed her after Biden was elected. Her husband works at Jared Kushner’s new investment firm, the one bankrolled to the tune of $2 billion by the Saudi crown prince.

But in fact, according to a poll by the Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a majority of Americans want a mask mandate on public transportation. Fifty-six percent of those polled wanted people to wear masks, while 24% were opposed and 20% didn’t care. A YouGov poll put the number of those in favor at 63% and those opposed at 29%.The rule was set to expire on May 3 in any case, but today, the Department of Justice appealed the ruling, largely to protect the authority of the CDC to impose similar requirements in the future. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear the case, is right leaning, and if it decides against the administration, it could weaken the CDC going forward.

Over all hangs the Big Lie that Biden stole the 2020 election from former president Trump. Supporters of the former president continue to hammer on that lie, trying to destabilize belief in our elections. Notably, John Eastman, author of the Eastman memo offering a scheme by which former vice president Mike Pence could overturn the election, is now pushing states to “decertify” Biden’s election. There is no mechanism for such a thing, but it hardly matters; the point is to continue to rile up Trump’s base with the lie that he was cheated.

But news from the January 6 committee is starting to get traction.

Yesterday, the editorial board of the Salt Lake City Tribune noted that “[i]t is past time for Mike Lee [R-UT, whose texts trying to overturn the election have just come to light] to start fessing up to all he knows about the plot to set aside the results of an honest and fair election to keep Donald Trump in power.”And right-wing media personality Alex Jones claims to have offered to talk with the Department of Justice about what he knows of the January 6 insurrection in exchange for immunity, suggesting that he is concerned about his actions surrounding January 6. We learned that the department quietly hired a well-known prosecutor of high-profile cases, Thomas Windom, to work on potential criminal prosecutions.

Democrats, too, are finding their voices for the midterms.

The administration continues to try to call attention to the booming economy, noting that the real GDP in the U.S. exceeds that of the other G-7 countries. Today, news broke that household cash exceeds debt for the first time in 30 years and that new housing starts, a key economic indicator, are rising fast: they are up 9.7% from a year ago. The Education Department announced it is taking advantage of existing but underused programs to cancel student loan debt for 40,000 people and to offer credits to more than 3.6 million federal student loan borrowers to help them repay their loans.

And the administration noted today that the Republican tax plan will increase taxes on 75 million middle-class families by an average of almost $1,500 a year while Biden’s plan will not raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year.

Money is shaping up to be a key issue. In Texas, Beto O’Rourke, who is running to unseat Abbott, is hammering hard on the cost of the governor’s shenanigans, including his recent stunt shutting down trade across the U.S.-Mexico border on the pretext of checking for drugs or undocumented immigrants. The shutdown cost the U.S. nearly $9 billion overall and Texas alone about $477 million a day. "What Abbott has done is literally create chaos on the US-MX border," O'Rourke said, "whether it's the National Guard deployment, where 4 guard members have taken their lives, this latest stoppage at international ports of entry... or just the rhetoric that has inflamed tensions." O’Rourke is also running an ad suggesting that Texas property taxes have gone up $20,000,000,000 under Abbott.

But the most inspiring approach to the midterms came this week from Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow. In response to a colleague who had called her a “groomer” in a fundraising email after McMorrow stood up against marginalizing the state’s LGBTQ population, McMorrow made a stand against the hatred and bigotry coming from Republican colleagues. Defining herself as “a straight, white, Christian, married suburban mom,” she called out the “performative nonsense” of her so-called Christian colleagues. “People who are different are not the reason that our roads are in bad shape… or that healthcare costs are too high, or that teachers are leaving the profession,” she said. “We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact people’s lives.”

Recalling historical heroes who tried “to right wrongs and fix the injustice in the world,” she reminded her colleagues that “each and every single one of us bears responsibility for writing the next chapter of history. [We decide] what happens next, and how WE respond to history and the world around us.” “We will not let hate win.”

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lillupon · 4 years ago

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So, I've got a very long rant/opinion here and Idk really know how to say this without coming off kinda bad but I'm gonna say it anyways. I agree with the fact that the seventeen tag has been kinda dry lately on most fanfic places, but it's really only in the smut area. It's the sane way with other groups too I feel like. All of the nice little innocent tags are boomin to this day and thats completely fine. I think the smut tag is dry tho bc lately I feel like a few social issues (like sexualizing people and disrespecting them and their identity) have crossed over into kpop and have been ?blown out of proportion? Lately there's been a rampage of people who like to say that writing smut about someone is disgusting and is dehumanizing because people want to assume that it would make the idols uncomfortable which could equate to some morality issues on how you are reducing someone only to their body without their consent and a bunch of stuff like that. It kind of pisses me off bc this is fiction. About grown adults. Clamping down on horny people who simp over hot asian men isn't going to solve the issues we face in real life. I think a shit ton is wrong with the world we currently live in, and deciding to come after something that isn't even real bothers me. Like what does that actually accomplish. But yeah, I think thats a reason why smut has been dying down. I mean, on youtube almost every video about unpopular opinions, or things they dont like about kpop will include something about shipping idols in fanfics. And then everyone in the comment section will talk about how its all fine and dandy in moderation, but once people start writing smut it's crossing the idols personal boundaries. It's something I've been seeing a lot more often and I think people who are interested in writing smut are being turned away from it bc we've gotten to a point where people are being called disgusting for having fantasies.

Hi Anon, thank you for sending in this Ask.

I want to preface this by saying: when I write or talk about Mingyu and Wonwoo fucking on my blog, it is a fantasy. I am not speculating about what the real Mingyu and Wonwoo might be like in bed. I am imagining the versions of Mingyu and Wonwoo that I have created in my head, that exist only in my stories. None of it is real. I understand that this can be a blurry boundary for some people. But for me, the separation between fantasy and reality is well-defined. Now, on to your Ask!

You’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. You’ve also touched on many of the issues I have been struggling with myself as of late. It’s difficult to argue about morals since everyone has a different set of values, as well as different comfort levels. Some people think real person fiction (RPF) is a gross invasion of privacy. Others are fine with it. And others don’t care one way or another. There is no single answer; I can only offer my answer. Which means, of course, people are welcome to disagree with it, or parts of it.

In this essay (LOL But forreal: this is an essay), I will be sharing my experience in the k-pop fanfic community from 2014 to present, the etiquette I personally abide by as a reader and writer of RPF, as well as my stance on RPF in general.

I started reading and posting fanfics back in 2014/2015 on a website called AsianFanfics (AFF). Obviously, no one on that site had a problem with RPF, since AFF is a platform made specifically for sharing stories about Asian celebrities. For many years, I read and enjoyed RPF with zero guilt. I scribbled away by myself in my own corner of fandom and curated my own content. I didn’t interact much with other fans, readers, or writers. I didn’t have a Twitter, and I only used tumblr to reblog memes. As a result, I’ve been able to avoid a lot of anti-shipping discourse, as well as purity and cancel culture. I had no idea there were so many negative opinions about RPF. It wasn’t until I became active on the subreddit r/Fanfiction last year that I learned about all the discourse surrounding RPF.

This newfound ‘awareness’ does make me feel guilty at times—but only because after mulling this over, I still don’t think this is something to feel guilty about.

Here’s what I remember, first and foremost, when I create and consume RPF: fanfics and my favourite ships are fictional, and fiction is fantasy. This is basic etiquette when it comes to RPF, and most people in the k-pop fandom understand this. Delusional fans exist, of course, but they are not representative of the entire k-pop community.

Another point of etiquette is to keep fanfics within fandom spaces. I would never push my fics into celebrities’ faces, or go around claiming that my fanfics are accurate representations of a k-idol’s life or personality, in any way, shape, or form. I would also discourage directing ship-related questions to official accounts, or bringing them up during fansigns or other face-to-face interactions; I believe that in these instances, shipping does have the potential to strain real-life relationships.

So with basic etiquette out of the way, let me share my approach to RPF in general.

As much as we like to think we know our favourite celebrities, we really don’t. All we see is their public persona. And this public persona is intentionally controlled, managed, and curated by a team of people: directors, tabloids, editors, makeup artists, publicists, etc. How “real” are these celebrities? We are so distanced from them that they may as well be fictional.

I draw from the public persona that idols project, and I work them into my own writing. But at the end of the day, these personalities are my own interpretation. My interpretation is probably nothing like an idol’s actual personality. I just use the “public persona/character” that idols portray as inspiration for my own stories, which are set in wildly different universes.

More than anything, I think of k-pop idols as “actors” in my fic. You know how when you write an original novel, you scroll through Google images, looking for the perfect person to portray your original character? RPF is literally that, except you might build upon pre-existing dynamics and personalities.

When it comes to explicit fanfiction, two main concerns are prevalent: one of consent, and one of sexualisation.

If we argue against explicit RPF due to lack of consent, we should be willing to apply the same lens to all explicit works. How do we know that the creator of a movie, book, series, etc., is okay with us using their characters in our stories, explicit or not? We don’t. Perhaps some creators encourage fanfiction, but don’t want their lovingly crafted characters engaging in sexual acts or experiencing trauma. We just don’t know. I feel this line is even more blurred when we talk about characters from movies or TV series.

Let’s take Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, as portrayed by Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, from the Captain America movies as an example. I am willing to bet that when people consume and create explicit fanfiction about Steve and Bucky, they are imagining Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan in their heads. I doubt many people are imagining the 2D cartoon versions of Steve and Bucky, even though they’re technically the exact same characters. Why? Well, it could be because movies are more readily and easily consumed than comics, and so people are unfamiliar with comic book Steve and Bucky. But it might also be because fans find Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan attractive. Is this really any different from RPF, where fic authors make up everything about a celebrity’s life?

When readers and writers of fanfic talk about how hot Steve Rogers or Bucky Barnes is, those comments are about Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan’s bodies. When reading explicit stories, fans are going to picture Chris and Sebastian’s bodies in their head, doing sexual things. Can we say, “Well, it’s not really you, Chris/Sebastian”, when in a way, it is?

The reality is, people are going to thirst over celebrities, regardless of whether or not explicit fanfiction exists. They’re going to post thirst tweets on Twitter. They’re going to talk to friends and strangers online about how hot [insert celebrity name here] is. They’re going to fantasize about dating and having sex with their favourite celebrity. Or, as it is in my case, they’re going to make up stories in their heads about their favourite idols dating and banging each other. People are going to do all of this without ‘getting consent’ from the celebrity. Cracking down upon and shaming writers of RPF isn’t going to change any of that.

To be honest, I’m not sure why people think it is disgusting to imagine sexual scenarios about real people. It is okay and normal to have these kinds of fantasies. I suppose the alternative is to fantasise about having sex with cartoon characters instead? It’s a very binary way of thinking to say that if you imagine/write real people in explicit scenarios, you are immediately sexualising, dehumanising, or objectifying them. There is more to dehumanisation than writing smut about our favourite celebrities. For one thing, you can love someone and appreciate all parts of them, and still want to fuck their brains out. And generally, fanfics come from a place of love—love that is not only sexual in nature.

Is it the sharing aspect inherent to fanfiction? The possibility that a celebrity might stumble upon explicit works about them? The chances are very low, I think, of the k-pop idols I enjoy writing about coming across my English fics. But I also believe in curating your own content, and that applies to celebrities too. Perhaps a celebrity should not go searching for fanfics about themselves. And of course, people should not show celebrities their fanfics, unless invited.

Another argument I hear against (explicit) RPF is, “How would you feel if someone wrote fanfiction about you?” First off, I don’t like this argument because there’s a difference between someone who decides to be a public figure versus someone who decides to remain a regular private citizen. Celebrities should and do know what they’re getting into when they choose their occupation. (This is not to say, “They are celebrities; sexualise them all you want because that’s what they signed up for.” Here, I am only acknowledging that people might have sexual fantasies about celebrities they are attracted to. Presumably, celebrities are cognizant of this.)

If someone (whose existence I am not even aware of, mind you) decides they want to write explicit fanfiction of me in some tiny corner of the Internet, I wouldn’t care so long as: (1) they don’t shove it into my face, and (2) they don’t harass me and ask invasive questions about my personal life and relationships. It’s not hurting me or negatively affecting my life, so it wouldn’t even register as a blip on my radar. When fanfiction remains within its appropriate spaces, it is largely harmless.

Now, if a k-pop idol were to ask their fans to stop writing fanfiction about them, would I? Yes, I would. However, I can’t imagine that happening. Judging by the number of ‘sexy’ concepts, fanservice moments, and variety shows such as ‘We Got Married’, I am certain that k-pop idols realise they are the stars of many fantasies—some of which are explicit in nature. Considering the prevalence of shipping in the k-pop industry, I would argue that shipping is subtly encouraged.

It’s sad that so many talented writers are shamed out of fandom, or feel that k-pop cannot be the medium through which they tell their stories, or explore their sexuality, or cope with trauma, or simply have fun. Professional works and Hollywood love their RPF—readers and writers of fanfics should be able to, as well.

As you said Anon, “clamping down on horny people who simp over hot asian men isn't going to solve the issues we face in real life” (this is a lovely sentence, by the way). The kind of person who dehumanises another and reduces them to a sexual object will do so some other way, if not via fanfiction. I don’t think the issue of fetishisation can be fixed simply by telling people not to write explicit RPF. In my experience, people who read and write RPF are more respectful and thoughtful about these things than the general public. We’ve all seen the general public say highly sexual things about celebrities in the media and to their faces, or tag celebrities in their thirst tweets. Are these things less invasive than fanfiction? Personally, I don’t think so. And in my opinion, there are more pressing and damaging issues in stan culture than fanfic.

In conclusion, I don’t think there is anything wrong with creating and consuming RPF, both explicit and non-explicit so long as we:

Remember we are writing fiction

Keep RPF within its appropriate space, and

Do not harass celebrities about their personal lives and relationships

RPF is not for everyone. There may be people who enjoy RPF, but draw the line at explicit stories. This is fine. Everyone has their own personal preferences. What is not fine, however, is attacking people for creating things you don’t like. I’m not sure what kind of moral crusade people are on and what they hope to achieve by shaming writers of RPF, explicit or otherwise. Ultimately, fic authors are writing a fantasy. It’s not real; no one is being hurt. I think it’s important for people to curate their own content, and AO3 makes it very easy to filter out explicit works and unwanted tags.

Maybe this is me trying to justify my own participation in explicit RPF—I don’t know. What I do know is that I love k-pop, and fandom is an important part of my media and entertainment experience. I adore the k-pop idols I write about, and I just want to imagine them being happy and getting lots of love and orgasms. Let a bitch be horny, goddamn…

Some bonus fun facts!

At the time I am writing this, on AO3:

26.2% of Stray Kids fanfics are rated M or E

26.3% of Seventeen fanfics are rated M or E

29.0% of Merlin fanfics are rated M or E

34.9% of Captain America (Movies) fanfics are rated M or E

40.1% of BTS fanfics are rated M or E ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Coincidentally, I saw this post on Reddit this morning: Can we have a RPF positivity post?

#asks #my writing #fic & fandom #I keep coming back to fiddle and add things to this answer #but I think I've said all I wanted to now...

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letterboxd · 4 years ago

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Sundancing.

As the 2021 film festival season kicks off, Sundance Film Festival alumni and this year’s newcomers share their best tips for at-home festival attendance.

With contributions from Joe Talbot, Aneesh Chaganty, Ekwa Msangi, Heidi Ewing, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, Levan Akin, Max Barbakow, Jim Cummings, Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown, Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney, Alexis Gambis and the Letterboxd Sundance team.

While it’s a small relief not to have to share a bunkbed with Gary from Australia, and go trudging up those Park City slopes in chunky ol’ snow boots, it’s still a challenge to create the ambience that the world premiere of a brilliant new indie film deserves. So, as well as creating a new, official Letterboxd festival hub (Festiville—give it a follow to receive festival updates in your main activity feed), we’ve also called in some friends to help us overcome the barrier of a lonely room, a smaller screen and a too-familiar couch.

At home, you can sit as close to the screen as you can bear. (‘Paddington’, 2014.)

Bring the mountain to you.

How best to recreate the specific feeling of trying not to break your neck while running across the icy carpark between the Doubletree and the Holiday Village 4 during a tight turnaround? Letterboxd’s West Coast editor Dominic Corry advises getting into the Park City swing of things right from breakfast: “Place a headshot next to your coffee machine to replicate the experience of bumping into an A-lister at the Starbucks in Fresh Market”.

Before your first screening of the day, say Boys State directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Sundance 2020), “Stand outside in the cold for sixty minutes before viewing the film, then watch the film while wearing a very heavy parka, and realize you’re very hot twenty minutes into the movie and have to wrestle your parka off whilst not disturbing your fellow viewers.”

Or, don’t even bother trying to remove those layers, says And Then We Danced writer-director Levan Akin (Sundance 2020): “Recreate the sweat-soaked sensation I had by dressing in thermal long johns to outsmart the cold, only to sit through screenings in a pool of your own sweat. Rookie mistake!”

Between screenings, you have a couple of options. “Hit that StairMaster between virtual engagements to simulate the high mountain altitude,” advises Palm Springs director Max Barbakow (Sundance 2020), ”and don’t forget that chlorophyll to catch your wind!”

Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney, writers and directors of Strawberry Mansion (Sundance 2021) have an alternate suggestion: “After a screening, we recommend turning off the heat in your home, getting into your bathtub (imagining it’s a hot tub), and once it’s nice and freezing in your house, get out of the tub with wet feet, step directly into your snow boats and race to the nearest towel, which for some reason is nowhere near you. Then watch another movie and repeat the process.” Seems eerily legit.

There’s no corkage charged for BYO in the home cinema. (‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, 2008.)

Creating those creature comforts.

For those of you who have long since accepted that we’re on the sofa rather than the slopes this Sundance, the trick is to make home as inviting as possible, despite its being far too familiar these days. That could mean moving the screen from its usual spot. Heidi Ewing, writer and director of I Carry You With Me (Sundance 2020) has a three-step plan: “1. Carmel-corn 2. Bathtub with bubbles 3. Play it loud—bathroom-tile acoustics will make it all feel bigger and boomier. That’s my sage advice.”

“Definitely co-sign the bathtub!” agrees Letterboxd’s London correspondent Ella Kemp. “And I’d also suggest watching the midnight-leaning stuff—big horror, big genre, big WTF—first thing in the morning, if you can. I do not have the same energy late at night in my own at home as I do with a sold-out crowd.”

Expose your folks to a whole new world—make them watch Midnight category films with you over breakfast. (‘Good Morning’, 1959.)

Indeed, energy for film festivals is a thing whether you’re an in-person or satellite viewer—this applies to mental energy, too. “If you’re ever stressed or tired, watch a documentary to reset yourself,” says Jim Cummings, writer and director, Thunder Road short (Grand Jury winner, Sundance 2016), producer, Beast Beast (Sundance 2020).

And, given it’s a seven-day-long haul, feel free to throw cooking plans out the window and follow the Park City diet, in which you “eat nothing but finger foods for the duration of the festival,” according to Moss and McBaine. Or, as Ekwa Msangi, writer-director of Farewell Amor (Sundance 2020) recommends, “get some deliciously flavored popcorn and a hot drink for afterwards!”

Another at-home tip from Corry: “Don’t turn the lights on when you get up to go to the bathroom mid-movie, so as to recreate the sensation of your eyes struggling to adjust to the light in the restroom.”

Mac ’n’ cheese and a cold one for the last viewing of the day. (‘Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood’, 2019.)

Hell is other people (but animals are cool).

Not all of us live alone, and not all of us live with film lovers. Company is welcome, interruptions are to be expected, but do set some boundaries and decide what you will and won’t compromise on. “If you’ve got to bargain with roommates and family members for your turn to use the TV, be intentional about sound!” advises Letterboxd contributor, Selome Hailu. “Don’t compromise on music documentaries or well-scored horror, but rom-com dialogue might still sound okay with your laptop speaker.”

Housemates not human? That’s no problem for Alexis Gambis, writer, director and co-editor, Son of Monarchs (Sundance 2021): “Make room for your pets, let them be the film critics this time around.”

Importantly, says Cummings, “Be kind to everyone.” Whether you’re at a satellite screening, joining a festival event online or talking about the films on your social channels, “everyone is here to watch crazy weird movies. Remind yourself that it’s all about weird cinema and the creators. Watch movies!”

“And definitely stay for the Q&As,” say Moss and McBaine. “Always incredible.”

Director Dorothy Arzner and star Clara Bow are dressed to impress. (‘The Wild Party’, 1929.)

Watch the premieres as their makers intended.

Look, filmmakers know what they’re up against in 2021, but it doesn’t stop them dreaming big when it comes to how we see their films for the first time. Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown, directors of the Sundance 2021 short GNT, have put some thought into this:

“We demand that GNT be viewed in one of two very specific ways, and since we have no control over ourselves or the world at large, we urge you to at least pay us this small kindness!

Option A: You shall view GNT at 3:00am, sans pants, with two-day-old pizza and your laptop perched on your titties.

Option B: You shall dress in your finest garb, slather your face in makeup (please consult the swaths of teenage beauty gurus if you’re unsure on how to accomplish this task), and adorn yourself in your highest heels. These must all be the same color (tone variations will be accepted). Crack open your cheapest available sparkling wine and get to it. We hope you enjoy the show.”

For those whose Sundance dress code extends only to bed-wear, Msangi pleads: “If you’re staying in your pajamas, at least put on a cool beanie to spice things up!”

Sharing is caring. (‘Shithouse’, 2020.)

Tweets, or it didn’t happen.

Finally, and most essentially, Aneesh Chaganty, writer and director of Searching (Sundance 2018), declares: “It’s not a Sundance hit without insane amounts of buzz. If you like it, tell everyone you know.”

After all, it’s what we’re here for… isn’t it? The last word goes to Joe Talbot, co-writer and director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Sundance 2019): “Since so many people at Sundance like to say that, between all the meetings and panels, they just haven’t had a chance to see any movies, let 2021 be the year that if you haven’t seen the movies, you admit it’s because you just don’t like movies.” Boom.