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schmericaHere is my question of the day for you all:
One of my favorite things about fandom (and I think a lot of people share this) is the sense of community that's evolved with it -- the fan to fan connections. But there's this thing that comes up in pretty much meta discussion we have, and that's the question of what we mean by community.
What do we mean by community? What does it take to be a member of that community? Is it a matter of self definition, so that what it takes to be part of the community is acknowledging and accepting yourself into it? Or is community framed by actions, a structure based on us all doing the same things together? You read fic, you write fic, you make art, you participate in fannish infastructure and interact with other fans, therefore you are a Fan; you make slash and see slash, therefore you're a slasher? Is it just a general sort of collegiality? Is there an ideological component -- some fixed ideas or thoughts that we expect members of the community to generally share or agree on, as a base?
What do you guys think?
One of my favorite things about fandom (and I think a lot of people share this) is the sense of community that's evolved with it -- the fan to fan connections. But there's this thing that comes up in pretty much meta discussion we have, and that's the question of what we mean by community.
What do we mean by community? What does it take to be a member of that community? Is it a matter of self definition, so that what it takes to be part of the community is acknowledging and accepting yourself into it? Or is community framed by actions, a structure based on us all doing the same things together? You read fic, you write fic, you make art, you participate in fannish infastructure and interact with other fans, therefore you are a Fan; you make slash and see slash, therefore you're a slasher? Is it just a general sort of collegiality? Is there an ideological component -- some fixed ideas or thoughts that we expect members of the community to generally share or agree on, as a base?
What do you guys think?
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25/5/06 17:05 (UTC)Augh. I don't know! I tried to think of an example, but I think people's personal definition of what makes you part of the community come in to play. Like... if you're gay, but you never go to gay bars or participate in Queer Events or Groups? Are you still part of the gay community? Some people would totally say yes. But I mean, can you be part of a community that you don't have anything to do with it except having the same defining features as the members?
I totally haven't helped, except by rephrasing your question and running around in circles, but I feel I spent enough time thinking about this that I may as well post the comment.