From: Susan Beth susanbeth33@mindspring.com
And that is, truly, an accurate statement going by my experience. There are a lot of fans, particularly slash-friendly ones, who don't at all like having a spotlight shown on their hobby. It has nothing to do with
whether
they thought his study was accurate, or whether or not they liked the conclusions/theories he drew from it. They simply *like* having fandom be their little secret cabal, safely hidden away from the eyes of mundanes.
I can't help thinking that they're being their own worst enemies in cultivating this air of secrecy. First of all, what makes them think they've got a right to be immune to investigation? Secondly, they are overestimating their own importance, because the principle line of inquiry is not one of who is doing what, but of what is being done and why. Thirdly, being reclusive and secretive can only foster the notion that they've got more to hide than they actually have, which means they end up drawing more attention to themselves, not less.
If you don't understand why, well, how does British TV cover SF
conventions
over there? What we inevitably get is footage of the 300 pound guy in complete Klingon rig who insists on speaking in klingon and waving his plastic weapon menacingly at the reporter. IF your experience is that Attention to Fandom = Mockery of Fans then you, too, might very much
prefer
to be left quietly alone and dislike *anything* which draws attention to fandom's existence.
Surely all the more reason to encourage a more positive counterbalancing view that shifts the focus away from the fans themselves and considers what it is that they do.
But I've long since come to believe that there is an element in fan culture that wants to shut itself away in the ghetto of fandom and sneer at the mundane world outside whilst pretending that it isn't secretly enjoying all the attention.
Neil
Susan Beth (susanbeth33@mindspring.com)