meta: how fandom has changed your moral/political views

[kaiwynn]

A quick note before we begin: All experiences discussed henceforth are mine, and aren't intended to be a generalization. You don't have to agree with me. Actually, I prefer it if you don't: there's better discussion to be had that way. Also, I don't mean to be offensive in the least, to anyone. Honestly. These are just thoughts, and this is

Comments

[apresmoi]

I think fandom sort of reminds me of hypnotism sometimes. I learned about it during one of (many) psychology lessons, and here's the basic gist. When you are hypnotized, you may do some incredibly silly things. Things that you may not have realized that you were okay with doing. But, hypnotization can never ever make you do something that you are against doing. It can't compromise your willpower, only expand on things.

Example: If a hypnotist asks you to hop around on one foot in your underwear, you'll probably do it.

If a hypnotist asks you to go out and mass murder someone (Zoolander, anyone?)

Unless you are a complete psychopath, you will not. Because hypnotism takes what's already there, it doesn't create new things.

I am kind of strange about incest. In real, every day life, I would not be okay with it. It creeps me out. I think part of people being okay with it (in fandom) is that a lot of the places where incest is featured, are television shows (like Supernatural, where much of fandom is Dean/Sam, and Firefly, which has it's own little CSI cult following). The people portraying the characters are actors, and perhaps we, in our subconscious minds, realize that. They are not actually related. I'm not sure if that's morally right, or not. But there you go.

There are some things, that are a little bit ridiculous that you can stick in fandom, and make it stay. I think incest is one of those things. If I 'ship River/Simon, it doesn't mean I'm going to start looking at my brother in a brand new light.

But there's other stuff that's not so ridiculous that may cross over into actual life, and sex is one of them. Mainly because sexual stimulation is so complex in the ways in which it comes about. What people like, what they don't like, certain kinks. Sometimes, people get desensitized, and are only able to get stimulated when [insert thing here] is happening. If you read about Edward and Bella being D/s (and there are a lot of fics out there like that) then do your sexual preferences change? They could. I think it depends on what you're doing while you read the fanfic too. If you're reading for the sake of reading, then maybe not. But if (and some women do this) you read smut as an alternative to watching porn, etc, then maybe your preferences do change, because you're associating what you're reading with your own sexual stimulating, and your brain connects these things.

In conclusion? I read too many books, and listen to Dr. Drew far too often.