Internalized fanphobia
Am hashing out a very long, navel-gazing post about this sparked by Tumblr events from earlier today. Will bore you with it later, but the short version: Trying to decide whether it's inherently icky, or at least disrespectful, to be an openly lecherous fanthing. Also, whether there's a right and wrong way to be a fan (assuming one isn't actually being directly obnoxious to the people one is fanning.) And also whether being a fan--or at least a lecherous one--automatically kills one's credibility as a media and/or creative professional.
Also-also, there's some stuff about personae and "knowing" people and at what point it's acceptable to be attracted to them.
Messy stuff, this.
On top of all that, there's meta stuff in there about how audiences are really supposed to think and feel about creative works and the people who make them. And how we're supposed to express those thoughts and feelings. (This has to do with the notion that storytelling art is all about creating characters we become emotionally invested in.) I may post that over on my Wordpress blog, though.
ETA for a small epiphany that will help me condense the eventual long version:
My own attraction to/interest in the Famous People I like has to do with liking (what I know of) who they are as human beings. But, because prurient interest from fans is so often shallow, objectifying, starfucking, posessive, blah blah, being openly attracted to FPs will be assumed to be that kind of disrespectful stuff, and thus seen as tacky, at best. And, sadly, there's no way around that, because the communication protocols necessary to keep out the icky people also keep out us not-icky ones.
Also-also, there's some stuff about personae and "knowing" people and at what point it's acceptable to be attracted to them.
Messy stuff, this.
On top of all that, there's meta stuff in there about how audiences are really supposed to think and feel about creative works and the people who make them. And how we're supposed to express those thoughts and feelings. (This has to do with the notion that storytelling art is all about creating characters we become emotionally invested in.) I may post that over on my Wordpress blog, though.
ETA for a small epiphany that will help me condense the eventual long version:
My own attraction to/interest in the Famous People I like has to do with liking (what I know of) who they are as human beings. But, because prurient interest from fans is so often shallow, objectifying, starfucking, posessive, blah blah, being openly attracted to FPs will be assumed to be that kind of disrespectful stuff, and thus seen as tacky, at best. And, sadly, there's no way around that, because the communication protocols necessary to keep out the icky people also keep out us not-icky ones.