FANDOM FLAMES #0: The Sacred Texts! (Of Fandom)

The Beat’s fearless leader, Heidi McDonald, approached me with the idea of a column about fandom issues and, for lack of a better word, drama. Fandom can be a very volatile space, with tastes changing from week to week, day to day…and even minute to minute. I jumped at the chance to explore fandom controversies every week or so. I feel it’s best to start this column with a little exploration of my own journeys through fandom. I am a proud member of quite a lot of fandoms, although I would only consider myself active in a very few. By active, I mean that I actively create content, whether it be .gifs or photosets or fanfiction; I, sadly, cannot draw, so I rely on the talents of my fellow fanartists). The idea for this column, in particular, came about when Tumblr released its top 100 fandoms, ships, and characters for the year, which were honestly kind of baffling to me. Was I in the wrong fandoms, the wrong corners of Tumblr? (Get your mind out of the gutter, porn hasn’t been allowed in years.) Of course, the answer to that question is no, I just happen to live in the…
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