The trouble though is that the entrance into that requires some kind of qualification.
Mm. I really agree with this - fandom is not inclusive of outsiders, it's inclusive of people who can demonstrate - actively - that they fit in.
Fandom is ... not welcoming to "outsiders". It can be, some individuals are, but my overall impression is of people sitting in a circle saying how wonderfully tolerant they are, while ignoring or actively scorning the people at the next table.
It's not a trait exclusive to fandom, and I think the solution is less in being more tolerant and more in being more honest about where the intolerances are.
(I should point out that my single Perth Con experience stands in glorious contrast to this - nearly everyone I met at Fandomedia was open-arms friendly. I felt more at home there than I did at my last local con. :) )
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Date: 2008-03-26 07:47 am (UTC)Mm. I really agree with this - fandom is not inclusive of outsiders, it's inclusive of people who can demonstrate - actively - that they fit in.
Fandom is ... not welcoming to "outsiders". It can be, some individuals are, but my overall impression is of people sitting in a circle saying how wonderfully tolerant they are, while ignoring or actively scorning the people at the next table.
It's not a trait exclusive to fandom, and I think the solution is less in being more tolerant and more in being more honest about where the intolerances are.
(I should point out that my single Perth Con experience stands in glorious contrast to this - nearly everyone I met at Fandomedia was open-arms friendly. I felt more at home there than I did at my last local con. :) )