Episode 42: Gatekeeping in Geek Culture

Andi and Lise discuss gatekeeping in fandom, and how it excludes many already-marginalized groups from participating in fan culture, including various elements of it like cosplay.

They also discuss how fandoms and pop culture are reflections of the larger society in which they exist, and Lise brings up how that might keep women and other marginalized people from going into STEM fields.

Sadly, gatekeeping isn’t something that is imposed on marginalized groups by a non-marginalized group. LGBTQ gatekeeping occurs, too, and Andi and Lise discuss how that was exemplified by the announcement that gender-fluid lesbian actress Ruby Rose would be portraying Batwoman in the forthcoming Arrowverse crossover event on the CW. Rose was accused of “not being queer enough” and had to leave social media because of the harassment along those lines directed toward her.

For further reference:

Andi mentioned Heather Hogan’s article on Autostraddle about the new Dr. Who. Here’s the link.

Also, Clare McBride at SyFy Wire did an op-ed called “ ‘Not Gay Enough’: Ruby Rose, Gatekeeping, and Toxic Fandom.” Link here.

Lise mentioned a YouTube video by Jessie Gender about gatekeeping in queer culture. Catch the link here.

For more information on what Andi and Lise are geeking out about right now, check out Orc Haven by Beryll and Osiri Brackhaus, and The Gifted on Fox.

October 19, 2018 0

Episode 41: Interview with Fangirl Shirts

This week, Andi chats with the owners of Fangirl Shirts, Rebecca Barrick and Sally Heaven, who “make awesome shirts by, for and about women.” They launched the company four years ago as a way to celebrate fangirls and fan culture through T-shirts and other swag, doing cool things like spelling out the word “fangirl” in the font of a particular show title and immortalizing lines from shows or the fandoms on shirts and swag.

Fangirl Shirts is also committed to community works, and a portion of profits go to non-profits that support girls and/or women. They also do special edition shirts that benefit a specific cause or organization (try the Queer Thunder and Peacemaker swaggery, for example) and they’re the organizers of the ClexaCon fun-run, an event they just launched at the second ClexaCon (the largest queer women and allies in media con) held in April, 2018. They’re already planning for the next, and they have all kinds of projects they’re working on, which makes Andi an even bigger fangirl of them.

Find Fangirl Shirts:

Website (BUY!)

Twitter — @fangirlshirts

Instagram — @fangirl_shirts

Pinterest — @fangirlshirts

October 5, 2018 0

Episode 29a: Almost Live at ClexaCon, Part 1

ClexaCon with guest Anna from The Lesbian Review

Andi and Lise are both on the ground at ClexaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada and so is Anna from The Lesbian Review, who also attended last year. Andi and Lise chat with Anna about ClexaCon then and now, fandoms, and how important queer representation is and the role ClexaCon plays in that.

ClexaCon met in Vegas April 5-9, 2018.

May 4, 2018 0

Episode 22: Galaxy Quest

Andi and Lise totally lose it over one of their joint fave movies, Galaxy Quest (1999), which is a delightful spoof of Star Trek and the Star Trek fandoms. It’s a hilarious romp through sci-fi fandom, a clever nod to various plots and fun show tropes, and just a whole lot of fun in general.

The film stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman among others.

Seriously. It’s well worth your time.

December 27, 2017 0

Episode 18: Fandoms

Andi and Lise talk about how fandoms have been both an escape and a support network during these troubling times, and they also note that fandoms allow for the expansion of imagination, finding new stories, and making new friends.

October 17, 2017 0

Episode 13: Queer Rep

Andi and Lise talk about queer rep in media following the now-infamous incident at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, which occurred over the July 20-23 weekend and involved members of the cast of Supergirl. The upshot was an impromptu song in which a cast member sang an overview of Season 2 that included a belittling of Supercorp, a f/f fanon* ship** between Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers (Supergirl’s “secret” identity—omg glasses are not the best disguise…). That cast member then went on to say that he “debunked Supercorp” and was told by another cast member that what he did was “pretty brave.”

The fallout was immediate, and LGBTQ fans were hurt and bewildered, so Lise and Andi wanted to address this, which isn’t just what happened with Supergirl. It’s about rep overall, and this is just the latest example.

And yes, Andi and Lise have some strong feelings about this, so language may be strong as well.

*fanon: a term used in fanfiction and in fandoms to describe commonly accepted ideas among authors and fans even if the idea is not expressed in the canon work, which is the official storyline from the original work.

**ship: in fanspeak, a “ship” is a relationship (often romantic) between two characters, whether canon or fanon. “Shipping” is when fans imagine a relationship between characters (say, in TV shows or movies) that may or may not have been intended by writers or creators.

Some other links about this incident:

The Mary Sue
The Refinery
Pink News
Affinity Mag