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May. 20th, 2010
Omphaloskepsis
May. 20th, 2010 10:34 amI'm not going to engage with specific critics and reviews of Chicks Dig Time Lords-- that way madness lies. People will react how they will react. Every essay that annoyed one person was also another person's favorite. That's how anthologies should work. There's one criticism I've seen in a few places, though, that I want to address:
Omphaloskepsis, AKA Navel-gazing.
Many of the essays deal with fandom and fannish activities. For some, this is the wonderful raison d'être of the anthology (just listen to the Bridging the Rift podcasts about Chicks). For others, this aspect of the book is gratuitous, self-indulgent navel-gazing.
So, what the hell is wrong with fandom talking about fandom?
We just watched the VH1 talking heads special Undateable. What was the #24 worst thing that a guy could do and thus become undateable? Attending Geek Conventions. That's how much of the world still views the SF Fandom subculture. We've all seen the convention reports done by the local news. The reporters make a beeline to the most awkward cosplayer in order to get some laughs at the expense of the freaks and geeks. An entire book can be filled with the cruel quotations about SF fans from the "As Others See Us" section of David Langford's Ansible.
Many of the essayists in Chicks Dig Time Lords wrote their essays about fandom in order to challenge those stereotypes-- the main one being that women aren't fans of Doctor Who. They wanted to explore the creative, joyous things about fandom that they loved. They set out to show how SF Fandom is an amazing, vibrant subculture.
If essays about fan culture aren't your cup of tea, that's fine. I understand why people wouldn't be interested in that subject. But please, don't dismiss it as navel-gazing. These essayists are trying to define fandom and fannish activities from the inside because those on the outside have done such a crap job of representing us for decades.
[The views here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the creators of Chicks Dig Time Lords.]
Omphaloskepsis, AKA Navel-gazing.
Many of the essays deal with fandom and fannish activities. For some, this is the wonderful raison d'être of the anthology (just listen to the Bridging the Rift podcasts about Chicks). For others, this aspect of the book is gratuitous, self-indulgent navel-gazing.
So, what the hell is wrong with fandom talking about fandom?
We just watched the VH1 talking heads special Undateable. What was the #24 worst thing that a guy could do and thus become undateable? Attending Geek Conventions. That's how much of the world still views the SF Fandom subculture. We've all seen the convention reports done by the local news. The reporters make a beeline to the most awkward cosplayer in order to get some laughs at the expense of the freaks and geeks. An entire book can be filled with the cruel quotations about SF fans from the "As Others See Us" section of David Langford's Ansible.
Many of the essayists in Chicks Dig Time Lords wrote their essays about fandom in order to challenge those stereotypes-- the main one being that women aren't fans of Doctor Who. They wanted to explore the creative, joyous things about fandom that they loved. They set out to show how SF Fandom is an amazing, vibrant subculture.
If essays about fan culture aren't your cup of tea, that's fine. I understand why people wouldn't be interested in that subject. But please, don't dismiss it as navel-gazing. These essayists are trying to define fandom and fannish activities from the inside because those on the outside have done such a crap job of representing us for decades.
[The views here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the creators of Chicks Dig Time Lords.]
