"Fangirl" here is a neutral term for someone who squees, squicks, and Was There. General fandom posts encouraged!
Always curious . . .
This is now a well-populated community, I'm happy to see. So I am wondering--when you saw "Cranky Old Fangirls," what were your expectations for this community and/or your reasons for joining?
Why did that name "speak" to you?
And related to those expectations/reasons, does anyone have a topic (or topics) they would like to introduce for discussion? Anything about fandom/fans in general, or a specific fandom?
ksl




I thought it'd be a nice place to gripe a little about fandom history. Things happen in cycles, and we keep seeing the same wank repeated over and over and over and sometimes it helps to break free and commiserate.
This is odd. I sent a reply to this, but it's not here (second time that has happened to me in an Imzy thread). So I'll repeat it, and hope the first one doesn't show up now . . .
Do you have some specific gripes that you would like to raise? Some examples of "repeating wank" that you would like to comment on?
Nothing I wanted to raise. But it comes up from time to time, the same patterns of woobifying certain characters and trashing others, escalating ship wars and so on and when it does it's nice to have someone who remembers "Oh, this is just like in SGA" and "Remember when this happened in Potter fandom?"
You had me at cranky tbh. I love fandom and the friends it's let me make, but I hate the shit fandom attracts because it just makes me, well, cranky. So I figured this community would be worth a shot at joining.
As for specifics, I've personally found issues over on tumblr with the Fallout 4 fandom, in particular the arguments between different groups of the LGTB community. It's just tiring and thankfully I've moved onto playing Skyrim now and given FO4 a rest.
And I have no idea of the "issues over on tumblr with the Fallout 4 fandom." Do you care to elaborate? (You don't have to if it is a topic you are that tired of.)
Well elaborating more on the brief example I gave about the arguments with the LGTB community, there's a lot of fighting between gay/lesbian fans and bi/pan fans because one group wants more m/m f/f content and a lot of fans insist on falling m/f content het and straight, which then upsets the bi/pan fans because all m/f does not equal straight necessarily and it's just the same arguments going on.
Like, new fallout kink meme was started that at first was lauded as being LGTB friendly, then quickly called itself 'gay' and it was only m/m and f/f allowed, so not really LGTB friendly and just gay friendly and - I dunno, it's just tiring. Especially for someone like me who was finally happy because all the romanceable companions are bisexual in FO4 and for people to repeatedly tell you that you're only bi if you like same sex stuff, it's not something you wanna keep seeing, even if you don't believe a word of it.
Basically, I've got sick of seeing that you're only bi enough for them if you're 'gay' and if you like/have m/f stuff then it's too 'straight' and there's enough of that out there.
I've seen other things too like the fetishization of certain characters and the constant use of 'sinning' to describe same sex stuff, especially between two men. Lots of creepy fans who probably don't even get that what they're doing is fucking weird, but shudder no thank you, not for me.
Okay, thank you for the additional clarification.
All I can offer is that I have found that one advantage to getting older (in life and and in fandom), is that you get more secure in the conclusions you have arrived at in your own life and therefore find it much easier to simply roll your eyes at other folk's "nonsense" and keep on flying your own flags.
I wish the same for you. :-)
Oh, all these arguments are more just tiresome to see all the time. Thankfully I'm secure enough in myself and my sexuality to know who I am and not let anyone else try and influence that. Like I said, it's just tiring, which is not why I'm into fandom
I wasn't expecting anything in particular except a safe place for those "kids these days" posts. Like when I just can't stand tumblr's echochamber of entitled wankery.
I also thought it likely that there would be people familiar with older, dead fandoms, so they might get references.
I dunno. I often think of myself as a cranky old fangirl now, so it seemed appropriate. :)
^ This is the exact reason I'm here.
I expected regular fangirling with much much more cursing.
Hello.
As someone who put the "old" in Cranky Old Fangirl, I'm wondering if you can explain what you mean by "regular fangirling"? I don't follow your reference.
I guess just talking about things we like. A lá anybody a fan of star trek? Whose your favorite captain, etc. (I'm particular to Picard myself, but Janeway's a close second. You?)
Ah, I comprehend.
I am primarily a TOS fan, so I'll go with Kirk. I watched other ST incarnations only intermittently.
So, for what I watched of TNG my favorites were Picard and Data. DS9 - Sisko and Odo. Voyager - Janeway and Seven of Nine. Enterprise - Archer.
I think my biggest problem with the later incarnations is that I never got the same sense of chemistry among the casts that was so evident in the original. Which made TOS much more vibrant for me.
With this being the 50th Anniversary of ST: TOS, I have been indulging myself reading--or rereading, as the case may be--pro ST novels, related non-fiction books, fanzines, etc., and also rewatching ST episodes, movies, documentaries (especially the newest one from Leonard Nimoy's son Adam).
That's a good point on the chemistry. I agree. TNG was my first love though, so I'm sort of immune to the painfully awkward dialogue moments. I hadn't heart about that documentary! I'll have to check it out, thank you!
For the Love of Spock is available on several streaming platforms, possibly still available on-demand in your cable system, and also can be pre-ordered in DVD or Blu-ray format. It is a wonderful documentary and I strongly recommend it.
http://fortheloveofspock.com/
I like talking trends, history and vintage fandom and current fandom, but a lot of people online just don't seem open to those conversations anymore. Also, there is a lot of age wank that derails discussions about how fandom had been over time and how it's roots shape current shit.
As for topics, if we ever have have a thread to bitch about fellow olds being absofuckinglutely insane out-of-touch idiots, I've got a couple tons of bitching to get off my chest. I've got olds in my area who are all 'these kids they days they don't read and that's tragic'. Idiots. The current generation does read and every article I've seen says they read more than we generation did. The overage young has more access to geeky books than I did growing up. They've been trying to awareness raise on the 'kids not reading books anymore' thing and even thinking about it I need a drink. If I hear that 'our subculture is dyyiiiinng' one more goddam time ....
Well, I guess I am "out of touch" only in the sense that I was totally unaware this was an issue for some oldsters. :-)
Of the young ones that I interact with (relatives, coworkers, etc.), some are readers and some are not. Just like the old ones that I interact with.
I am hoping that this problem is only with the olds in my area. But I've been hearing them talk like this for about ten years now and it drives me up a wall. Not everyone in their olds community was a reader, either. Some are, some aren't. Today there is more access and variety and that's awesome.
They have their heads up their butts about the present and about the past.
I saw the title and thought "Finally, people who understand." I'm on the back end of the age range for what is considered an "old" fangirl, but I'm certainly old enough that I still remember phrases and terminology that next gen fangirls don't understand in the slightest. I've even already been told that I'm apparently too old to be on Tumblr.
So, someone mentioned this group on a yahoo fannish list, and the name was sufficient to make me look. I saw a name I recognized, someone I know is relatively intolerant of bullshit, and intelligent and well versed in Fannish Nonsense, so said what the heck. Dunno how much I'll pop in, but as a social medium, I'm avoiding Tumblr for the rabid wolverine of posting I feel it can be, already have Facebook for more personal stuff, so what the heck. I can do cranky.
Welcome to Crankysville! :-)
Got any particular pet peeves you'd like to share?
ksl
30 years of fandom, there's pet peeves a plenty. Most recent: someone who has very specific ideas of A Character (to the point of obsession, OBSESSION) who then decides totry and force an entire, if small, fandom her way. Who 'innocently mentions' a website selling zines to the creator of that character, but doesn't get why old timers (who've seen what C&Ds look like upclose and personal) might be pissed as hell about it. (Can we swear by the way? any words anyone would rather avoid, like fecking? or the English version there of?) Who acts like the old guard are dense, stupid, out of touch has beens......
I will go so far as to acknowledge that there are ways (both fannishly and non-fannishly) in which I might describe myself as "out of touch."
That is partly because of personal preferences, but mainly because there is so much going on in the universe, and too few hours to keep up with it.
You are always flying the flag for the "old guard" on the lists, so keep up the good work! :-)
ksl
Thank you. The history of fannish pursuits is part of our culture, and did a lot for every day folks getting into publishing and other activities now taken for granted. Who knows if Amazon might have gone so far with self publishing if fanzines hadn't been so visible after awhile... Like you, I'm 'out of touch' by choice, not ignorance. J