social justice league chats
SJW-infested fandoms?
I'm just curious about everybody else out there: Are you involved in fandom? If so, what're you really into right now? Is there anything coming up that you're really excited about? Are there communities you're involved in that're particularly good about being inclusive--or problematic faves that're still your faves no matter what?




When it comes to fandoms that are really top notch and inclusive... well, look at my icon. This is particuarly more notable in the comics, where they have less to worry about w/r/t network censorship. Steven Universe, similarly, in that boat; it's a show about culture clash as much as it is about shipping space rocks. They've had dark spots, but more than any other fandom I've treaded the waters in, they try to do better, and I feel welcome there.
When it comes to problematic fandoms, I have to say tabletop RPGs, boardgames, and wargames. I mean, tabletop games are great for self-actualization. Look at recent editions of D&D and Pathfinder, and you'll find a variety of race expies, religion expies, and even transgender characters done well. It's a proud tradition leading back to the 80s, where GURPS and R. Talsorian had gay, lesbian and transgender characters front and center.
But... it's also a community that housed the proto-Alt-Right, where Warhammer 40K is not regarded as a satirical dystopia but as a logical conclusion, where misogyny, rape, and death threats are never far. (There's a reason I don't game at FLGSs anymore.)
I have also dabbled at video game streaming on Twitch. Twitch builds great communities... until you tip over the 300-400 people mark and make the front page, or you hit the top 10 streams of a game with a toxic community like LOL or DOTA 2 or Dark Souls, or you're raided by a well-meaning major streamer. Then it's all over. (I'm hoping Ferretbomb and Finalbossdad break these trends, but that's only hopes.)
And... I suppose there's also the DC television 'verse that's a fandom, between Aarow, Flash, and Legends of Tommorow. Haven't seen Supergirl yet but I heard it's as good as Flash, so I'm hopeful.
Oh boy, can I respond by plugging my favourite communities?
One is called Shut Up and Sit Down. They talk about and review board games.
The other is called Cool Ghosts. They talk about vidya games.
Both of these communities are run by the same people. They're these progressive and super cool Brits. Definitely worth checking out! It's pretty much just pleasant on those sites all around.
The Stardew Valley community seems really legit.
I really want that game.
I keep meaning to get this game.
Once you pick it up, you'd better get ready to get sucked in. I had to force myself into a schedule on it so I didn't stay up till 4 am stuck in the cycle of "hmm I'll just check my crops real quick before quitting..."
I was addicted to this game for about a full month. It's very good and just a pleasant little game to play.
So much beer. So, so, much.
I'm a big fan of Welcome to Night Vale, although I've only been make it to one live show so far because of stupid scheduling. However, that show, got to sit close enough to bask in the radiance of Cecil and it was one of the best experiences of my life. WTNV is really committed to diverse casting and inclusive storytelling and it was a... unifying experience? When you're in a crowd of people leaving a theater and someone says "All hail the Glow Cloud!" and everyone automatically responds in unison and you bask in the fact that for a few minutes, you were with people who were weird and you were all okay.
Aside from that, I'm also very into Hannibal (the TV show) and Hamilton (the musical) in ways that have generally been less problematic than you'd expect considering the one is a serial killer and the other was a philanderer.
That sounds adorable.
Oh, there's also the Paizo community for the table top game Pathfinder. It used to be not so good, but then the released a trans iconic, and a bunch of people freaked out over it, claiming the would burn they're books, to which Paizo was just "Okay".
Then there's the table top game Eclipse Phase. The actually used to have a lot of mras on their forums, and then the company publicly stated in a huge notice that they weren't going to tolerate that kind of stuff on their forums, and then went so far as to tell mras to fire themselves from the fandom.
I second the Paizo community. While the online community for tabletops is really hit or miss, almost every Pathfinder community I've come across has been at the very least accepting of LGBT peoples. And the Paizo staff tries really hard to be inclusive, I'd say they're one of the top companies at it.
I love Paizo. And specifically, their Diversity and Inclusiveness in Gaming panels at PaizoCon are a treat to listen to. They are available through the Know Direction podcast if anyone wants to give them a listen.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Steven Universe, and....ugh, I'm just now getting into the League of Legends community, which is so toxic it about goes full circle and becomes hilarious. "Why are there no female pro gamers?" "Because women are just inherently worse at the game." I...it's just so bad. Like a satire but real.
The pony fandom seems to be a bit...too inclusive of certain behavior. I say this after attending multiple events in my city and experiencing way too much information real fast that I never asked for. Even so, I draw ponies well, so I might end up going to some cons to sell prints.
The Steven Universe fandom seems pretty cool so far.
Then there's Homstuck... I love the characters I made for roleplaying in the fantroll community, but I only really talk about it with one friend I met in an rp. Don't really want to see what state the fandom is in now.
I was really into the avatar/korra fandom. The serie ending really disolved it all.
Is there anything coming up that you're really excited about?
SU is getting a fffriken 4 weeks of episodes culmilating in what seems to be our look at homeworld and more YD development
i'm pumped
I'm somewhat involved in the Magic: The Gathering community, which is kind of in an odd spot. The actual fanbase itself isn't great at times, and can be fairly toxic. The company that makes the game, though, is amazing. They strive fairly hard to have unique and interesting characters from all sorts of backgrounds, and the characters are handled with respect.
I love MtG too, and the most accurate thing I've heard said about it is "it's the best game ever made for the worst fan base".
I admit MTG releasing a transgender iconic got me back into the game.
Some parts of the Final Fantasy XIV community are pretty SJW friendly. I say "some parts" because sadly it is an MMO, meaning it is susceptable to infection by the bactirium that is Dickarium Assholitis.
I think the Dragon Age Community is overall really inclusive. Mostly because Bioware keeps making their games progressive, to the point where anyone who's not on the bandwagon has sort of fallen off now.
The only fandom I actually got involved into was My Little Pony. It can be a nasty place, you'll find pockets of alt-righters drawing nazi ponies. Even still, it's nice and welcoming, on a good day (and place).
Never really got into fandoms for anything else. I enjoy Steven Universe, and Doctor Who, and Undertale, but these I enjoy from a distance, just consuming the content and not really interacting with the community. My days of fandomry began at sonic, and died at ponies.
These days I mostly just keep up with the Homestuck fandom.
It has it's bad pockets, but overall it's pretty good. I think the gay singularity drove out most of the shitheads.
Homestuck, along with Undertale, have always struck me as some of the most inclusive fandoms. I'm pretty new to Homestuck though. I hear it used to be worse.