COMMUNITY CARE

We practice empathy and generosity, and prioritize accessibility across fandom spaces. We support the work that individual creators and fans must do to care for their health and wellbeing, but we reject the capitalist model of “self-care.” Alternatively, we support community care in the form of sharing, confidence-building, activism, learning, and the commitment to be there for one another as we co-create welcoming, long-lasting fan communities.

CULTIVATE COMMUNITY CARE

PRACTICE 1: PRIORITIZE ACCESSIBILITY

The spaces where we gather are so important to the fabric of fandom communities, and making sure those spaces are accessible is critical to ensure that every fan can participate! Here are some ways you can prioritize accessibility online and off.

  • Build accessibility from the beginning. Rather than waiting for someone to ask for something to be made accessible, work to make your events, actions, and spaces as accessible as you can from the beginning. This way, fans with disabilities or neurodivergence will know that they are welcome and cared for without having to ask. 

  • Give ample opportunities for fans to ask for what they need. Even if you’ve done your best to build accessibility in, there is such a diversity of lived experiences and needs that there may be something you haven’t accounted for! Here are some basic guidelines for asking:

    • First, be clear about what is already available. This may help someone who is nervous to understand what has already been accounted for, and takes some of the burden from the individual to list everything they may need. 

    • Phrase your question as something like “What can we do to make this space/experience comfortable/accessible for you?” Words like “accommodation” are less desirable to many disabled people, because it suggests that their needs are something you’re compromising for. Accessibility is a need, not a compromise.

If you ever misstep with accessibility, a genuine apology and action steps to correct it is the appropriate response.

PRACTICE 2: ACTIVIST SELF & COMMUNITY CARE

For fan organizers living under capitalism and productivity culture, it’s easy to burn out – even when we’re working on things that bring us joy or that are deeply meaningful to us. In fact, it’s often easier to accidentally burn out on work we love than it is on work we don’t. 

Productivity and burn out culture often serves as another way systems of oppression are upheld in our society. Expectations for how much a person can do or handle in a day rarely take into account differences in needs for those with chronic illnesses, disabilities, or neurodivergence. Ideas of what professional work and communication look like are often based on a western, white-dominated culture, with little room for cultural diversity. And these lenses are just scratching the surface! 

To be able to practice fan activism for years to come in a sustainable way, organizers should practice centering the health of themselves and their community members. Here are some key ways to keep community care at the center of fan organizing.

  • Work in community on purpose. No one person can accomplish everything needed to change the story of our world. We work in community not just because it’s more fun, but because it’s the only way to achieve our goals! Share the work, ask for help, and help others when you can.

  • Treat boundaries as opportunities. We tend to think about boundaries in a subtractive way – here’s what I won’t do – instead of thinking about them as creating the sort of environment that supports our success. Reimagine boundaries as a way to create the best possible environment for your success and happiness, and help support others in doing the same.

  • Celebrate accomplishments big and small. When it comes to world-changing, it’s easy to forget to stop and celebrate all we achieve, especially when it always feels like there’s more to do. But if you don’t take time to acknowledge all you’ve done – as an individual and as a community – it’s all too easy for the joy to get sucked right out of the work. Make sure you’re integrating a healthy balance of celebration, play, and work into your organizing.

PRACTICE 3: OPEN ACCESS

One of the coolest things about fandom is how often we inspire one another. One person’s idea can spark all kinds of other ideas and art, and those might spiral into other things as well. Organizing for social change is like this as well: with every social movement, we learn more skills and gain more ideas for how to best work toward the world we want to live in. 

The more we can share with one another, the more we can all succeed. This idea of “open access” is an important part of supporting one another in community (while crediting where that work came from). Wherever possible, if you can share your resources (think: information, connections, materials) and expertise with other fan organizers, do so! Systems of oppression want us to believe that there’s a finite amount of resources to go around, but equity and progress aren’t a competition: there’s enough for everyone.

Another important aspect of open access is, well, access. Gatekeeping is the act of intentionally making information, an idea, or a community difficult to access. It’s one of the main ideas that fuels the concept of “fake fans” (a pretty nonsense idea - anyone can be a fan) and makes fandoms divisive instead of fun. Open access to participation ensures that fandoms stay friendly, inclusive, and joyful. 

It should be noted that there is a difference between gatekeeping and guardianship. Some communities are designed to be safe spaces for folks with specific identities or shared life experiences. When these communities ask that not everyone participates, they’re not gatekeeping, they’re stewarding and protecting the shared agreements and purpose of that community. If you’ve been asked not to be in a space it’s natural to feel defensive, but important to consider why that community is being protected and if this is truly a case of gatekeeping or if it is guardianship.