By itself, I kind of can’t stand the word “fandom.”
It evokes a very generic feeling. Like we’ve stripped away any reference to a specific kind of fandom and now we’re left with a hodgepodge of odd people, fans of all stripes, who nonetheless have absolutely nothing in common with one another.
Anime fandom, furry fandom, sci-fi fandom, and comic book fandom are all different concepts, and further, they’re all often mutually hostile.
Different cultures grow up around different media. Look at the difference between conventions. Anime Boston, Anthrocon, and New York Comic Con are three different kinds of event. Multi-genre conventions do exist, but they’re illustrative of the exact problem with generalized “fandom.”
A multi-genre convention local to me has been systematically pushing anime content away in favor of tabletop, sci-fi, retro TV, and generalized internet culture. As New York Anime Festival merged with New York Comic Con, all of the anime programming was relegated to its own wing, termed the “anime ghetto” by some.
When we generalize “fandom,” we end up with the lowest common denominator of all the various fandoms in that space. Not only that, but the norms of that space are dictated not by the norms of the fandoms involved, but by the biases of whoever creates that generalized fandom space.
If generalized fandom was built on a foundation of extreme acceptance and tolerance of all fandoms, it would be less of a problem, if perhaps a bit chaotic. The sheer concept of generalized fandom, however, prevents this from happening.
Think about it: It’s easy to define fandom when it’s describing something specific.
Anime fandom.
Furry fandom.
Comic fandom.
But what does “fandom” mean by itself? If being in anime fandom means being a fan of anime, what does being in “fandom” mean? Being a fan of being a fan?
It’s an odd concept, because every fan’s method of interaction is different. As a result, even a defined fandom like anime has just that one thing in common amongst the people in it: A love of anime. Two anime fans might have wildly different ways of expressing their fandom, but the medium itself is their common language, a lingua franca that they can understand each other through, even if they’re otherwise different kinds of people.
Generalizing “fandom” breaks down that connection and attempts to make the method of interaction itself into the common language. That’s why it tends to even out to the lowest common denominator. If the methods of interaction must be similar enough to be mutually understood, anything in the fringes must go.
Which is why we get the NYCC “anime ghetto.” For a lot of “fandoms,” anime itself is fringe. After all, anime fandom adherents have spent years resisting the exact outside pressures that fandoms like comics, gaming, and sci-fi have spent decades trying to capitulate to. The specific ways in which otaku tend to express their fandom are too fringe for many “fandom” spaces.
If a space chooses to specialize, we can at least understand their values, their social norms, and the things they have in common. I can understand where BronyCon people are coming from, even if I’m not a part of their culture.
If a space chooses to become generalized “fandom,” it becomes a lot harder to trust. The space’s values and social norms are hidden behind a fog, and it’s unclear what they have in common, if anything at all. Especially as an anime fan, I’m wary of being arbitrarily excluded for being different.
Anime fans need their own spaces. Attempts to fit anime culture in with “fandom” do more harm than good and make nobody happy.