I Think The Other Really Important Distinction That Gets Lost Is Fandom Stories Published On E.g. Ao3

I think the other really important distinction that gets lost is fandom stories published on e.g. ao3 vs. stories that are marketed and sold by publishing houses/Hollywood/whatever for the purpose of making money off the people who will pay to consume that story.

In the second case, there is a limited amount of resources that can be invested into a limited number of stories, and those stories have to be both well written enough to be readable and compelling to an audience and thus worth that audience spending money on them, and have enough broad appeal that the people putting in resources to create this thing and get it out into the world will get back more than they put in. In this case, the thing to do is make it clear that you as an audience member want more diverse stories, and that lots of other people do to. At the same time, advocate for more diverse writers/editors/artists/etc to be hired or given a chance on their work (and advocate for more hiring diversity across the board, tbh).

In the first case though, literally this is the easiest space to add more diversity to the collection of stories available for people to read. Sign up for an account, and write a story. It's not great, because you aren't the best writer? Your fic is full of so many plot holes it could be mistaken for swiss cheese? You struggle with motivation and can only write little things that get like 20 kudos and were maybe read by 100 people each? That's okay, half the fanfiction full of tropes you hate is in the same boat!

But maybe one of those people who read your fic was inspired to write their own with some of those ideas that you wanted to see. Maybe they shared it with a friend who writes, or got inspired to create some new headcanons that inspired a stranger a few steps down the line on tumblr. Maybe none of that happened the first dozen times you wrote a little drabble of a story, but over time you found yourself writing better things, writing longer things, writing with more nuance and care and energy that comes from practicing a thing until the parts that used to exhaust you now give you energy back instead, and one day you look at your ao3 account and realize that the latest story you wrote was actually really good and people loved it.

And while you're writing those stories of your own, or still practicing but haven't quite gotten up to a full story you want to share just yet, go find some things you love that other people wrote and give them a comment, even if it's just to say, "Nice story! I love how creative this was!" Share some headcanons of your own on tumblr, and share other people's headcanons that you'd like to see more of. Bookmark the stories that you think are worth sharing with other people. Bookmark tabs with stories that you maybe didn't love-love but did want to leave a comment on, if only you had more energy to leave a comment, so that you can come back and leave that comment later.

Create the kind of content you want to see, and support other people who are creating content you find interesting even if it's not the best story you've ever read.

Fandom is the easiest place to leave your own mark, to create your own content and share it with other fans. At the same time, plenty of fans are young and still learning, or older but new to this whole "fandom" gig, or tentatively returning after time away, or older and still learning because we are all still learning new things no matter how long we've been around, and the best way to encourage them to stick around and keep growing is to be kind. To be supportive when you read something and liked it even a bit, even enough just to say, "That was fun! Thank you for writing and sharing it!"

There is such a strange, nuanced distinction between a trope being okay at the micro-level and problematic at the macro level, and I don’t think we appreciate it enough.

Like, let’s take one trope for example: the old 80′s “career woman is unfulfilled and unhappy until she Finds Love and quits her job for a man.”

I think a lot has been said about this being a sexist trope. But I would argue that on its own, it’s actually… fine? It could even be an important story to someone, depending on execution. Because, well–work isn’t fulfilling for most people! Lots of workers, even in very high earning jobs, get burned out and are sort of encouraged to stay in this unhealthy rat race where all that matters is make line go up.

Of course a relationship can be more fulfilling than a job! Damn!

But. But.

While an individual story about a woman going “work sucks, fuck this, I actually just want to have a torrid romance and leave to have wild sex with a muscley lumberjack in the hills” doesn’t necessarily have to be sexist…. that kind of story being the overwhelming majority is.

One snowflake is harmless. A snowstorm is not.

One story about a woman being better off not working is harmless. Every single story being about it, in a culture that pressures women into having less independence and power, is not.

So then what do you do? Do you tell everyone who wants to write their cheesy lumberjack romcom to stop? Will that even work?