The Vigour And Furor With Which Some People Are Repulsed At The Mere Existence Of A "social Script" Is

boxwood comb carved from a single piece of wood, france c. 1400s.

Initiation Well Location: Sintra, Portugal

A pair of wells, called the Initiation Wells, spiral down deep within the earth, like inverted towers. The wells were never used to collect water. Instead, they were part of a mysterious initiation ritual within the Knights of Templar tradition.

فلسطين ستزهر من جديد 🌺🤍

Secretary, 2002

your only job on this earth is to be so intrinsically yourself that the right people gravitate toward you and the wrong people move out of your way

One thing that always strikes me as interesting about fandom is how institutionally conservative it is.

That's not to say that it's necessarily ideologically conservative (though I do see more than my fair share of misogyny, racism, ableism, acephobia, transphobia, imperialism apologia, fascism apologia, etc.), bur instead that fandom is broadly a community that privileges tradition and the status quo over change.

There is a veneration of the older Big Name Fans, particularly those involved in the creation of AO3. This often comes with the implication that they were faultless and pure of heart, and if they argue(d) for something, then it must be the right answer.

That ties into the originalist push that is often used to oppose changes to the community or to AO3 specifically--it was perfect in its creation, the original intents were entirely right and implemented correctly, and any change is a violation of that impeccable original design and so is bad. The old laws (Don't Like, Don't Read etc.) are also often still pushed as the law of the land, with limited conversation about new or updated cultural rules or norms.

There is also a strong implicit or explicit in-group mentality that I see, often also used to oppose change. Fandom is by women, for women, and any change must consider women first, last, and always. And if you are doing or asking for something that might impact women (specifically the women who are currently welcome in fandom), it's because of misogyny.

I'm generalizing, of course--fandom, like any other community, has a diversity of ideas and viewpoints. But I do wonder, if I asked people who consider themselves part of Capital-F Fandom whether they would support cultural or structural changes to the community or to AO3, how many would say yes.

palestinian civilians pictured in 'the spirit of palestine,' taken during a full scale uprising against the israeli occupation, c. 1987.