1) You are absolutely right about the whiteness of fandom (and gamerdom). It's actually gotten quite a bit better in the 30 or so years that I've been going to cons; now you do see a sprinkling of non-white faces, and several of them are even on concoms. I see this as at least partly a chicken-and-egg situation; people of color are going to see the same thing you see and be put off by it, unless we make some special efforts to bring them in and make them welcome. Inviting your students and former students would be a good first step, but the trick is going to be building the numbers up until we reach "critical mass" -- the point at which people of color will not see themselves as having little or no opportunity to socialize with those of their own subcultures. Non-whites in fandom today are in a very similar position to women in fandom in the 1970s, but without the automatic social advantage of being a "desirable" minority whose attention would be fought over.
2) I doubt that you're going to be able to do much about the economic-class distribution. Fen, by and large, are living on the lower end of the level where it's possible to go to a con; much poorer, and you simply can't afford it. And the continuing marginalization of fandom means that (again, by and large) people from higher economic classes don't want anything to do with it, with the exception of those who are professionals in the field. To them, we're freaks and weirdos. Liberal, hippie freaks and weirdos. Leading to my next point...
3) The lack of conservative political views is IMO a self-sustaining situation. Very little SF/fantasy is written from a conservative POV, and when it is, that side is often the "villain". This, in turn, both draws people who are already of the liberal mindset and shapes the views of those who come to it younger. The Libertarian blip is almost entirely the result of Heinlein's explosive popularity, and is continued by younger authors who have been influenced by him (such as Allen Steele). People who are politically conservative, if they try to interact with fandom, are going to find themselves in very much the same position that most of us do outside of fandom -- "uncomfortable and despised", to paraphrase John Adams.
And frankly, I'm of two minds about that. On the one hand, I agree that diversity of views is a good thing. On the other... I doubt I'm the only person on your flist who sees fandom as something of a haven, one of the few public places where it's really okay to be liberal. There would have to be a really strong advantage to make me want to give that up.
4) The church issue is probably a continuation of this. We don't get people from conservative religious factions because we don't get conservatives, period. And conservative churches are far more likely to believe that science fiction is "the literature of Satan", and to equate gaming with Satanism proper.
5) I don't know enough about anime-fandom to offer anything useful, but... is it possible that Asians see white anime-fen in the same way that Native Americans see pagan "members of the Wanabi tribe"?
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Date: 2006-03-05 05:12 am (UTC)1) You are absolutely right about the whiteness of fandom (and gamerdom). It's actually gotten quite a bit better in the 30 or so years that I've been going to cons; now you do see a sprinkling of non-white faces, and several of them are even on concoms. I see this as at least partly a chicken-and-egg situation; people of color are going to see the same thing you see and be put off by it, unless we make some special efforts to bring them in and make them welcome. Inviting your students and former students would be a good first step, but the trick is going to be building the numbers up until we reach "critical mass" -- the point at which people of color will not see themselves as having little or no opportunity to socialize with those of their own subcultures. Non-whites in fandom today are in a very similar position to women in fandom in the 1970s, but without the automatic social advantage of being a "desirable" minority whose attention would be fought over.
2) I doubt that you're going to be able to do much about the economic-class distribution. Fen, by and large, are living on the lower end of the level where it's possible to go to a con; much poorer, and you simply can't afford it. And the continuing marginalization of fandom means that (again, by and large) people from higher economic classes don't want anything to do with it, with the exception of those who are professionals in the field. To them, we're freaks and weirdos. Liberal, hippie freaks and weirdos. Leading to my next point...
3) The lack of conservative political views is IMO a self-sustaining situation. Very little SF/fantasy is written from a conservative POV, and when it is, that side is often the "villain". This, in turn, both draws people who are already of the liberal mindset and shapes the views of those who come to it younger. The Libertarian blip is almost entirely the result of Heinlein's explosive popularity, and is continued by younger authors who have been influenced by him (such as Allen Steele). People who are politically conservative, if they try to interact with fandom, are going to find themselves in very much the same position that most of us do outside of fandom -- "uncomfortable and despised", to paraphrase John Adams.
And frankly, I'm of two minds about that. On the one hand, I agree that diversity of views is a good thing. On the other... I doubt I'm the only person on your flist who sees fandom as something of a haven, one of the few public places where it's really okay to be liberal. There would have to be a really strong advantage to make me want to give that up.
4) The church issue is probably a continuation of this. We don't get people from conservative religious factions because we don't get conservatives, period. And conservative churches are far more likely to believe that science fiction is "the literature of Satan", and to equate gaming with Satanism proper.
5) I don't know enough about anime-fandom to offer anything useful, but... is it possible that Asians see white anime-fen in the same way that Native Americans see pagan "members of the Wanabi tribe"?