Current mood:	brain-sprained
Current music:	4 Non Blondes, "Morphine and Chocolate"
Entry tags:	fandom, meta

Fannish culture shear
I first read about the Open Source Boob Project via a RL friend's journal, and shrugged with a "eh, typical Detroit-con tackiness". (Read on to learn why that's an indicator that the OSBP is no big deal, and not a condemnation of Michigan sf fandom.) And then I came over here, and discovered that it had made metafandom, with all the kerfluffle that implies.

I'll say that again, because my brain didn't believe me the first time: PenguiCon got metafandomed.

I'm glad I read in the order I did, because the other way around would've made my head explode. As it is, my eyes are crossing. Granted, I probably compartmentalize a bit more than most people, but the intersection of Michigan sf fandom and LJ-based media fandom is... well, there just isn't one. Except suddenly now there is, and a kerfluffle of epic proportions has brewed up out of what is, at base, a huge cultural misunderstanding.

For the record, and for those who aren't experienced with cons, be aware that Michigan sf fandom is not particularly representative of sf fandom in general, and is not at all representative of media fandom in Michigan. The membership overlap between PenguiCon and, say, MediaWest*Con, is almost non-existent. They are very, very different subcultures, with some very different base assumptions.

I'm not sure it's possible to understand Michigan sf fandom without experiencing it yourself. I can give you descriptors: It's a very tactile, sex-positive, body-positive, let-it-all-hang-out little subculture. It's a subculture where a full-body hug from a stranger is the default way of saying "hi, nice to meet you." It's a subculture where a well-known convention member was once escorted to his room by hotel security and told not to come out until he put on pants. (Which is a pity, because the rabbit-skin loincloth had been a fixture of many previous cons without problems. Not surprisingly, the cons have avoided that hotel since.) However, none of this really gives you the feel of it, or makes you understand how very non-threatening it all is.

Michigan sf fandom has three major cons a year (ConClave, ConFusion, formerly ConTraption and now PenguiCon), collectively known as "the Detroit cons" even though they're not always held in or around Detroit. I've helped do the culture-shock pre-briefing for friends attending one of these cons for the first time. ("Here, read the program book. See where they say 15'll get you 20? They're not kidding.") The Detroit cons are, yes, to some extent, a meat market, but it's an equal-opportunity meat market. The propositions go both ways. (Actually, that's hetero-normative of me; the propositions can go any which way you like. The bi, trans, and poly crowds are well-represented.)

And it's not just about sex. If you're feeling starved for human touch, you can stock up a year's worth. If you're into casual physical contact of any kind, you can find people who understand and reciprocate. If you want to be able to enjoy being in your body even though it's not up to supermodel standards, you couldn't ask for a more accepting venue. For many, it's a rare safe space to flaunt what they've got, to whatever degree they want to flaunt it, in a way that they would never feel comfortable doing in "real life". This can mean anything from extravagant ball gowns and tuxedos to, yes, chain-mail bikinis and rabbit-skin loincloths. The local BDSM crowd usually puts in a strong showing. As long as it doesn't actually violate local nudity laws, it's your body; do with it what you will.

It's important to understand that the standing rule at these cons is, look but don't touch. If you want to touch, and you don't know the person, you can ask (politely), but if they say no, that means no. Period. And there are plenty of well-trained con members who will enthusiastically insert that rule forcibly into the skull of anyone who violates it.

It's also important to understand that it's entirely possible to go through the weekend wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and no one will think any less of you for it. Stepping outside of mainstream society's taboos is entirely optional. It's even possible to avoid casual physical contact (by which I mean hugs and the like), although you may need to spend a fair amount of time stepping backwards and saying "no, thank you."

A perfect little utopia of body-positive acceptance, right? Well, no, nothing's perfect. There are several hundred people at these cons; in any group of humans that big, you're going to get an asshole or two. But the asshole percentage is a lot lower than IRL, and generally much less tolerated by the majority. I'm not saying bad shit never happens, but it's rare enough to be a freak occurrence, rather than the obvious result you'd expect from that kind of behavior in the mundane world.

In the context of the Detroit cons, the OSBP is, essentially, just a body-positive human-contact fest that got itself a name and a slogan. (Disclaimer: I wasn't there, but I know IRL some of the people who were. And I've seen enough similar con activities to feel confident in extrapolating. Anybody who was there who wants to contradict me, please do so. (ETA: This post has since been vetted by someone who was there, and given her enthusiastic endorsement.)) I have it on reliable authority that the contact was two-way. Totally voluntary, totally harmless, and generally a very liberating and even joyous experience for those involved.

Yeah, I've read theFerret's post. Translated from Detroit-con-geek-speak, it basically seems to be saying, "Wouldn't it be great if people were more comfortable about their bodies?" And I even think he's got a point, if awkwardly expressed, within the context of the con.

Unfortunately, LJ-based media fandom is a completely different context. You've got the usual internet tendency to get riled up about second-hand and inaccurate information, and to regard fact-checking as YOU'RE SUPPORTING THE OTHER SIDE OMG EVIL!!!! You've got a lot of people who have strong emotional investment in demonstrating their righteous outrage at the -ism of the day. And you've got a lot of people who quite honestly believe in speaking up against social injustice, and who honestly believe this is such a case.

I can't do much about the first two. But for those in the last group, I want you to understand that this event is being taken out of its subcultural context. And like any event being viewed in isolation from the perspective of another culture, it's being misinterpreted. (I feel my anthropology failing, because I want to point to an example from history. The best I can come up with is that it's like saying Native Americans are drug-addicts when really peyote is used in religious rituals, but I recognize that's probably an offensive comparison. Somebody throw me a non-offensive metaphor, please?) Would the OSBP work in the mainstream world? God, no, it'd be a disaster, in all kinds of ways. But flaming the OSBP participants up one side and down the other is culturally insensitive in ways I wish I had the words to adequately express.

It's okay if you wouldn't want to participate in something like the OSBP. I wouldn't either, for the record. It's okay if you don't think the Detroit cons and Michigan sf fandom sound like your cup of tea. But please stop verbally stomping on the people who do find value in it. Your standards of acceptable behavior apply to your own body, no question, but please stop insisting that other people apply your standards to their own bodies.

If you get the chance and feel like playing cultural anthropologist, check out a Detroit con some time. And if you choose not to, please at least recognize that they do things differently over there, but "different" doesn't equal "wrong".