Disclaimer: The point of this article is not to slam certain fans for being bad, especially since I am part of a lot of these fandoms. These were just the best examples of the point I am trying to make.
Let’s all face it, as a young adult living in the 21st century, you are almost definitely part of one fandom, if not more. That is totally fine, of course. In fact, being part of a fandom is so fun and exciting since it gives you the feeling of belonging to one huge family that have the same interests as you do. However, it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Or deactivates their twitter.
The ironic thing is that the point of a fandom is to support something or someone rather than hurt them or others. Sadly, the opposite happens far too often. We’ve heard about celebrities deleting their twitters too many times. We’ve seen celebrities break down from pressure their own fans put on them. While this might seem like the price of fame, it really isn’t. It is just a matter of people behind their screens not having enough respect to those they love, and not letting those they don’t be.
Let’s look at some examples, of thousands, to support this.
Directioners might remember August 21st 2012. The iconic day Zayn Malik, while he was still in One Direction, deactivated his twitter due to an influx of terrible islamophobic tweets. It is a terrible thing to open your mentions expecting to see your fans telling you they love and support you, only to realise they’re wishing you weren’t a terrorist or saying the band is better off without you simply because of your religion.
Harmonizers may also remember the specific hashtag “#DWTSAllAccess”. This was a trend for joining a Q&A with the girls from Fifth Harmony. Instead, it turned into some sort of roast by their own fans. Needless to say, you could visibly see how upset the girls were by the end of the Q&A, which is completely non-sensical since if you are a fan of someone you should want to see them happy, not heartbroken.
This doesn’t only apply to singers, of course. We can take the hit Fox show, Glee, for example. Some Gleeks may know about the existence of the ‘Faberry’ ship. Faberry is a famous ship among the fandom between the two characters Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray. Many gleeks strived for this ship to be real throughout the show, though there was a really slim chance for this to come true. A lot of them hated on the relationship Rachel had with Finn, the late Cory Monteith’s character, and some would hate on Cory himself. They were actually satisfied after Cory passed in hopes Faberry would be real or as good as can be. It would be such a tough position for the actors and actresses to be in, especially that it is coming from their fans.
Now, fandom bullying doesn’t only exist between a fandom and the person or thing they love, but rather between other artists and fandoms.
A more recent example of this is when Halsey was driven to deactivate her twitter after she got bullied from several other fandoms. If you know and follow Halsey you would know that she does not let things go and tries to fight for what she stands for. So when it was too much to handle, she just left. She does have a lot of fan and supporters but other fandoms and individuals were that intoxicating to her.
Moreover, Mixers and Harmonizers are known to constantly be fighting over who the better girl band is. Little Mix or Fifth Harmony? While it is obviously a very subjective answer, the debate usually gets really heated between fans and it can be really hurtful and nerve-wracking at times.
If you’ve been part of this, or think you’ve engaged in similar activities, keep in mind that these are real people you are dealing with on the other side of your screen. Also, remember that it is okay to call out someone who is taking it too far and turning from being defensive to being a bully. People can get seriously damaged, and can remember your comments forever. So unless you would accept the same thing to yourself, you should not do it to others.
Comments are closed.