ACCOUNTABILITY

We approach this work with the knowledge that we will make mistakes. We are open to learning and understand that our ignorance is not an excuse for perpetuating harm, but an essential opportunity to help ourselves and our communities grow and do better. We are committed to listening to, learning from, and using our platforms to elevate marginalized voices rather than speak over them. We commit to working together to prevent harm, to providing genuine apologies and behavior shifts when harm is done, and to learning in public.

CULTIVATE ACCOUNTABILITY

PRACTICE 1: BUILD GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS

One of the best things about fandom is that you’re always meeting new people (and often future friends). Our ability to connect through our shared interests is one of our most powerful tools as fan organizers!

Building Relationships

You may feel a little bit intimidated when you want to get to know someone new – maybe you’ve watched someone’s work for so long and thought “wow, I just LOVE what they do!” Here’s the great thing: the best way to start building relationships is to…just say that! 

  • Reach Out - There are very few people who don’t like to hear that you think their work is awesome. If you see someone doing cool stuff you admire, send them a quick message or email and just let them know! There doesn’t need to be any kind of “ask” or purpose to these kinds of reactions, but if you’d like to you may want to ask if they’d be interested in a quick online chat sometime just to learn more about each other’s work. This is a great way to start building connections even if you’re not meeting people in person. 

  • Unconditional Promo - If you like something someone’s doing and you think your community would like it too, share it! Don’t wait to be asked to share. The more we support and uplift one another, the more our collective work can thrive and grow. Remember to credit and share the artist by name, not just the artwork.

  • Ask for Advice - There are all kinds of organizers and creators doing excellent work. There’s always room for new voices, but it’s also nice to acknowledge the work of those who came before you – and it’s a great way to learn and to make new friends. If you want to work on something but you’re not quite sure how, don’t be afraid to reach out to other fan organizers and ask them for advice. They may not have time to answer every request, but most folks are more than willing to share. 


Partnerships for Social Change

As fan organizers you’ll often be working on projects meant to make the world a better place. There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re bringing partners together for social change work: 

  • Be Clear About Asks - Particularly when you’re asking folks to work on something directly related to the violence they experience on a day-to-day basis, be very clear about what your asks are and what the goals and agreements will be. Don’t assume that just because you have a good relationship, they’ll want to be part of everything you do. If you’ll be making any profit from the work, share that with everyone helping to create that work. If you’re not able to offer compensation (and will not be taking any yourself) be very clear about that from the start. 

    • Some relationships are transactional, and that’s okay! As long as you’re clear about the nature of the relationship and ready to provide compensation for the labor you’re asking for, everyone in a transactional relationship can still have a good experience. 

    • If you’re a nonprofit or this is a charitable or service-oriented project where no profit will be made, be clear about the expectations around volunteerism and whether or not there will be compensation. Don’t take it personally if some folks choose not to participate in volunteer opportunities - everyone has limited time and resources, and has to make their choices accordingly!

  • Be the Defensive Line - If you’re thinking about bringing a partner into a project or introducing them to a new person or organization, think about whether or not your partner will be safe, respected, and secure in that interaction. If there’s tension or disagreement, be prepared to be the defense for the folks you brought into the situation. 

  • Be Thoughtful About Who’s In the Room - When you’re working on social change, maybe the number one rule is to actually ask the people directly affected by the problem what they need most from allies and advocates. “Asking” doesn’t have to mean literally asking – often, organizers from those groups have already done this labor by producing websites, toolkits, and other resources that explain exactly what action steps they’d like advocates to take. Be sure to research before you start any project! Once you have a good sense of the basics, it’s a good time to reach out to new or established partners from those directly affected groups to ask if they would like to be a part of the planning or if they would like to co-organize with you. 


Giving Credit Where It’s Due

One thing to note when you’re working in a community: it’s so easy for things to get separated from their original creators or context, especially on the internet. To be in good relationship with your fellow creators and organizers, work to be a good creditor:

  • Always credit artists when you share work, and be sure you’re not profiting on that work (unless you are collaborating with the artist directly and have an agreement that works for both parties, like shared profits or a volunteer project).

  • If you’re sharing or repeating a concept that isn’t yours, be sure to credit the original person you heard it from. If you know it isn’t yours but you can’t remember exactly where it came from, simply say that “this isn’t my original idea but I can’t find the source, if anyone knows please let me know and I’ll add it!” This simple acknowledgement goes a long way. 

  • Acknowledge the sources of inspiration and learning that led to your work. Because we’re constantly being inspired by one another, there are often little pieces of our collective creative experiences in everything we do. These may not be direct sourcing, but acknowledging our roots is a great way to credit the labor of all of the organizers and creators who came before us. Designer Shing Yin Khor includes inspiration sources in the acknowledgements for games they create, and you’ll often see authors doing this in the acknowledgements of their books!

PRACTICE 2: APOLOGIZE AUTHENTICALLY

Apologizing authentically is one of the hardest, yet most important, parts of being a public figure. There’s a reason the “notes app apology” has become a meme. People are tired of excuses, clichés, and self-pity. As fandom leaders we need to be ready not just to take accountability when we mess up (which we will!), but also to model what true accountability looks like. 


Step one: Don’t make it about you. 

You said/did something that hurt someone, and you’re feeling pretty awful about it. Your instinct is always going to be to explain why it happened, and why it doesn’t make you a bad person. Swallow that instinct. This isn’t about you, it’s about the people you’re apologizing to!


Step two: Acknowledge the harm caused and validate it

Let’s say you talked about something flippantly and ended up perpetuating harm. The first part of a meaningful apology is to acknowledge the harm. Don’t just say “that was wrong,” instead demonstrate that you did your research and understand the nuances of why it was wrong. 


Step three: Apologize and take responsibility

This is the lynchpin of an apology. Make sure your “I’m sorry” is followed by something meaningful–not “I never meant to hurt anyone,” not “I didn’t know.” Instead, state clearly what you are sorry for: “I’m sorry I did this thing, it was wrong.” Taking responsibility also includes outlining the steps you are taking to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Are you doing research to learn more about the subject? Are you seeking out stories from folks who have experienced the issues you made light of? Is it something you can go back and change*, and if so, are you going to? This isn’t just to demonstrate that you are taking it seriously, but also to direct anyone who didn’t realize there was an issue to resources so that they can also learn!

*If you do change something, make sure you note that it has been changed: “in an earlier version of this thing, I said this, and later realized it was a problem. I’ve changed it.”


Step four: Invite feedback and thank the folks who called your attention to the problem

Being called out/in isn’t usually fun, so it can be hard to remember that it is an act of care on the part of the person doing the calling. The reality of the situation is that someone who cares about your work thinks highly enough of you that they are surprised that you made this mistake and believe you would like to do better, so they took time and energy away from their day to let you know about the problem. What a gift they have given you! Thank them for the gift, and let folks know that you invite further feedback, both about this issue and others that will arise in the future (because they will!)

Tl;dr: apologies should be authentic, should not include excuses, should model learning, and should include a thank you.


PRACTICE 3: PROBLEMATIC FAVES 

All your faves are problematic, and there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to behave as ethically as we can when it comes to fandom. The “problematic” in “problematic faves” exists on a wide spectrum, ranging from Joss Whedon’s deplorable interpersonal behavior on set to JK Rowling’s very public transphobia to Disney’s massive financial manipulation of lawmaking. What ethical participation in fandom looks like is in many ways case-specific, though there are some aspects that are the same across all fandoms, even hypothetical ones with perfect creators. Let’s start there. 

In all cases, ethical participation in fandom involves making the fandom safe for all people. This can be confusing for some folks, because making a fandom safe for a trans person means that transphobic people are not invited to the table. So does that mean it is unsafe for transphobes? Absolutely not. Being transphobic is an ideology, not an identity. To make your space safe for everyone, create and maintain ground rules (see Practice 1: Establishing Community Agreements) for participation, whether that’s in chat rooms, at cons, for content you signal boost, endorsement deals you accept, or anything else. 

In the case of problematic faves like Joss Whedon, who harms those he knows personally but is not perpetuating harm on the population at large, ethical participation means not inviting him to cons, boycotting NEW projects that he’s involved in, and speaking up about the fact that we don’t want him invited into more positions of power where he can do harm unless and until he meaningfully apologizes (see Practice 2: Apologize Authentically). It also means being very mindful about how you discuss the creator as an individual, especially, in the example of Whedon, taking care to be critical of the constant lauding of him as a sort of feminist god. This will of course look different for different creators.

In the case of people like JK Rowling, who are actively participating in creating a less safe world for marginalized folks, ethical participation is more complicated. For less well known creators than JKR, walking away from the works is the most ethical thing to do, because to discuss their content at all is to signal boost them. For folks as well known and culturally ubiquitous as JKR, it is not so simple. Harry Potter has reached cultural saturation, and disengaging would not change that. It would, however, remove the voices of those who disagree with JKR from the conversation. In this case, ethical engagement means taking a clear and consistent stance against transphobia, and removing all monetary support for her works. You can read more about ethical engagement specifically with Harry Potter here. 

Most complicated of all is probably Disney, because while their endless wealth gives them incredible political power, which they use to harm marginalized communities, they also own like, half of all fandom properties. Disney isn’t a specific person, it’s not a specific work, but Disney has the most power to do harm. So what can we do? Pay attention to what the employees say–if they are planning a strike or walkout and they ask the public to cancel their Disney+ accounts or boycott something, do it, and encourage others to do the same. If there are specific things, like their funding of the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022, that requires pubic outcry, make sure to participate. This is also an area where intentional positive participation can come in–if Disney creators speak out, quit, or otherwise confront the bad behavior, thank them! Shout them out! Public support for good behavior is as important (or more important) than public condemnation for bad behavior. 

These are just three examples, but they are meant to cover the spectrum of problematic behavior–your problematic fave will fall somewhere between Joss and Disney, and hopefully this guide will help you decide what actions you should take when interacting with their fandom!