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New post! Sincerity, expectation and discourse in anime fandom (Patreon)

Published:
2016-11-04 23:54:19
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Our most recent post is half a feature on the way the word 'discourse' is used in anime fandom, half an update on our plans for the site. 

Things have been a little quiet this past week or so as I had some family and freelancing obligations which made it difficult to write or edit until today, but the team has been working behind the scenes to take action on some of the feedback you have given us in the past few weeks. 

Specifically we're working with tech support to make the site more user-friendly, setting up a proper content pipeline with a regular publication schedule and editorial responsibilities divided among the team, and - perhaps our most exciting news - we've decided to give comments sections a try, starting with an experimental post next week. Wish us luck! 

Needless to say, we could not have considered this without your support, which makes everything we do at AniFem possible. Thank you all for jumping in at the deep end and sticking with us! 

Amelia

Files

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Sincerity, expectation and discourse in anime fandom

Discourse doesn't have the best reputation in anime fandom. It surprised me, coming back to anime fandom, to see so much disdain attached to such a neutral academic word. 'Discourse' here means that someone wrote a thought-provoking piece, probably about something controversial, which generated conversation on social media.

Comments

Anonymous

I'm not a regular Patreon user so I don't know about habitual practices, but I think this is great to post about your new articles on here. Makes it easier to follow when an email notification pops up! Something that stroke me while reading your article, as a natively French-speaking person, is how the word "discours" (actually the origin of the English discourse and pretty much the same meaning) is viewed derogatorily in the public space and in mostly the same way you describe in the article. While it is still used neutraly, it is also commonly associated with politicians and business people "check out that grand discourse they'll speak to make us accept their bullshit" and things like that. Many people I see IRL describe any kind of feminist commentary as "discours féministe" in a deragotary manner. And doing "discours" about artsy or other "non-serious" topics like anime is pretty much shamed upon like on the internet.

Anonymous

It seems like this is a subset of the general zeitgeist of it's-only-worth-taking-seriously-if-it-doesn't-take-itself-seriously, ironic postmodernism. Which is very frustrating to see, of course. I love irony as much as the next guy, but as a person who discourses both professionally (lawyer) and personally (neurodivergent, philosophy training), this sort of dismissal feels like it's designed to cut me off at the knees. It's particularly striking because fandom of this sort is a flavor of nerdery, and nerdery is aptly defined as the unabashed and unironic love of a thing. Maybe it's because anime often plays with absurdity? Maybe anime nerds are more thoroughly mocked than other kinds of nerds, and this is some kind of defense mechanism? Oh, housekeeping note: I think it's totally kosher to take a stance of "We're talking about sensitive things on the internet and people are often shitbags, so we're not going to allow comments on the website. If you want to discuss our posts, they'll be cross-posted to our Patreon, and you're welcome to join the discourse there. At least then we know that even if you're being a shitbag, you're still supporting the project."

Anonymous

Good luck with the comments! I know how vitriolic they can get on our fair internet and how much worse they are with this particular topic. Fingers crossed you get constructive comments!

Anonymous

Best of luck! I'm rooting for you. ;)

animefeminist
>>2948850

Thank you for the support! First comment section is due up in an hour, fingers crossed indeed...

animefeminist
>>2947167

Thank you! Completely agree on the defence mechanism aspect of this use of the word discourse, and also that it can be unhelpful and send the wrong message to people who want to talk about what they love. Hopefully our little corner of the internet at least will be a space where this is not the case. We're going to give comments sections a try because so many people have asked for it, but it is very much an experiment right now. First post due up in an hour, wish us luck!

animefeminist
>>2946885

So glad that you find it useful to have the post put up here! We're still learning how to use Patreon too, so feedback on what works best for our patrons is very much appreciated. It's very interesting that the French word is used with the same connotation as in the fandom use of the word in English! This seems to be fandom-specific rather than in newspapers etc., so it's surprising that this is the usage that's made its way into the French mainstream. Thank you for sharing!