It would be good to share an example of something new (at least on the left-leaning side of things) I saw that I feel can only be labelled as toxic fandom. One day recently, I talked about something J.J. Abrams said about the new Star Wars movie. He talked about how the movies have never really been made for anyone other than men and that he wanted to change that. I stated that I found it good that he wanted to make films that, from his end — the end that creates and assembles — are working to be better and more inclusive.

Both his quote and my support for it really pissed people off. The way he was interpreted is that he wanted to create a movie that not just men would want to see, implying women didn’t care about Star Wars — and women really do. My wife, to list an example who is absolutely immediate within my life — is a HUGE fan who decked herself out in a bunch of Star Wars-themed clothing to go see The Force Awakens, which we have now seen multiple times. People love Star Wars and women are people.

This was not something I was contesting (or would ever, or would assume J.J. Abrams would ever) — however the people who got angry really wanted me to be contesting that. “Look at the man telling women that they couldn’t like Star Wars until the other man said he made this one for women, too” was the argument they wanted to make against me.

So after their loud declaration of how much people other than men like Star Wars, something I would literally never argue but was made to look as if I was by removing context and heavily asserting this was my message, I realized toxic fandom can be about owning the indignation surrounding something as much as the enjoyment. More specifically, the contrarianism and righteousness associated with being “correct” (read: viewed as correct) about the thing you’re a fan of from whatever political position you take. Also, in this very specific case, because a male human being made this observation about a movie and who it has traditionally been made for and marketed to, it has to be bullshit — even after making an entire film where the underlying attitude is that of correction.

I feel this is how many people who are involved with social justice (which would technically be the area I occupy, though the number of people in these circles I would ever want to be associated with is rapidly shrinking) are approaching their fandom: as if they are able to dictate what creators are thinking as they create, who it’s for, and who is allowed to talk about it.

I’m not asserting “it’s now finally okay to like it for anyone who isn’t male.” I can’t say with certainty that isn’t what J.J. Abrams meant, but I sincerely doubt he meant “women haven’t liked Star Wars until this one I’ve made just now!” I showed support to another male individual for at least recognizing the issues in a very non-diverse industry, trying to be diverse on the filmmaking side (while critically asserting he hasn’t truly succeeded, which I stand by), and trying to progress a franchise that has not cared enough about the absolute ton of people who aren’t male and love it. In fact, that is specifically why I showed support; it’s fantastic that my wife and mother, Star Wars fans, are finally being ascknowledged by the people and companies making Star Wars, which was very much like gaming prior to The Force Awakens. The mainstream stuff is all geared toward guys, yet half of people who love it are not guys.

I’m not the least upset when my opinion as a man is ignored or not agreed with. That’s perfectly fine, in fact. What makes me upset is when my statements are misrepresented to create conflict.

What bothers me so badly is saying “it’s really good they realized they could do more on the filmmaking side, even if they still legitimately need to do a lot more” was responded to as if I was shouting down anyone who isn’t a man. Since there are many who aren’t men and already love it, I should have nothing to say about the construction of a series with literally one (arguably) three-dimensional female character that is in every film following her introduction and (arguably) stays that way for the duration of her existence, never becoming simply a plot device but remaining a character that feels like a person. One.

And no human NB or trans characters (droid, please).

If one says that isn’t enough, then the previously mentioned logic dictates that they’re erasing all women’s fandom of Star Wars because of the assertion that Star Wars has always had a problem with on-screen representation. Obviously “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” was made for extremely entitled adult men, by that logic. They like it so it’s made specifically for them. Automatically.

Many have fought against examples of this very issue, specifically GamerGate. One of that ridiculous hate mob’s main arguments is that since women already love video games, the gaming community and developers do not need to act. They supposedly don’t need to attempt to inject diversity in the material because the diversity is in the audience. This is the very attitude I couldn’t help but recall when this particular incident took place. How diverse a work is isn’t derived from who consumes it. It can’t be. That would set us in a cyclic stagnation that could never be broken, because all kinds of people like Star Wars and up until Episode 7, they were made with a male demographic in mind.

Most marginalized people out there flat-out do not have a choice for something they enjoy that includes them, so they have to settle for something that represents a more “mainstream” kind of person (which is a disgusting sentiment when you actually see it spelled out in such a way, but it means cis, white male). The Force Awakens isn’t truly diverse itself — race and binary gender are represented in what seems fairly well to my cis, male, able-bodied eyes, but anyone who pays even a small bit of attention to the world outside their own sphere should be able to tell that isn’t how the human race is. There’s so much more beyond the binary and most of it is not shown in our entertainment.