Newsletter #26: FF’s Policy on Hate Comments
I hope everyone likes the new banner and logo!
It was designed by our co-editor in training, who will be announced and given privileges sometime in October after I have enough time to drive them crazy, making sure they understand the formatting and grammatical edits that give FF its polished look. I am quite excited for there to be a co-editor. It’ll make Fandom Fanatics a lot more regular which you guys definitely deserve.
Speaking of, I am applying to a college tomorrow once my application is finished for my Master’s. I was also offered a job early this morning and am so excited to be going back to work!
I’ll be adding a few people to FF today who are waiting patiently in my inbox. If that’s you, don’t worry! I see you and will get to you shortly.
Before I sign off on this newsletter, I wanted to give our writers a word of advice. On my Barbie article, I received what can only be described as a “hate comment”. This is someone who doesn’t agree with what you have to say, sharing criticism that isn’t constructive and is usually emotionally charged.
This was the article: https://medium.com/fandom-fanatics/is-barbie-anti-men-analyzing-a-satirical-patriarchy-gender-expectations-88de41c9466a
This was a man claiming that the film discriminated against his gender, and labeled my article as “femsplaining” — a sexist term I’ve never heard before. Perhaps he saw the movie and felt that Ken was the victim, or became uncomfortable when I cited sexual assault statistics to prove that Barbie’s experience with sexual harassment was representative of a widespread, painful aspect of the female experience. Maybe he’s friends with Ben Shapiro. My point is that how I handled the comment is how I would want any of our writers to act.
First, I felt a burst of joy. I woke my mother up early in the morning to read it out loud to her. I was honored — I had managed to piss off one of the men that were triggered by a comedy about a Barbie doll come to life. I had only heard about these men in memes and online articles about women breaking up with their boyfriends because of their hateful responses to the movie. I was fascinated, like seeing someone walk on their hands right in front of me. It meant that my writing was powerful enough to stir up an emotional response, and in that, I felt immense pride.
Second, I left it up. He has the freedom to say whatever he wants about my writing and I refuse to silence him. His followers and anyone else who sees the comment have the right to know what he enjoys saying to women online.
Third and finally, which I would like anyone else on FF to do in this situation, is I said nothing back. He isn’t worth my time and nothing I say will change his mind. Responding would only feed the fire.
My point here isn’t to call him out. I want him to be an example. If he had said anything hateful rather than simply mean, I would report him, and I would want anyone on FF to do the same. Anything blatantly racist, violent, homophobic, transphobic, or sexist that’s offensive should be reported. What I received was sexist, but it didn’t offend me. Hence, I made the decision to leave it be — if I’m honest, a part of me wanted to print it out and hang it on my refrigerator I was so amused. In life, having a positive perspective matters, and can help shield you from negativity.
If anyone ever receives a comment like this and is unsure whether to report it, feel free to contact me. I am willing to provide support to any Fandom Fanatics member who is impacted by their article’s reception.
Best wishes,
Erin Moon
Edit: I just blocked this person so his comment may no longer be available.
