Creator Responsibility

Uplift’s Creator / Fan Relationships Series

As online platforms grow and change, the potential relationships between creators and fans do as well. This is part of our series on best practices for navigating these relationships. (Catch up on Part 1.)

When someone has a sizable following — they have fans — then they have a responsibility to think critically about how they are interacting with those fans, and continue to be conscientious if and when their base grows.

Recognize the significance of age.

Often, creators with large followings are adults, older than the majority of their fans. If those underage fans are trying to form a personal relationship with the creator, it is the creator’s responsibility as the adult to set boundaries. Romantic and physical relationships with underage folks are inappropriate and illegal, no matter how strongly it seems like the fan is coming onto the creator.

It’s a good rule of thumb for creators to not exchange private messages with young or underage fans.

At a convention or meet-up, it is inappropriate to invite underage fans to an after party in a hotel room.

In any situation:

Just because somebody is a big fan of someone does not mean they owe that creator anything or that the creator deserves anything from them.

Creators should never take advantage of a fan’s interest in them in sexual situations. Nobody has a claim to anyone else’s body, and nobody ever owes anybody else sex or nudity.

Creators should never pressure someone to be sexual with them. If someone is pressured into a sexual situation, it is an abusive relationship.

Creators should never take advantage of a fan’s sexual inexperience to push them to be more “adventurous.”

Creators should never make a fan feel as if they have to act a certain way in order to keep their attention — like telling a fan they have to drink, send nudes, or be okay with dishonesty. That is emotional manipulation.

Not all manipulation and abusive situations involve sexual situations. Manipulation can include: guilt trips, avoidance, fear mongering, peer pressure, and humor at the other person’s expense.

It is manipulative for a creator to appeal to someone’s interest in them to get something. For example, telling or implying to someone that they would do it “if they were a true fan.”

Toxic relationships are often marked by a lack of balance, a lack of follow-through, and a feeling that there is no way out. Both folks in a relationship should be able to speak their truth and be able to spend time independently of the other person.

More information and resources about navigating online communities safely.

Colleagues

When a creator is part of a majority group that dominates an industry — like a white man in the tech industry, for example — it is important to recognize the power of their position and how that combines with the power of having fans. For example, a man in the tech industry sliding into a marginalized colleague’s DMs could put his colleague in a difficult position, even if it seems playful and innocent to him. The colleague may not have the ability to reject him without fearing he’ll hurt their career.

If you’re a creator currently in a personal relationship with a fan, either as friends or romantic partners:

Ask yourself whether you’re attempting to control the other person, or if you’re relying on them for your happiness. Those are signs of an unhealthy relationship. In a healthy relationship, both people are communicating openly, both are able to be their own person, and both have meaningful friendships outside of their partnership.

Stay aware of your power dynamic. Often, popular creators will have more power in a relationship than a fan. A fan may feel that they have to bend over backwards to keep the creator happy and to continue such an important relationship. A fan may also fear that they can’t end a relationship because the creator may bad talk them using their platform. Plus, if the creator in the relationship is much older or more experienced than the fan, then the fan may feel as if the creator is leading the relationship, and the fan is at their whim. None of this is healthy.

If you don’t feel like you are in a healthy relationship, seek help and consider cutting off contact. Check out Love is Respect for more resources.

More information about How to Check Yourself and What is Sexual Assault can be found on our YouTube channel!

Make a difference — talk to your peers!

Talk to your connections within your creator community and work together to build positive norms! Strike up conversations:

• Do you have any personal rules for interacting one-on-one with fans?
• Do you feel like you have a responsibility to your fans to interact with them in a certain way?
• Do you feel like there are expectations on you by other creators to interact with your fans in a certain way?
• What change do you want to see in fan/creator relationships?
• Is there anything that you’re currently doing to try to make that change happen?
• How can the community come together to make that change happen?

More information about How to Check Yourself, Coercion, and False Accusations can be found on our YouTube channel!

Coming soon in part 3: how fans can navigate interactions with creators.

Read part 1: Creator/Fan Relationships

Uplift is dedicated to combatting sexual violence in online fandom spaces through education and advocacy. Find more at uplifttogether.org