#distractive discourse
It’s so interesting going back and forth between tumblr and tiktok because everyone misses the point on both so so hard.
No, minors should not be reading traumatic NSFW fanfics. However, as someone who was once a minor in fandom spaces, I had times where I read things I thought were fun and light and ended up deeply traumatizing me to this day. I didn’t seek this stuff out, it was hidden behind happy tags for a variety of possible reasons. But, I also actively sought out bad stuff. You guys like to claim that there is no black and white issue (and there isn’t. POINT BLANK.) But then both sides ignore the nuances of the issue and look at the lighter issue which is “Should minors be reading NSFW fanfic.” Which, why this is a debate is insanely ridiculous because it depends on the NSFW, honestly. There is nuance.
I don’t personally think it’s wrong for minors to read NSFW fanfiction that is light in themes. Unlike what adults would love to believe (myself included) minors do experience sexuality and most minors are sexually active, even if just with themselves. You guys demanding minors never read NSFW fanfiction in an effort to avoid purity culture is just pushing it in a new and fun way.
But the problem is, this debate is such a nuanced problem. Because while yes, minors can learn about sex in a healthy way, most fanfiction does not present sex in said healthy way.
Also, minors lack the reasoning to understand that they should be policing themselves and the content they consume. However, it is NOT on random strangers to also police the content they consume. And, quite frankly, while it is on Corporations to not actively push this content and push content that can cause harm to minors, but it’s not their job to actively police it either.
Which leads to the next problem that even if they DO police minors’ content, then you lead to problems of minors’ faking their ages, which I did. This also leads to the massive censorships happening on places like this website and tiktok.
But guess what, guys? I can’t actively debate these topics because everyone only cares about the surface issue of “SHOULD MINORS BE IN FANDOM SPACES?” And it makes me want to slam my head into a wall.
And for anyone wondering, this post isn’t just about minors in fandom space. This is for many many topics. NSFW content on social media. Parenting. Abortion. War. Pride spaces. No one wants to talk about the deeper issues. So they pick the lightest smallest issue and debate that and all the deeper darker issues are left up to people who do not have the best intention in mind.
And no one gives a shit.
Distractive discourse.
