Every major film or TV project, every major musician, every piece of media have what is referred to as a fandom. Fandom is the very internet way to refer to the fan community of a thing. Whether it be a franchise or a particular actor, fandoms can be an amazing source of community and bonding. They can also be very toxic. I am personally a part of a lot of fandoms so let’s take these one by one from the absolute worst to the best.
https://vocal.media/geeks/fandom-toxicity
“stay in the kitchen and out of comics”, “Maybe if women knew how to read…” or (and this is my favorite) “Oh the supermodel thinks she knows something about comics”…thank you? Gatekeeping and blatant sexism are something that most women have just come to expect when interacting with media that they love. The internet has given anyone and everyone a chance to say horrendous things to other human beings without fear of consequences. Anonymity has killed healthy fan debates. Its killed healthy fan appreciation for that matter.
Toxicity in fandoms runs rampant and it shoves women out of spaces they feel aren’t for them. Causes actors to have to stay away from social media because of death threats and incessant internet bullying. Fandoms are supposed to be a place of community but the loud minority simply won’t shut up.