A term often used online is gatekeeping, but what is it?
Why do people use it?
Is it always bad?
In this post I am going to make the argument both for and against gatekeeping, but first a definition.
Gatekeeping can be used in many different contexts. This post is concerned with fandoms and how some people in fandoms policies what determines a fan in a particular field.
Gatekeeping essentially means someone who controls access to something. It can be the mainstream media gatekeeping the news and the flow of information while keeping detail a secret. Again, for the purpose of this post, it is about fandoms.
I understand that all fan bases have their own degree of gatekeeping. It is hard to make a one size fits all argument concerning gatekeeping, but I will do my best.
What is it?
Gatekeeping is when a person or community controls axes to something.
Gatekeeping online takes a slightly different form. Online gatekeeping is about controlling who can and can not identify as a fan of something.
Why gatekeeping can be a good thing
Everybody wants gatekeeping to some degree. Say someone is giving away concert tickets for a famous band. These tickets are for fans only, and they only give away a hundred tickets.
As it happens a hundred die-hard fans are ready to receive these tickets. However, 50% of the tickets are given to people who just “like” the music and listen to the band once in a blue moon. Whereas the rest of the die-hards have listened to all the albums and know all the members of the band.
Would it not make sense for the people who are the most enthusiastic to be invited to such an event? Wouldn’t the concert be better off with people who love the music and the band dearly?
suppose the 50% who gets invited doesn’t even like the band, but only uses the concert as a ploy to get late or get some cloud. In that case, we would say that it would be unfair to the people who actually love the music not to be invited.
Whichever side you fall on will determine how much gatekeeping is needed.
In the above example you take a spot from someone else, someone who is much more enthusiastic, this is not the case online where fandoms are more of an abstract thing.
We all agree that people should actually be into whatever they claim to be into to be called a proper fan. If you lie you are simply not a real fan and thus it is okay to gatekeep you.
What people disagree on is the degree of engagement one has to have to call themselves a fan.
We all know that super fan, the one who can tell you everything about a musician from their favorite foods to what year they bought their first guitar. The super fan who has gone to 100+ concerts and who owns all their albums on vinyl. Then there is the other kind of fan who doesn’t care about all the personal stuff, but who has listened to all the albums, but has yet to go to a concert.
Then there is the casual fan who only listens to the 10 most popular songs and nothing else.
I would argue the first 2 people are fans, but the third one is not. There is nothing wrong with saying this and there is nothing wrong with being a casual enjoyer of things, but don’t call yourself a fan.
My personal opinion is that you also need to be well-versed in a fandom. This is the case for large fandom more so than one musician.
Consider the following:
A film lover who loves all films including Ghibli films. Now, that person can be a Ghibli fan. However, that person can not be considered an anime fan. The medium of anime is too big to only consider Ghibli films. When you have seen a plethora of series and films, can you be considered an anime fan.
In my personal opinion, I would consider a person who has seen a lot of different shows spanning different genres and different decades a “real” fan. A person who sees a lot of different things independent of what is popular is considered more of a fan.
Intentions matter. If you only watch stuff because everybody else does, well then you are just a follower, and your love of something is born out of a desire to fit in rather than a love of the thing itself. There is nothing wrong with liking popular stuff, but you have to make sure it is authentic.
People connect their fandom with their identity. This is why you see a lot of toxic fanbases who will defend their fandom with anger and hatred. They see an attack on what they like as an attack on themselves.
Some people just want to fit in whereas other people want to feel unique and special. When you follow an underground band and they suddenly become famous it is only natural to express disappointment.
“I knew them before they were famous”
Is a common hipster phrase, but I get the annoyins.
Finding hidden gems today is both hard and easy at the same time. It is hard because there is so much crap being produced, and no one knows where to look for hidden gems.
On the other hand, the mass production of stuff is also securing that some niche art that you like is going to be made the hard part is hiding it.
Let’s take another example, consider anime fans.
Today Anime is mainstream. There is no stigma connected with watching anime, whereas when I was a teen and watching anime it was something you had to keep to yourself with the danger of ridicule hanging over your head if anybody found out.
I realize I sound like a bitter old man here, but so be it.
It is easy to be a fan of something when everybody else is approving it in the social arena that is society. I have no problem with old anime heads like myself gatekeeping some newer fans. They have to have seen more genres from more decades to be considered a proper fan (in my opinion).
People want to craft a unique identity by associating with niche art. The internet has made this very difficult. Thus I think it is understandable that people who truly like something underground get angry and disappointed when that thing becomes mainstream, being a band or a whole genre like anime.
The case against Gatekeeping
We indeed want gatekeeping insofar as the people in fandom have fans of that particular thing. Otherwise, the fandom becomes inauthentic and fake with people only liking something for optics or cloud.
The problem arises when trying to narrow down what constitutes a fan.
Say the two people where one is more considered with the music and the other is more considered with the singer and their personality. You could say one is more of a fan than the other, yet the singer and the music are connected. There is more than one way of being a fan and there are more “gates” to enter into a fandom. More entry points if you will.
There is also no point in which you become a “true” fan. If we take a fan of a band: if you like their music and listen to it you are a fan of that music. If you are a super fan who knows everything about the band even trivial details and have been to 100+ concerts then you might be “more” of a fan, but both a still fans since fandom should grow out of the love of art.
Besides there simply is no point in which we can say “Okay, now you are officially a fan of X”. By setting up rules like you need to have listened to all their albums and been to at least 50 concerts, you only create weird and arbitrary goalposts that you (as the super fan) can move on a whim since you have a head start.
If someone said “You need a tattoo of the band to be a real fan” well, then everything breaks down, for that has nothing to do with the appreciation of the art. Fandoms are about the love of art and it is impossible to measure such things. Most gatekeeping is thus about made-up rules and restrictions with nothing about the actual art.
As for the person who creates their identity by listening to niche stuff.
You are not entitled to anything. You are not the only fan in existence, you will always have to share art with everyone else (unless you make it yourself, for yourself).
You might be the biggest fan of the smallest band ever, but if your brother introduced you to them, then how much do you deserve credit? You did nothing. Some people get into stuff at a later time.
We all get into different things at different times. At the time of writing this post, I have gotten into Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire). I am reading the books and liking them a lot while watching a bit of the series to compare. It is fun, but am I, not a fan because it took me this long to get into it?
Conclusion
Gatekeeping is a weird man, most of the time people are just trying to police others’ enjoyment based on their own situation. The “rules” people set up for other fans are truly arbitrary and no good at all.
HOWEVER! I do understand some forms of gatekeeping.
You want to keep out people who are not real fans.
If you have only read Lord of the Rings and those are your favorite books you can call yourself a fan of the series, but to be called a fantasy fan you need to have read a little more within the genre.