Thinky Thoughts: Kinkin' and Pimpin!

So I was thinking about the roles anonymous kink memes play in fandoms.

I was SO ecstatically happy when Good Omens fandom finally grew one last year. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU lady_of_water!

First off, do they play a bigger role in smaller fandoms than the do in big ones? GO fandom is not a perpetual-motion machine like Harry Potter or Supernatural or Star Trek. I have a tendency to think that small fandoms need more active nurturing: welcoming of new posters, recruiting of talent, infrastructure work and opportunities to make connections...just more conscious effort to be inclusive and welcoming all around.

Do anonymous kink memes achieve this? I have to think they do, right? Not all anonymity in fandom is the same. I draw a HUGE distinction between anonymous creative memes and the type of anon meme that exists mostly so people can say nasty vicious snipy-bitch-girl crap without having to take responsibility. (Note to friends - if you ever see anyone ragging on me in one of these things, do me a favor and don't tell me. Unless it's important enough to say to my face, it's not important enough for me to worry about.) Anonymous KINK memes are the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed, though, because they are textual glory holes. They are places for people to shake-off their cultural kink-shame and GET EACH OTHER OFF freely and playfully. For example, looking at the GO one specifically? I totally understand why, for example, the person with the rape fantasy would want to be anon. And why the person who eventually writes it might want to as well. It's not an "approved" thing. It's creepy. But as a fic kink, it still totally has a right to exist. Same goes for kinks that are sappy, kinks that are random, kinks that won't necessarily lead to works of great "literary merit" for those who care a lot about such things. And obviously kink memes should be a great place for those who are newbies and nervous and shy to dip their toes in the water, right?

But, according to the AWESOME running list of fulfilled prompts, still unfulfilled prompts, and authors who have voluntarily outed themselves compiled by steadfast, close to half of the fulfilled prompts have been written by either, er, me, or steadfast. Neither of us are particularly reticent or shy.

I took a few theater improv classes in college, and later on had both a roommate and a long-term lover who were very into the Chicago improv theater scene on a professional level. The first creative principle I learned from that art form was: "Always say yes." That means, when you're on the improv stage, a lot of weird ideas will be flying at you fast and furiously. You never EVER negate or invalidate someone else's inspiration. That creates a chilling effect, and nothing will kill the energy faster. When someone throws an idea out there, they are doing something gutsy, and you owe it to them to at least try it; if it doesn't work for you, than you can morph it into something else after a little while (assuming you have an idea of your own, of course). This way, you have a group that's working together and bouncing off each other like sub-atomic particles, not a bunch of solo performers monologuing at once.

This is a model I like a lot for fandom. Before every post, I ask myself: does this encourage more participation? Or does it create a chilling effect? I think this question is more important in small fandoms, because small fandoms are a lot more vulnerable to being paralyzed by the kind of hypothermia that comes from chilling effects.

Does anonymity foster participation?

I used to think so, but it actually seems to me that our kink meme has woken up quite a bit since people started breaking omerta.* (I did early on. Ask me why!)

Maybe the healthiest model is a mix? Wouldn't surprise me - hybrid vigor and all that. But what do you think?