Update: Teen has taken down the blog post entirely (I’m glad I have these screencaps), my thoughts at the end of this post
Yesterday’s post was spread by a fair number of people on the internet, and that makes me happy. It wasn’t just spread by fanfic writers, but by people who understood that bullying is wrong.
On Twitter, I said I was convinced that while Teen.com did do an about face and edit the title, they changed more than that. And I was right! I wonder if Ms. Daluisio edited herself.
First is the original, I included the address bar, so you can see it was the cached version. Pay close attention to the end of the second paragraph.
Title: 11 Scott McCall-Stiles Stilinski Fanfics That Prove Teen Wolf Fans Are Nasty AF
Text: Teen Wolf fans DGAF about crossing any ~personal~ boundaries…
If that isn’t judgmental, I don’t know what is.
Now, the edit.
New Title: 11 Dirty Scott McCall-Stiles Stilinski Fanfics All Teen Wolf Fans Must See
New Text: Teen Wolf fans love to get personal when it comes to Sciles!
While the change is a baby step in the right direction, it’s still clear that the original post was geared towards shaming Teen Wolf fans who write a pairing the author doesn’t agree with, as well as those who write NSFW fiction. While the new tone attempts to make it seems as though they’re celebrating these fics, there’s still a few word choices in there that make it seem like she’s judging.
Like starting the second paragraph with But. There’s no need to do that unless she really doesn’t think it’s cool that people ship Sciles.
It’s also clear that teen.com is interested in covering fanfiction (since the world is aware it exists) without understanding it. Without caring that fandom offers new writers a chance to hone their writing, while sharing it with people who appreciate it. Or understanding that when you pull fanfic out of the context of fandom, it can seem odd.
Doing a little digging, Ms. Daluisio’s posts on Teen.com either have clickbait titles or are posts geared towards shaming fans. I admit, I’m tired of seeing people tweet sexual things at celebrities, but it doesn’t mean you should collect them and frame it as the way that fans act as a whole, not a subset of fans.
Teen.com needs to rethink how they cover fan life, and at least have a writer on their staff who can promotes the positive aspects of fandom, rather than solely exploiting it for clicks- without caring who they’re harassing in the process.
Your thoughts? If you know a teen author who needs a fanfic beta, let me know. I’m going to do more to help a new generation of writers get out there. And I know how much fanfiction has helped shape my writing as a whole – here, in my novel. Fanfic has helped.
Update: As I mentioned above, Teen deleted the Teen Wolf post, and posted this to their Twitter account.
Hi all,
We appreciate your feedback, have taken down the Teen Wolf fanfiction post & are handling it internally.
Thank you,
Teen
— Teen (@teen) October 26, 2015
Do I think it was an appropriate action? Yes. Do I think that Teen still owes those writers a public apology? Absolutely.
The fact remains that Teen’s other post mocking fanfic writers is still live, and Ms. Daluisio continues to post # of Nasty Tweets from [Celeb]’s Fans type posts as well. While it’s a good idea that this is handled, to me “handling it internally” is code for – we’re hoping all of you stop paying attention to our site.
Your thoughts – is that enough?
As much as possible, I’ve been pointing people to read the comments on Dalusisio’s listicle. Usually, as you know, the comments section in fandom related writings is a cesspool of namecalling, baiting, arguing over who’s ship is better, etc., etc., etc.
It has actually given me some hope in humanity that every single comment is against the writer doing what she did, calling her and teen .com out, and for the most part, done so in a mature way. There are people of all ages, genders, and fandoms in there banding together to show how hurtful the piece was. If there is a silver lining to this debacle, amazingly, the comments are it.
Edited to change link so Teen doesn’t get the Google cred.
I did see the comments! I think the one thing we’re all agreed on is that it’s irresponsible, and that we have to take the higher road than a site that feels it’s appropriate to label anyone ‘nasty AF’. It is wonderful to see people from more than just the Teen Wolf fandom come out in support – and even from people who don’t writer/read fanfiction boosting it as well.
Note: I wrote this because Teen.com claims to be for Teens & Tweens.
I love Pop Culture. Therefore, my kids do too. So, I’ve always been very involved in supporting their interests. When my son was immersed in Harry Potter and then other fiction series, we sought out things like podcasts. The one hosted by Melissa Anelli was great (as is her book) others were not. I didn’t share the creepy ones with him.
Kids still read magazines when mine were Tweens, so people bought them gift subscriptions to some.
I was shocked to find how many of the ones that said they were for Tween & Teens were not at all appropriate. One my son got had lots of lists and trivia – cool, he loved that. Except, it included specific references to “porn.” Not just random mentions, but very specific stuff. (I canceled it before he knew he had received the gift subscription and found him a better one.)
There were similar experiences with my daughter. She loves singing and acting and followed lots of Disney Channel and Nick shows and their stars. But, on more that one occasion, before giving her a magazine with her faves on the cover, I looked inside and found articles about oral sex and tips on “how to not look so flat-chested.” Nope. Sorry kid. We’ll pass.
I learned that putting a label on a publication that said it was for Tween & Teens did not mean it was. I learned the importance of being involved with and aware of my kids interests. By discussing these things, I helped them learn how to navigate these waters too. Sure, uncomfortable stuff still got through occasionally. (I remember having a conversation about the concept of incest. It wasn’t a graphic depiction, just a reference to some royal inbreeding, but they asked and we talked about it.)
My point here is this: Just because something advertises that it’s for a certain age group, that proves nothing. As parents, it’s important to pay attention to those things. Also, new parents have lots of friends who are not parents. Keep an eye on what gifts they buy (and don’t be afraid to coach them.)
Grandparents and other relatives who should know better don’t always either. There was one relative who constantly sent books that were inappropriate for other reasons as well; she was very intolerant and the books reflected her views on race, sexual-orientation, gender roles, and religion. NOPE. Sorry Auntie, not your place.
Fast-forward to now. My kids constantly make me proud by pointing out things they see in media, in school, and in their neighborhoods. My son in college, who’s more of a Batman fan, still sends me articles about how cool it is that Marvel has new books by and about Muslim heroes. Or, how awesome it is that there are now female officials in the NFL. My daughter and I talk constantly about the strong women of Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter. We sit together every week and discuss the interesting and diverse (and often very complicated) characters on Once Upon a Time.