[T/W: Discussion of triggering topics and Burning Sun]

Hey guys,

I know it’s been a rough time on AFF recently. A lot of people have left the community, and the Burning Sun scandal has left a lot of disillusionment among fans about the true characters of their idols in its wake. But honestly, logging back on and seeing all these arguments about whether or not including and/or glorifying triggering topics is OK in fanfiction is… pretty disheartening. It’s a topic that has come up on AFF a lot, and I had hoped it’d be put to rest by now.

Since it is clearly still the point of quite a bit of contention, here’s my stance on it: glorifying immoral and/or damaging behavior is never OK. Does that mean authors should be shamed or attacked for it? No - but there’s also a line between being told one’s behavior is wrong and being attacked that personal bias and knee-jerk defensiveness can blur.

The Social Construct Element

To put things into perspective and share my stance, I’d like to emphasize that society’s approaches to triggering topics like , ia, and grooming are socially constructed, meaning that the way everyday people talk about these topics reinforces or tears down the ways we regard them. Therefore, something as simple as writing a story that positively depicts an underage protagonist falling in “love” with a much older man who grooms her to only trust him can and does reinforce the idea that grooming is acceptable, even if that isn’t the author’s intention. Obviously, reading/writing one story glorifying grooming does not cause readers to go out and promote those behaviors, but over time, those messages pile up and subconsciously change people’s attitudes toward toxic behavior. It’s these small interactions and off-the-cuff commentaries that construct society’s attitudes toward these topics, and there’s plenty of academic literature in psychology and sociology to back this up.

When individual members of society continue reinforcing that //ia/grooming are OK are romantic, the end result can be disastrous. Take the extreme example of the Burning Sun Kakaotalk chat rooms - the way the men involved talk about women and is awful; all of us can recognize that. But to them, it’s also clearly a game, something embedded in their everyday life that they treat casually - this is the end result of ualizing women in everyday conversations and interactions for decades upon decades. Their attitudes toward women likely stem from years of growing up with male friends joking about sleeping with women, watching ography that uses derogatory language/behavior toward women, and receiving messages from society that women are just ual objects for men to do with as they please - the individual messages may be small, forgettable on their own, but they add up over the years. Although of course, like I said, this is an extreme example and there is clearly more at work than just social constructs with JJY and Co., those chatrooms demonstrate the devastating potential of seemingly small interactions.

A somewhat less extreme example would be the infamous young sasaeng who followed Suho around, holding up posters that said, “ me, Suho.” To me, there’s a pretty obvious connection to fantasizing about and glorifying there, regardless of where she received those messages. I’ve seen that kind of language in AFF fics before, and I’ve seen readers supporting and defending those types of stories. Now I’m not saying that every reader who likes those stories would go out and do something like that - the general fandom consensus is that that sasaeng’s behavior is absolutely horrific. But as a member of the community, I am concerned that her case highlights the blurring between dangerous fantasy and reality, a phenomenon exacerbated by perpetual publication and support of fanfiction painting similarly immoral topics in shining lights. Frankly, it’s harmful to our fandoms and idols alike - to me, this anecdote really drives home how something as ostensibly innocuous as bodice-ripper fiction, for example, could potentially translate to disturbing behavior in vulnerable populations.

The Social Responsibility Element

Fanfiction, as a form of literature with a widespread, young audience, has potential to influence and diffuse that we should not underestimate; there’s a reason school libraries censor or ban certain books, after all (although I do disagree with many of the books they’ve banned, but that’s a topic for another day). Even in a high school setting, where students are old enough to have a significant level of autonomy and judgment (and indeed, many AFF users are younger than high school age), many books are kept out of the libraries - no one would reasonably argue that keeping books glorifying in the school library would be OK because students can “just not read them if they don’t want to.” The mere presence of such a book, especially in a place carved out for young, impressionable minds, is unacceptable - as members of society, we each have a responsibility to protect each other from these kinds of dangerous, potentially life-destroying messages.

That responsibility, like it or not, comes with being a contributing member of society. Just as we each have a responsibility to follow the law, being part of a community means signing the social contract. I would argue that publishing an AFF story glorifying and then claiming that “it’s just a story, it’s not like I’m really promoting . You don’t have to read it” is similar to dropping a cigarette in a playground and claiming, “it’s just a cigarette, it’s not like I’m really promoting smoking. You don’t have to smoke it” in terms of social responsibility. As long as you are a member of society, you cannot separate your actions from social construction; they are inherently intertwined, like it or not, and your actions do have consequences regardless of intention - others see your actions, not the intentions behind them.

That’s not to say that there should be a blanket ban on depiction of triggering topics on AFF. Not at all. It’s fine, good even, to include dialogue on these topics in our writing. Many of you may know that imrapunzel and I started a recommendation list, “On Trigger Happiness,” last time this topic came up to demonstrate that appropriate depiction of triggering topics is very much acceptable and possible in fanfiction. But writing about triggering topics in a socially responsible manner requires context and understanding of the impact that such a story can carry. If everything you write socially constructs or destructs a belief (and it does), then take care with your message. Understand that even if you only mean it as a harmless fantasy with no impact whatsoever, that is not how it will be perceived or received in reality. Yes, writing can be fun, and yes, writing can be an outlet for desires and fantasies, but the power of writing cannot be underestimated. Verbally stating that you don’t want your writing to have consequences does not negate said consequences, no matter how much you wish it would. (Notably, the same can be said for sending hate or slandering writers/readers - please be nice when calling people out, because those words have consequences too.)

So please. Please. Please. Let’s just make AFF a good community for each other. Don’t go spitting vitriol at other people whose actions you don’t condone, but don’t shy away from calling them out either. If you’re on the receiving side of the call-out, do society a favor and react by thinking deeply about the impact and implications of your work instead of instinctively lashing out or (from a reader-side perspective) mobilizing your fellow readers for war. And if you’re scared to publish something because you’re unsure if it glorifies a triggering topic, ask your readers for feedback on the questionable sections and adjust accordingly - there’s nothing wrong with that. Civilized disagreement and constructive feedback make for a thriving intellectual community, but hiding behind anonymized hate or illogical excuses does no one any favors.