Hating that character/pairing - or hating the fans?

[misscam]

So, those of you that have an active dislike of a character or a pairing in fandom, do you think your dislike is fuelled as much by fans of it as the thing itself?

I bring before you a hypothetical situation.

In your neighbourhood lives Miss Enthusiastic, who has a cat. You don't really like cats as much, because you're a dog person. But to each their own, right? However, your neighbour is very proud of her cat. She keeps coming around with it, talk about it, have a t-shirt with a picture of the cat - it's all cat, cat, cat. She can't understand why you just won't love her cat. You find yourself starting to resent that damn cat, because after all, if it went away, your neighbour wouldn't annoy you so much. You see the cat, you think about what bliss it would be if a semi-trailer hit it.

Others in your neighbourhood - Mister Casual and his wife - also has a cat, but is much more tolerable about it. But because Miss Enthusiastic has so soured your cat reactions, you find yourself narrowing your eyes at their cat, too. You begin to realise you hate cats. Really, really, really hate cats. Wish all cats would go away - or never have evolved at all. Cats have ruined your neighbourhood.

Miss Enthusiatic gets another cat.

Three days later, you get a bulldog and go to war.

Replace neighbourhood with fandom, cats and dogs with ships - do you think dislike of what is essentially people can fuel dislike of something you are to start with just fairly 'meh' about? (Or entertain a mild dislike - and perhaps even sadder - or a liking for to begin with.) Because I look at some of the vitrolic in fandom directed at ships or characters and I wonder if fictional things can really get that much passion up. But other humans being, I know can. (I know for myself that my irrational hatred of Vålerenga, a football club, is fuelled entirely by behaviour of the fans on some matches I've been.)

And for the record, this is not about one particular fandom - I've seen what I think is this happening in several fandoms.

Of course, there doesn't need to be just one cause for a dislike to form and stay firmly rooted - so perhaps it is a combination of things that is most likely of all. In which case, what part do you think it plays? Do you have dislike that when you think about it, is definitely fuelled by fans, if not just that?

Opine on me please?


I love cats and get very enthusiatic about mine, a cuddly whiskered furball of love. I probably get annoying about this. Oh yeah.

Comments

[kindkit.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have to admit that Jack/Gwen being made canon would bug me. At least, it would bug me if it was presented as True Love. Because I think that would play into a certain conventional, and kind of homophobic, way of presenting bisexual characters: same-sex relationships are just fooling around, and real love only happens with a person of the opposite sex.

But that doesn't mean I hate Gwen. I'm already sick of the Gwen-hate in the fandom, and I've only been around for two seconds.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly. I don't want canon Jack/Gwen as true love and I hope it's not going there, despite what JB thinks (and I kind of suspect if it was, Rhys would have stayed dead), but the level of the hate bothers me. Especially when it's justified by calling Gwen a filthy whore for cheating on Rhys with Owen.