The "Everything I Know" Post

By all rights, this should be a very long, intensely insightful post, with links and examples and all of that awesome meta stuff.  

It's not going to be.

I've been meaning to write this post for several years now, and I keep putting it off because the thought of the effort involved was too exhausting. (depression, you are a great friend!)  So today, I decided to, in the immortal words of nike, "Just do it."

Without further ado, for your edification, here is my version of "Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Learned from Fandom."

EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW IN LIFE I LEARNED FROM FANDOM 
in no particular order, I have learned:

TO CHECK MY GODDAMN PRIVILEGE
AND WHAT PRIVILEGE IS 

THAT THE GENDER BINARY ISN'T
AND HOW HETEROSEXISM AND HETERONORMATIVITY ARE IN SOME WAYS, EVEN WORSE THAN HOMOPHOBIA

THAT SEX ISN'T SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF
THAT THERE ARE MANY, MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO HAVE SEX
TO LOVE OTHERS
TO IDENTIFY
TO BE
AND ALL OF THOSE ARE OKAY

THAT KINK EXISTS
AND THAT IT'S FUCKING HOT

HOW TO BE SAFE WHEN HAVING SEX
AND HOW TO HAVE GOOD SEX

THAT COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION ARE ESSENTIAL TO ANY RELATIONSHIP
IF A LITTLE MORE OBVIOUSLY SO IN KINKY ONES

THAT ONE CAN FUCK UP AND FUCK UP AND FUCK UP AGAIN
AND LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES

THAT INTENTIONS AREN'T WORTH SHIT IF YOUR ACTIONS HURT SOMEONE
SO CURB YOUR KNEE-JERK HURT REACTION AND GODDAMN APOLOGIZE
AND DON'T DO IT AGAIN

THAT I CAN CALL PEOPLE OUT ON THEIR BEHAVIOR, THEIR LANGUAGE, AND ALL THAT SHIT
BUT I'D BETTER BE PREPARED TO CALL MYSELF ON IT TOO

THAT THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THINGS, TALK ABOUT THINGS, REALLY DOES MATTER

THAT I AM NOT ALONE.