The mistake I made is a common one: I conflated a fandom with the art that the fandom loves.
– Jordan Calhoun in Stop Blaming Fandoms, FFS
I know that I personally have a difficult time separating art from its fandom. With critical conversation expanded to include, well, everyone these days, it’s hard to experience any art without being “exposed”. Discovering a community centered around something you love feels categorically different than being surrounded by a community that loves something you haven’t experienced.
Maybe I can mature past this, but for now, I need distance from community to form have own experience.