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The Fourth Wall is an untitled post by [[thewinterotter]] responding  to a question about why fans worry about the fourth wall disappearing. The essay was posted around the time that many fans on tumblr, including [[Teen Wolf]] fans, were debating over the ban on bringing [[Sterek]] material to conventions for the actors to sign. (See also the history of the [[Sterek Book]]).  Excerpt from the post are below. You can read the entire post [http://thewinterotter.tumblr.com/post/91078119856/i-loved-that-essay-on-the-4th-wall-you-reblogged here].

The Fourth Wall is an untitled post by [[thewinterotter]] responding  to a question about why fans worry about [[the fourth wall]] disappearing.  

 

The essay was posted around the time that many fans on [[Tumblr]], including [[Teen Wolf]] fans, were debating over the ban on bringing [[Sterek]] [[Violating the Fourth Wall|material to conventions for the actors to sign]]. (See also the history of the [[Sterek Book]]).   

 

Excerpts from the post are below. You can read the entire post [http://thewinterotter.tumblr.com/post/91078119856/i-loved-that-essay-on-the-4th-wall-you-reblogged here].

==The Question==

==The Question==

==Answer (Excerpts)==

==Answer (Excerpts)==

{{Quotation|"I think that part of the reason why the 4th wall is still such a thing is because fandom is desperate to keep it up. Especially for those of us who are older and came up in a different sort of fandom on different platforms, there are a lot of unspoken rules about what you do and don’t discuss or socially allow."}}

{{Quotation|

"I think that part of the reason why the 4th wall is still such a thing is because fandom is desperate to keep it up. Especially for those of us who are older and came up in a different sort of fandom on different platforms, there are a lot of unspoken rules about what you do and don’t discuss or socially allow."}}

{{Quotation|"There are a lot of fans who will tell you that it’s not acceptable to talk about or ask about slash ships at a convention. We have to pretend they don’t exist. (Still vividly recalling the fan who got booed at a Supernatural convention for stating she was bisexual and wanting to ask if Jensen thought Dean might be. Seriously, the word “bisexual” was uttered and the crowd responded by loudly policing the topic. If you think all of fandom is a queer-friendly place, you’re very mistaken.) And if you accept that idea, then you’re accepting the idea that those pairings are lesser or somehow more explicit just by existing, simply because they’re same-sex."}}

{{Quotation|

"There are a lot of fans who will tell you that it’s not acceptable to talk about or ask about slash ships at a convention. We have to pretend they don’t exist. (Still vividly recalling the fan who got booed at a Supernatural convention for stating she was bisexual and wanting to ask if Jensen thought Dean might be. Seriously, the word “bisexual” was uttered and the crowd responded by loudly policing the topic. If you think all of fandom is a queer-friendly place, you’re very mistaken.) And if you accept that idea, then you’re accepting the idea that those pairings are lesser or somehow more explicit just by existing, simply because they’re same-sex."}}

{{Quotation|"Anyway, basically what I’m saying is, we need to change our own culture. We all need to stop acting like slash is a dirty secret, for a start. We need to stop allowing a culture of shame around it like it’s something that needs hushing up. People have a million reasons to not talk about their fannish activities in connection with their daily lives, and that’s fine, but inside fannish spaces we really need to stop hushing each other up over topics that, in this day and age, are really not scandalous."}}

{{Quotation|

"Anyway, basically what I’m saying is, we need to change our own culture. We all need to stop acting like slash is a dirty secret, for a start. We need to stop allowing a culture of shame around it like it’s something that needs hushing up. People have a million reasons to not talk about their fannish activities in connection with their daily lives, and that’s fine, but inside fannish spaces we really need to stop hushing each other up over topics that, in this day and age, are really not scandalous."}}

==Reactions and Responses==

==Reactions and Responses==

The tumblr post was liked and reblogged over 240 times. A few fans added their comments:

The tumblr post was liked and reblogged over 240 times. A few fans added their comments:

{{Quotation|[iwritesometimes]: "i love you, fandom, and i think this entire conversation is vitally important and i’m glad we’re having it in earnest, but fhew, i have never before read such excellent essays and come to the exact opposite conclusions from the authors’. destroying the fourth wall is just so intensely not the answer to this problem; if there were any way to re-erect it and then [[Pacific Rim|station jaegers]] around it to guard it from the kaiju outside, i would have it done. fandom has way WAY too much of its own shit to sort out before we can ever engage with the mainstream on any issue of import (lgbt+ media representation, feminist media criticism, representation of PoC and the differently-abled)...

{{Quotation|[iwritesometimes]: "i love you, fandom, and i think this entire conversation is vitally important and i’m glad we’re having it in earnest, but fhew, i have never before read such excellent essays and come to the exact opposite conclusions from the authors’. destroying the fourth wall is just so intensely not the answer to this problem; if there were any way to re-erect it and then [[Pacific Rim|station jaegers]] around it to guard it from the kaiju outside, i would have it done. fandom has way WAY too much of its own shit to sort out before we can ever engage with the mainstream on any issue of import (lgbt+ media representation, feminist media criticism, representation of PoC and the differently-abled)...