Freelance writer Jayne Nelson stands up for the passions of fangirls
For the 250th issue of SFX, you voted for your 250 greatest moments in scifi and fantasy. Note: you voted for them. In your thousands. Which is why it was disappointing when some people complained about the results: they were, after all, merely a reflection of SFX readers’ current passions and loves. And it was also depressing to note how many men – not all, of course, but enough – seemed ready to complain that the moment that reached number one appealed largely to female viewers.
“Whoever voted that arnt [ sic] sci fi fans,” said one reader on Facebook. “Yup the fangirls have ruined it.”
Well, you can stick that sentiment up your bottom. The poll was won by a scene from Doctor Who ( a sci- fi show) in which the Doctor ( an alien) and Rose ( a human whisked off around the galaxy by said alien) had an emotional moment before they were torn apart ( by different universes). Not sci- fi? Really? That scene was also the culmination of a story that gripped a huge chunk of UK audiences on primetime telly for years; that’s no small feat. Science fiction and fantasy are about people as well as spaceships. Good sci- fi makes you care about the people more than the spaceships, which is what Doctor Who did so well in that sequence.
But more to the point, there’s that grumbling about block voting from fangirls. So what if there was? If you don’t like it that some fans get together and organise themselves, why not do the same with the next poll? Nothing’s stopping you. Fans – girls and boys – love their shows, films and characters so much that they’ll whip themselves into a frenzy to make them win a
“Please, guys, stop suggesting there’s a wrong sort of fan”
poll. Why is that kind of passion something to be sneered at?
I wouldn’t dare to suggest that women love and understand SF and fantasy more than men do. That’s flat- out sexist. Debate is good but please, guys, stop suggesting that there’s a right or wrong sort of fan. You might not agree with the placing of some moments in that poll, but belittling those who voted for them is nothing more than bullying. scientists striving to be plausible, but The Wicker Man – out- there as it was – really falls into the not- really- fantasy horror category, as does The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, based as it was around actual killings.
Bryn Hughes, Wrexham Ah, the age- old debate about what should be in SFX or not! We like to welcome as much fantastical stuff into our big friendly tent as we can – but you might have a point about Chain Saw Massacre.