A Touch of Gray

[sleigh]

I hate to say this, but one enduring image I have of Worldcon is walking down the hall of one of the party floors and seeing a veritable fleet of electric carts parked along the wall. That seems emblematic of the graying of fandom and declining memberships at many conventions (Worldcons being among them). I found it also symbolic of how sf fandom, should it not want to die a slow and fading death, needs to learn how to be inclusive of younger fans, who might have different interests and tastes than ours. It would behoove us to remember that when we were the Young Ones, our tastes were also different than that of the Old Pharts of the time.

We need to embrace the differences and enjoy the discussions that result, not run away from them. At least that's my feeling. What's yours?

Comments

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

You may be right (and I may be crazy), but your comment reminds me of just how certain Martin Schafer was when he told me more than 20 years ago it was utterly clear that Apple would be out of business within 3 years or so. They just didn't have enough market share, and they were going to lose what they had and be gone. That was before there were iPods, iPhones, or iPads. And even when the latest of these came out, I read column after column about how Apple had invented a product in search of a market that didn't and wouldn't exist. Those columnists said a tablet computer was an expensive, fine toy for first-adopter Mac-maniacs, but that the world simply didn't need them.

Yes, there are a lot of grey-haired people working on conventions, especially Worldcons. At 59, I'm one of them despite the fact that I dye my hair to keep it red. But I'm also seeing the Warren Buffs, Jesi Pershings, Meg Totuseks, and others joining in and taking on bigger and bigger roles. Warren mentioned today he's 30; he chaired the Raleigh NASFiC 3 years ago. I don't know Jesi's or Megan's ages, but if they're not still in their mid-20s, they're pretty darned close to that. At Chicon last year, the "JOFs" (self-identified Journeymen of Fandom) gelled and threw their own dead dog party. I saw a statement just this past week that they have some grey-haired members, but the overall demographic of the group looks to be 20s and 30s compared to the age 55-70 cohort visibly working on Worldcons.

I expect the next 5-15 years to bring a rocky transition as the current old people continue dying off or otherwise becoming too frail for major jobs on the Worldcon, especially if more of the frail ones and those who can continue working loudly become the "you kids get off my lawn!" types. But the Worldcon has already been through a couple of these transitions and enough younger folks appear to continue wanting Worldcon to exist that it seems likely to me that it will.

Fans have been acrimonious about their opinions since before the Exclusion Act at the first Worldcon in 1939. It does seem to be built into the culture, much as it also drives fans away from "traditional" fandom. Experience taught me that changing a culture is hard. It's also shown me that times do change. Situations and behaviors that were expected and supported at Worldcons when I first started going to them in 1982 are met with outrage and flame wars when they happen today.

I could be wrong, of course. I expect I'll find it interesting to see what happens next for as long as I'm around and able to see it.