Difference between revisions of "Jews in Fandom"
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| − | A (mostly) tongue-in-cheek reference to the high number of Jews in [[fandom]], much higher than in the general populace, which has been true since | + | A (mostly) tongue-in-cheek reference to the high number of Jews in [[fandom]], much higher than in the general populace, which has been true since the [[sf community]]’s earliest days. |
Check out early [[prozine]] [[lettercols]], the founding members of the [[Scienceers]] (the first [[sf]] [[club]]) and the names of [[:Category:first_fandom|First Fandom]], not to mention those of the [[pro]]s — although it’s not always obvious. (Among [[John W. Campbell]]’s less pleasant beliefs was that writers with Anglofied names would sell better, so he pressed some of his stable to use [[pseudonyms]].) | Check out early [[prozine]] [[lettercols]], the founding members of the [[Scienceers]] (the first [[sf]] [[club]]) and the names of [[:Category:first_fandom|First Fandom]], not to mention those of the [[pro]]s — although it’s not always obvious. (Among [[John W. Campbell]]’s less pleasant beliefs was that writers with Anglofied names would sell better, so he pressed some of his stable to use [[pseudonyms]].) | ||
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Revision as of 20:34, 4 November 2020
A (mostly) tongue-in-cheek reference to the high number of Jews in fandom, much higher than in the general populace, which has been true since the sf community’s earliest days.
Check out early prozine lettercols, the founding members of the Scienceers (the first sf club) and the names of First Fandom, not to mention those of the pros — although it’s not always obvious. (Among John W. Campbell’s less pleasant beliefs was that writers with Anglofied names would sell better, so he pressed some of his stable to use pseudonyms.)
In a Live Journal discussion on February 25, 2010, Charlie Stross related an anecdote “illustrative of the invisibility of Jews ... unlike PoC we don't stand out in a mostly-white crowd”:
I was on a panel at the 2007 worldcon with three other authors. Can't remember what we were discussing, but three-quarters of the way through Robert Silverberg (for it was he) launched into an impassioned five-minute tirade about how the public perception that SF is disproportionately written by Jews is an illusion (probably caused by youthful exposure to Isaac Asimov) and that in fact he was the only Jew on the panel.
At which point Cory Doctorow and I raised our hands, Silverbob looked betrayed, then everyone's eyes turned to the (single) non-Jewish panelist.
Still, this often disregarded demographic likely accounts for a number of characteristic fannish behaviors and conversational styles.
The phrase dates to the 1980s, likely to rec.arts.sf.fandom.
| Fanhistory | 1980s— |
| This is a fanhistory page. Please add more detail. |
