Can you be in lolcow fandoms without being a lolcow?

[Dr. Troon]

It's just something I've thought about in the past. Like, some examples of fandoms that tend to attract lolcows I can think of are furries, bronies, k-pop stans, weebs (sometimes) and the sort. Can you be part of these fandoms and not automatically be considered a lolcow? Just like, thought of as strange or weird, but not necessarily material for people to follow you for being strange or weird.

I think it's possible, like I know we've (probably) got people in these fandoms here and know not to act like a dumbass about having strange interests.

 

[Dwight Frye]

If you refer to yourself as being "in a fandom" you've already taken your first steps towards cowdom.

Can you enjoy, or continue to enjoy things that are big in cow circles without being one? Absolutely. It's when you make your interests or hobbies such a focal point that you start listing it as a part of your personality (fandoms and all the bullshit associated with having to feel like you need to be a member of a club to enjoy something) that it starts veering into autism territory.

 

[Dr. Troon]

Can you enjoy, or continue to enjoy things that are big in cow circles without being one?

Yeah, that's what I was going for.

 

[Madam Nekromantik]

Just like what you like, there's no need to be in a fandom. They've never been good.

 

[Half-Blood Princess]

I think so. I'm a Sonic fan and draw furry art for money. Doesn't mean I go around harassing everyone about it and forcing them to be a part of my interest. When talking to people at school I just talk about normie stuff like Disney, the Office, Grey's Anatomy, etc.

 

[Some JERK]

That depends, can you exist in a fandom without talking to people about it who couldn't give a shit less? If yes, then yes. If no...

 

[Edgeworth]

It's okay to be a fan of something without being in the fandom. Fandumb.

Fandoms are just groups of people in sometimes subconscious competitions to be the "biggest fan" of something. They're of limited mindset and have tendencies to kick out people who don't agree or adhere to their hivemind ideas. Most of them are cancerous to even be associated with nowadays, however; good luck saying "I'm a fan of Steven Universe" without people who know better associating you with the group involved in the Zamii incident.

Like others said, just say you like it without associating with the fandom for it because those are stupid places for stupid people... in my opinion.

 

[DumbDude42]

being in a fandom is terrible in the first place
doesnt make you a cow but it's definitely cringe

 

[Sexy Senior Citizen]

I agree with @Autumnal Equinox on this one. You can be a fan of some pretty weird shit, but as long as you don't make it an integral part of your identity you shouldn't be on your way to becoming a lolcow.
Take Chris-Chan or Moviebob, for example. They made the Sonic and Mario franchises, respectively, an integral part of their identities, so much so that they were easy targets for bullies in school and hold grudges against said bullies to this day. Chris had his blarms incident, and during GamerGate The Great Autism Wars of 2014, Bob legitimately asked what video game characters would think of the blatant autism being thrown around.
Of course, the counterpoint is that you can still be a lolcow without being part of a fandom (Jonathan Yaniv and Lucas Werner come to mind).

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

furries,

Always

bronies

Always

k-pop stans

Not only a lolcow, but also gay.

weebs (sometimes)

Double gay.

Can you be part of these fandoms and not automatically be considered a lolcow?

Absolutely not.

 

[Kenya Jones]

I swear I've seen like a dozen of these threads before and they all end up the same way. Lurk more

 

[DecimatedFerret]

Just don't be a fag about what you like and you'll be fine.

 

[Pissmaster]

Fandoms breed lolcows so well because unless you're a content creator doing your own thing that's related to the fandom, all you really have to do in one is discuss the topic at hand and whatever other subjects have come up. Of course, as communities grow and mature, the craziest, most active members tend to take over, and you have to reach a certain level of faggotry to even be accepted and not just waived off like a filthy casual commoner. So, normal people get pushed away pretty quickly, if not by the sheer number of abbreviations and in-jokes, then by assholes snapping at them for not understanding their abbreviations and in-jokes. Hierarchies form, based on whomever's the best at the game or owns the most merch or simply kisses up to the admins the best, and everyone who's not insane starts performing mental gymnastics to cope with how these people are only your "friends" based on social status, not because they actually wanna associate with you, but because you're at the Diamond rank in StarCraft 2. That's it. And then someone else in your community hits Master before you do, and whoop, there goes your "friends". Fuck you, scrub, git gud.

Nobody looking to make friends with a common interest wants to deal with all that autism, and as communities age, it's always the most autistic that float to the top, every single time. Nobody in their right mind subjects themselves to that level of autism if they have anywhere else to go. And since internet communities are terrific at breeding these kinds of communities, considering how you can't just call them faggots and punch them in the teeth in person like you could at a bar, the unchecked faggotry persists, and you have to have something wrong with you to insist on keeping those kind of people in your life.

This is all basically why absolutely every single fandom, without fail, is horrible in one way or another.

 

[GethN7]

Well, you can be a member of this site, but even that's not a guarantee you won't be a lolcow.

 

[Woke Blue Muttlema]

As someone with experience on tardy fandoms I can tell you that you can but its way too easy to fall into the abyss.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Roll with the pigs and you are going to get dirty, same with fandoms. There's a normal level of appreciation for pop-culture, fandoms seems to stray into cult territory.

 

[Star Stuff]

Like others have said, it's completely possible and even common. We always hear about the worst fandoms, but ultimately it's just the 10% of fandoms that are mentally unhinged individuals who'll latch onto the next thing the moment they get bored or their current interest dies. Though I guess I have a different definition for fandoms? I talk with friends I met over some common interests and we still talk about it a lot, so that's what would make me consider myself part of a fandom, despite not really joining huge groups or going on Tumblr.

Look, basically, as long as you can describe who you are without referencing whatever you're a fan of, you're in the clear. It should always be "I'm [x], [x], [x] and I happen to like [x]." If you find yourself unable to describe yourself without declaring your undying love for a piece of media, maybe it's time to step back.

 

[Pukebucket]

Wanna write a 40 page essay about the morals, ethics, and presentation of a specific character? Go for it! Have fun contributing to a medium in an interesting way.
Wanna write a 40 page essay about the morals, ethics, and presentation of of liking specific character? You are officially an ass clown frolicking in the circus of dipshittery.
Enjoying things is fine. Being critical of things is fine. But if you start getting into conversations about how doing either makes other people bad purely on the basis of how they choose to enjoy fictional media in a harmless manner then you've strayed too far into the cow field.

 

[Milk Mage]

I watched a anime once. Now I'm a sex offender.

 

[Looney Troons]

Anyone who openly admits to being a Brony or liking anything remotely related to MLP is a cow.