User blog:KnucklesFanGremlin/Unwarranted Soapboxing: Cringe Culture

Hey everyone, it’s me again. I’ve decided to try out this thing where I write a blog post about common issues or problems people run into on the SFCW or in this fandom in general. Nobody asked for this and I can’t guarantee that everything I say will be completely perfect, but I do hope that what I write will stick with some people and help them out when they need it. So, what’s this first blog going to be about?

Cringe Culture. Some of you probably know about it already, but for those who don’t, Cringe Culture is essentially the culture of people who mock and make fun of creative works by people on the internet. Typically people who participate in Cringe Culture make fun of people’s OCs and fanfiction, interests, artwork, and etc. under the reasoning that all of those things are “cringey” or embarrassing, and often verbally harassing the people who make these. On Youtube you can find cringe compilation videos, on Tumblr you can find cringe blogs, Reddit has multiple cringe subreddits, so on and so forth. There’s even some people who participate in cringe culture on the SFCW itself. I want to go as in-depth as I can about this subject and explain all the problems I have with Cringe Culture. First up, we have

The Targets
Who are the people this culture is targeting exactly? That’s a rhetorical question, of course, but I am essentially asking who is responsible for a lot of “cringey” fanwork. The unfortunate answer to that is children.

I know that a lot of people on the SFCW are in fact under 18 and are legally children, and our brains don’t fully mature until we’re somewhere in our 20’s. I would be astonished if the majority of the people reading this haven’t been shamed for their interests before. We make Sonic Fan Characters, we’re practically considered the poster children for “cringe”. Whether it be someone online or in real life, you’ve probably been made fun of for being in this fandom and participating creatively.

Something that disgusts me is that people who perpetuate Cringe Culture often tend to be people in their late teens or in some cases full grown adults. Remove all the labels and look at this situation right now. Cringe culture is a culture of adults who like to bully children for being creative. I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s sickening. Adults should be encouraging creativity, not tearing it down because it doesn’t meet up to their high standards. And ask yourself this question: What’s more embarrassing? Making some Mary Sues and shipping them with canon characters, or harassing literal children for their hobby?

Now another issue arises, particularly with how Cringe Culture perpetuates ableism. For those of you who do not know what that is, ableism is a term that means the discrimination against people who have physical or mental disabilities, learning disorders, or mental illnesses. Ableism is especially prevalent for people whose disabilities are mental and not visible. What does this have to do with Cringe Culture?

Well, lots of people who participate in fandoms and are deeply engrossed in their creative works for said fandoms have autism. As someone who doesn’t have autism and hasn’t studied it extensively, I am not an entirely reliable resource to learn about it (I highly encourage you to research on your own time). But a common trait among people with autism are special interests. Something they are extremely passionate about, know almost everything about, and obsess over because that’s just how their brains work. They can’t change it, and for Cringe Culture participants, this is seen as something worth laughing at. Laughing at someone who’s so strongly attached to a fandom or video game series because no “normal” person would be this obsessed. But that’s exactly what the problem is, the idea that people with autism can’t be normal and that it's okay to bully them for the traits that come with autism, which they have no control over. You wouldn’t make fun of someone who can’t see, so why make fun of someone who has difficulty understanding social cues and copes with their issues through their special interest?

For people who have been targeted by Cringe Culture
For anyone who has gone through beration, shaming, and humiliation for making OCs, I want you all to know that you are not “cringey”. You’re not at fault for anything and you haven’t brought any of this upon yourself. You’re being yourself and that’s something so beautiful and so undervalued by so many people.

Everyone has their own reasons for being “cringey”. Some people write tragic backstories to cope with their own personal issues, some people make overly perfect characters because they want to feel like someone special, and some people do this just because it’s fun. There’s nothing wrong with any of these. Having a hobby or a special interest is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s just part of who you are. And in years to come you might look back on this and laugh at yourself, which is fine in itself, but you must remember that you are a human. You’re allowed to make mistakes, you’re allowed to make weird things that you like, you’re allowed to make things that other people think are stupid.

Having a creative outlet for yourself is an amazing thing. You’re a creator, you’ve made things that can help you grow and inspire others. You’re not perfect, but no one is, and you never have to be. Cringe Culture does the worst thing to creators, it makes them feel inadequate. They discourage people from trying, they scare people away from letting out their full potential. They make it harder for you to express yourself. Don’t let them scare you away.

''“If you look at society as simply the collective contribution, millions of human beings, who carry in themselves certain power and influence and emotion. Every time you turn the switch off on one of those persons, you dampen the glow.”'' - Unknown Source

And if you’re someone who regularly participates in Cringe Culture, I sincerely hope that you come to realize everything wrong with it, reflect upon yourself, and change your actions for the better.