[Poll] Sharing the Love

So, recently I've had a few conversations that have indicated to me just how much fandom and the rest of my life are integrated. The first one was at preschool drop-off time a few weeks ago. Ms. Carro, the earthling's main (and much-loved) preschool teacher came up to me and said, "So, this is awkward, but do you keep a blog?"

I said, "Uh, yes," probably with a but I really hope you aren't reading it expression on my face.

She explained to me that at an SCA event that weekend, a friend of a friend had come up and said, "You're Ms. Carro? You must know this kid I read about online! I mean, how many preschool teachers are there named Ms. Carro?" She described the earthling, and Ms. Carro, who could identify all of her students in the dark, with ear plugs in, from fifty feet away, correctly named the earthling.

My reaction to this was an instinctive flinch. But it wasn't because my fannish activities had been exposed to the world; it was because I like people to stay in their boxes. If they start out in the preschool box, I want them to stay there. If they start out in the internet box, I want them to stay there. Box-hopping makes me twitchy.

Then we had dinner out with my sister and her family, at which we learned that:

1. My sister and her older son, Z, had read my Doctor Who x Lady Gaga's Bad Romance video (the true sign of a Yuletide fandom - there's no easy way to describe it, let alone a convenient acronym) Yuletide story.
   
2. To prepare themselves, they watched the Lady Gaga video. (Of course they needed no additional Doctor Who background; in retrospect, I should have asked my sister for a canon beta for that story. She could have provided it for basically any Doctor you care to name. It's ironic, really, that I am the person in the family who has written DW fan fiction.)
   
3. My sister's younger son, A, came into the room while they were watching the video, and was stricken immediately with a severe case of Lady Gaga love. He has now watched far more of her videos than I have (although my sister, ever appropriate, nixed Alejandro as perhaps a little too explicit for the pre-teen set, which was amusing to me since I had to really think to remember the bits she thought were too much for A), and is deep in the throes of early fannishness.

My sister blames me for turning her younger son into a Lady Gaga fan. I hold that I am blameless, because it is not like she had to watch that video. (Actual feedback from Z: "I didn't understand the video at all until I read your story." I have a hard time believing he understands the video now, since it makes no sense. But I guess for Z all things make sense through the lens of Doctor Who.) No one was making her! Also, she should know by now that A has a gift for sensing when people are consuming media they would rather not share with him. She should have sent him outside, ideally to a distant city, before pressing play. In short: HER FAULT. Not mine.

But after I had worked out exactly how I was not at all to blame, I started to consider this. I mean, I got feedback from family members on both my stories from last Yuletide. (My mother gave me feedback on the other story, based on Evanescence's Call Me When You're Sober video. This year, at signup time, someone please tell me not to sign up for so many video fandoms, okay? Please?) My son's preschool teacher apparently hangs out with someone who knows someone who reads my LJ or DW and is on the earthling filter, which stretches credibility, but there you go.

My fannish life is inextricable from my real life, is my point. My friends know! My family knows! Apparently now the preschool people do, too! So my question is: how are things in your life? Do you talk about fan fiction at the dinner table? Can you imagine no more horrible fate?

Obviously, there is a poll; the last time I did a poll like this, it was in 2004, so I'm curious to see how things have changed. Also, of course, feel free to tell stories in the comments. (And even if you are totally unfannish, please answer the last question. This has been a topic of debate in my household!)

Poll #7287 Openness

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 655

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Who knows you're in fandom?

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My significant other(s).
306 (47.2%)

My parent(s).
314 (48.5%)

My sibling(s).
312 (48.1%)

My child(ren).
60 (9.3%)

More distant relative(s).
77 (11.9%)

Friends.
544 (84.0%)

People I work with or know in a professional capacity.
158 (24.4%)

Acquaintances.
117 (18.1%)

People I know from other hobbies or interests.
160 (24.7%)

People I know from my religious activities.
37 (5.7%)

Everyone. Everyone knows.
40 (6.2%)

No one knows.
38 (5.9%)

I'm not in fandom.
3 (0.5%)

Who do you really NOT want to know you're in fandom?

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My significant other(s).
14 (2.3%)

My parent(s).
195 (32.5%)

My sibling(s).
64 (10.7%)

My child(ren).
12 (2.0%)

More distant relative(s).
209 (34.8%)

Friends.
30 (5.0%)

People I work with or know in a professional capacity.
374 (62.3%)

Acquaintances.
135 (22.5%)

People I know from other hobbies or interests.
67 (11.2%)

People I know from my religious activities.
69 (11.5%)

Everyone. I don't want ANY non-fannish people to know.
80 (13.3%)

No one. Anyone who wants to know is welcome to.
118 (19.7%)

I'm not in fandom; there's nothing to know.
1 (0.2%)

What percentage of your non-fannish circle knows about your fannish pursuits?

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Mean: 36.26 Median: 30 Std. Dev 28.85

0		67 (10.7%)
10		148 (23.7%)
20		72 (11.5%)
30		65 (10.4%)
40		41 (6.6%)
50		54 (8.6%)
60		34 (5.4%)
70		59 (9.4%)
80		46 (7.4%)
90		30 (4.8%)
100		9 (1.4%)

You're getting to know someone. The question of hobbies comes up.

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I tell. "Fandom. I [write fan fiction/create fan art/make vids/consume a lot of works where Harry Potter tops Methos/make erotic stained-glass window depictions of Jim and Blair fucking/etc.], and it's totally awesome."
52 (8.2%)

I say something that another fan would get, but someone clueless would probably not. "Uh, well, I'm really into these TV shows, the Sentinel and due South. Ever heard of them?"
185 (29.0%)

I say something inclusive of the fannish aspects of my life, but blandify it. "I read/write/draw/make videos/put song mixes together/etc."
291 (45.6%)

I only talk about other hobbies. "Gardening! Photography! The life cycle of snails!"
97 (15.2%)

I cannot imagine being in circumstances where this would come up.
13 (2.0%)

If you've told someone from your non-fannish life about your fannish activities, how did it go? (Obviously, if you've told more than one person, check all that apply.)

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Really well.
202 (32.3%)

Fairly well.
334 (53.4%)

Acceptably.
290 (46.3%)

Not that well.
68 (10.9%)

It was a fucking disaster. I can still feel the place in cold weather.
27 (4.3%)

I haven't told anyone.
63 (10.1%)

A QUESTION OF KEY IMPORTANCE. Which job title would you rather have?

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International Rectifier.
176 (27.3%)

Vice President of Cake.
469 (72.7%)