Gatekeeping

I don’t appreciate people who are gatekeepers. I don’t care what your area of expertise is, there is never a good excuse for this behaviour. I know, it’s a pretty hot take that gatekeepers suck, but let me delve into this.

If you don’t know this term yet, allow me to explain. No, I’m not talking about literal gatekeepers, a security guard who watches the gate of a compound or property and prevents unwanted visitors. I am talking about figurative gatekeepers, individuals who are part of a community that have a good amount of knowledge on a thing and act in a deprecating or disparaging way towards newcomers to that community. Nearly everyone has seen this before with fans of bands, “nice Metallica shirt, name three songs.”

As a man who has fostered a growth mindset ever since he was a clueless young man, I just can’t abide by that behaviour. People learn, people change, people grow. If this wasn’t an interest of the person’s until recently, so what? Because nobody has ever become an expert or authority in a field in their 40s, in their 50s, right? Hell, until the day we die we can still pick up a new thing and learn its ins and outs. The most important qualities in learning anything are interest and persistence. Gatekeeping behaviour discourages both and seeks to humiliate or mock newcomers.

But maybe there’s something in that. Maybe that newfound interest is what threatens them so much and that’s why they do it. The passion that person brings, this fresh experience they’re having makes the gatekeeper question their own connection to it, especially if it has begun to feel stale to them. If you’re threatened by how well someone else seems to be learning your “thing” then you suck. Full stop.

Of course nobody gatekeeps more than those in fandoms, we’ve all experienced the overzealous nerd, but the worst in my humble opinion is those in fields of expertise. I get it, protecting the integrity of a field or area of study does involve some level of correction of the neophytes, that’s fair. But what it doesn’t excuse is disparraging remarks, sneers, jokes, and discouraging behaviour. If someone is trying to learn a thing, why wouldn’t you want to encourage them? Why wouldn’t you want more people to talk to about it? You can grow your community and the only reason not to is because of some base level of insecurity with your own connection to the thing and a desire to feel superior to others.

You may have spent years being a fan or afficinado of X thing but that doesn’t make it yours. Read that line again. A collaborative body of knowledge belongs to all of us, experts and amatures. If someone is trying to learn it too the worst thing you can do is make them feel like shit about their efforts. You’re the expert? Cool story, bro. Now take it to the next level and teach other people about it. Much better to be an ambassador of a thing than to be a gatekeeper of it. If you truly love whatever it is, then you are showing that love much better and actually helping the thing you love by adding people to the community rather than chasing them out of it.

Finally, if you are a newcomer to a hobby, a study, a fandom or whatever then please don’t be discouraged by encountering one of these people. There are plenty of people in nearly every community who will be absolutely ecstatic you are interested in what they’re into. Don’t let that negative experience chase you away from something you’re developing a newfound love of. Remember, it belongs to you too, and trust me, you belong with it.