The glory of seen-ness
I can't believe Golden-Con is over. I'm still buzzing from it.
Since I first launched HYY in 2017, I’ve been waiting for an event targeted specifically at Golden Girls fanatics. I’ve tried vending the BUST Craftacular Events, Artists and Fleas and Pride celebrations. I’ve even set up a table at multiple performances by a Golden Girls drag group and yet still, I came up empty. The attendees who would go to those shows were not the true solid fanatics but rather the run of the mill fans who appreciated the show.
As I creep further into adulthood it has become less and less common for me to feel seen, be it regarding my Golden Girls fandom, my zealousness for human rights, my creativity or other facets of my identity.
Of course there are people in my life who share my feelings on those things but I get those interactions in small doses.
Golden-Con was a giant, heaping dose of seen-ness. And it did wonders for my soul.
The positive, enthusiastic energy was palpable.
The nuanced references represented in the props scattered about the space and in the ensembles that my fellow GG fans wore were fantastic.
Nothing required explanation; everyone just knew.
I was fortunate to meet a bunch of people I have only interacted with via Instagram. It was SO GOOD to see and meet them in person.
One of the things I’ve loved most about this community is that whether someone is a fanatic who collects memorabilia, a podcast host, a small business owner or someone who watches it every night as they fall asleep it all felt like a perfect storm of people.
Real talk: I was unsure of what to expect from this event.
I wondered if that feeling of competition would be present that I sometimes feel within fan communities; who is the “best” fan, who knows more trivia, who has collected the most GG related items (the p3nis mold, for example), who got to meet the Girls before they passed.
I felt none of that.
It was a sea of fans appreciating other fans, plain and simple. There truly was a feeling of community.
…and that is something I don’t often feel in my every day life.
I’m grateful that I have such a supportive family who rallied for me leading up to Golden-Con and while I was away for 5 days.
I truly hope there are more of these events to come. It was great for business but more than, it was just a really positive experience.
With heaps of warmth, gratitude and gusto,