I often have conversations with people about “community.” I have it in quotes because I feel like it’s really hard to quantify what community really is. People talk about “trans community,” “gay community,” “leather community,” etc. And we all know that there isn’t just one trans/gay/or leather community. So what are we referring to when we use these terms? And what do we want from these communities? And then then the question that spurred the title of this blog – is there more drama is some communities than in others?
Based on what I’ve learned as a social worker and as a person living this long in the world, I believe that community is a group of people who have similar concerns and care about each other. This makes sense to me. I can picture how this kind of community operates. It all gets mushy though when we throw in the drama. Which is often connected to an online forum these days. What is drama really? Let’s say drama is when people’s feelings get hurt. Often because their expectations have not been met. This is beginning to sound a lot like “family,” not just community.
I know this blog hasn’t been updated often and so I probably don’t have many folks reading it. But if you’re out there – I really want to know – do you think some communities have more drama than others? Are some people more likely to get their feelings hurt than others? And in that case – is there a correlation between communities where people let themselves be vulnerable and the amount of drama in that community?
