for my own notes, in case I forget, parking here:
identity formation, internal vs external, extrinsic value vs intrinsic value??? consistency of identity across platforms/fandoms – otoh, could be first fandom ever, but why pick one fandom to identify with so solidly? I don’t remember this happening in old fandom.
extrinsic vs intrinsic: are you loved because others love you, or do you have value as a self? because you were born?
internal vs external: where do you get your validation? who are you in the dark? how much of your life have you spent running away from the need to form a self that is your own touchstone? how many people/institutions have been telling you to get your validation from them instead of making your own?
motivation is different when you have intrinsic value + a strong internalized sense of self. then you can keep exploring who you are and know that you will be fine no matter what happens. but if you derive your value more from who you are in community than who you are as a human being, your motivations change. is this where people-pleasing behaviours can come from? how many of us had “fawn” hammered into us because our worth stemmed largely from who we were to others?
for all its focus on individuality, is the US actually quite a collectivist, conformist nation? do we socialise our children to understand that they are worthwhile as the roles they play more so than the people they really are? especially when who they really are raises uncomfortable questions? are we afraid of selfhood?