Aine from DC Geeks took some time out of her busy schedule covering notable geek events in the district to conduct an interview with regular old me. I was really honored. Interviewing other people is a big part of my job, so I know what a time commitment it is when somebody else prepares questions for me.

A really good interviewer can be like a brainstorming partner; when she asks questions about your beliefs, it can help you to affirm and solidify them. Aine’s question about my use of the word “weeaboo” did that for me.

I know that with a word with a history as contentious of that of “weeaboo” will always be problematic, but I think my answer here is the one I most believe in:

Aine: Another quick terminology question: weeaboo. Are we taking it back? Or do we need to wait a bit before it loses its racist connotations?

Lauren: I was taken aback by your word “racist,” but it’s true. When I reviewed the etymology of the word, I remembered that “weeaboo” was the Perry Bible Fellowship nonsense word that 4chan used as a replacement for any instance of the word “wapanese.”

However, I don’t believe weeaboos are intentionally racist. I recently wrote about Saturday Night Live’s sketch about weeaboos (and a lively discussion is still going on in the comments), and I particularly liked what the professor said about the overenthusiastic students:

“If there’s such a thing as a loving version of racism, I think you’ve found it.”

I’ve used the word “weeaboo” to describe myself a few times: when I cooked Japanese food, when I bought a kotatsu, and when I wore a kimono to celebrate my 24th birthday at a sushi restaurant. I’ve even written an apologetic letter to Asian people about my embarrassment over being so enthusiastic about a culture that is not my own, nor do I have any idea about. (I have never even been to Japan.)

I realize that my interest in Japanese culture could be misconstrued as racism, and so I feel guilty about it. But I think my enthusiasm, as is the case with all weeaboos, comes from a very well intentioned place.

Does anyone else ever feel guilty about a fandom-inspired interest in Japan?

Let’s quickly skip over the fact that I’m watching fansubs again—right now, that’s the only way to watch Bakuman 2. We can talk about it later.

I want to talk about Aoki Ko, the most problematic character in Bakuman 2.

Ko has undergone a huge personality shift since the original Bakuman. Originally portrayed as an ice queen, she’s now blushing, flustered and boy crazy. For some inexplicable reason, she’s writing a new manga that consists of copious amounts of panty shots.

I don’t get it because from everything we’re told about Aoki Ko’s life tells me that she’s intelligent and independent. She’s a graduate student and a teacher (two things I can totally relate to), and on top of that a (sometimes) syndicated manga author. When her new editor suggested she turn her romantic storyline into a raunchy comic, I thought it was a joke. The moment Ko quietly assigned herself to doing it was the moment I stopped believing in her character. Why would a woman as accomplished as Ko debase herself like that?

I probably shouldn’t be surprised. There’s always been weird gender politics going on in that show, but they’ve never been this distracting. Before, I could ignore Mashiro and Azuki’s creepy marriage pact and write it off as an old-fashioned concept of romance. But now, more than ever, it’s unavoidable to see the women in this show as nothing but sex objects, solely there to motivate—and be motivated by—the men.

A few weeks ago, before everything started going all soap opera, I used to describe Bakuman 2 as “an anime by two authors based on a manga about two authors creating a manga in hopes that it will become an anime.” I would also tell people that watching Mashiro and Shujin’s enviable productivity always made me feel lazy. But now, the manga has taken a backseat to the characters’ drama, during which I cannot relate to the motives of a single woman on this show.

I’m not ready to say this show is sexist, however. It’s more confusing than that. It portrays women in a way that makes me uncomfortable, but I can’t put my finger on it yet. It’s totally lacking in a woman’s perspective.

I’m getting that feeling that I’m only watching this show now because of momentum. I’m suddenly recalling that I have no idea what the word “bakuman” even means. On screen, we see Mashiro and Shujin cranking out manga chapters at remarkable speed. Maybe when artists are working this quickly, the thing that gets lost in the shuffle is remembering to have at least one believable female character.

Are you watching Bakuman 2?

EDIT: I’ve been getting a lot of sign-ups, but no email! Please let me know if you sign up for Bluehost through me—I’d love to help you out.

When I taught college last semester, the first homework assignment I gave my students was to code a basic HTML page about themselves. They’re all journalism majors, so many of them introduce themselves as “aspiring journalist,” “aspiring political reporter,” or “aspiring news anchor.” If you’ve read my manifesto, you know what I’d like to tell them: why aspire toward a career when you can start it right now?

If I could give all students, not only mine, just one piece of advice, it’d be this: start a blog right now. Don’t wait until you’re out of school. Don’t wait until somebody pays you to do it. Don’t wait for the “right time.” Don’t wait until (you think) you’re done learning. That day will never come.

I power my blog with WordPress, a free blogging tool, and host it on Bluehost. You may have noticed that I’ve recently put up an ad for Bluehost on my sidebar. This isn’t something I do lightly. Next to WordPress, Bluehost is my favorite blogging tool. That’s why I want you to use it, too.

I’ve used other hosting services before. I remember their labyrinthian user experiences, confusing terms of agreement, and the long hold on the phone when I finally called to cancel my account. With stuff like that, I’m surprised more people don’t switch over. My guess is they don’t know there’s anything better.

At $70 a year, Bluehost isn’t for everyone. If you’ve never blogged before, it might be best to start with a free account on WordPress.com while you find your blogging voice.

But if you are interested, let me help you. As an HTML/CSS teacher who has also been building websites for ten years, I believe there is nothing more empowering than getting your own space online. I also have the credentials to make it a cinch.

If you want my help, all you need to do is click my Bluehost referral link and sign up. I’m an affiliate of the site, so that kind of thing earns me money. Enough money, in fact, that I don’t want yours. I’ll spend half an hour with you setting up your site, absolutely free of charge. Simply email me after you sign up (with your new domain name as the title) to let me know you’re interested.

So think about it. It’s the beginning of a new year, the perfect time to begin something. Are you ready for a blog, a side project, a new career? Is a lack of Web knowledge the only thing holding you back? Blogging changed my life. Maybe it’ll change yours, too.

Since I’m both a fan and a fandom journalist, my biggest challenge is making sure that my passion for my topic is helping, not hurting my ability to report the truth.

At least, that’s the theory I discussed last fall in my Otaku Journalist Manifesto. Today, I tested that hypothesis when I profiled @Bronys4RonPaul.

Last night, I reached out to this Twitter user after one of my co-workers tipped me off. I sent him a tweet with my email (it’s a bad habit, but one I have to keep at until Twitter lets me DM strangers.) And then, I sent him a picture of my My Little Pony alter ego, illustrated by Kevin Bolk.

“Here’s a picture of my cutie mark just so you know I’m a real reporter!” I tweeted. It’s a joke only fans would get; in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a young pony acquires a design on her flank once she figures out what her true calling is.

I was only half joking when I commissioned this drawing. On the one hand, I’m a grown woman, and this is a kids’ show. On the other hand, I’d be hard pressed to say that I’m faking being this happy.

In the end, it paid off. Here’s what @Bronys4RonPaul, who asked me not to reveal his real name, wrote to me:

“I’m very surprised that someone would want to interview me and I normally would not grant one to anyone but you showed me your pic with a pony drawing and I figured no harm should come from this.”

He was right to be wary. As it turns out, he has his fair share of trolls. Plus, mainstream brony coverage can be pretty snarky.

For the record, I don’t think fandom reporting has to be snarky to get hits. Fandom is already so wacky that an objective take is more engaging than belittling ever would be. I don’t get, for example, why Gawker had to be so snarky here. A week later, they had some equally fascinating brony coverage just by letting the fandom speak for itself— and got quadruple the traffic.

That’s exactly how I wrote about @Bronys4RonPaul. I let him speak for himself. Was it successful? Hitwise, it didn’t crack our top ten stories for the day. But it did get a mention from Gawker reporter Adrian Chen.

I know I got this story because I’m not just a reporter, but a reporter AND a fan. At the same time, I don’t want to become known for writing fluff pieces that make fans look good no matter what. I’m happy with this story because I didn’t give myself a voice, snarky, apologetic or otherwise. I just let the subject speak.