Is fandom gatekeeping a good or bad thing? Anime Expo 2024 goers weigh in

Welcome to Out & About, Out's new man-on-the-street style interview series where we venture off into the real world to attend some fun events and ask the LGBTQ+ community their thoughts on culture, what's current, and all the other things that affect them IRL!

Earlier this month, we got to attend this year's edition of Anime Expo, one of the world's largest and most attended pop culture conventions that specifically highlights and celebrates all things anime!

While the cosplayers came out in full force, we wanted Anime Expo attendees to share their thoughts and opinions on a particularly discourse-inducing topic: gatekeeping. Is it a good or bad thing, especially in fandom? Is it necessary sometimes?

And they weren't shy about it!

"No, I don't," one attendee told us. "I am very firmly against it. People come to media and engage with it in different ways, like discovering a superhero through a movie or diving into comics, whatever. They enjoy the character, right? So for me, it's not about that, so much as how do we share our passions, how do we learn from each other, how do we build community?"

"I do believe in gatekeeping, I really do," another con goer said. "C'mon guys, gatekeep!"

Watch Anime Expo goers give Out their thoughts in the video above. And for more information on Anime Expo, and all the other events and programs they offer throughout the year, visit their official website.