Because that is utter bullshit. Just read that this happened to a friend and it’s happened to me on numerous occasions. You want to be a Sherlockian? Like Sherlock Holmes. That’s it.

We really try to champion getting the internet fandom and the traditional Sherlockians to hang together. Most people are lovely and excited about the new generation. But there’s some people who think they’re better than us, you, anyone who maybe doesn’t know the canon backwards and forwards. I touched on this in my speech & later BSJ article on the Validation of Fandom, and it’s a message we, as The Babes are really fighting. There’s nothing worse than going to a meeting or an event and being told you can’t possibly be a serious Sherlockians because you’re a twenty-something girl who liked Benedict Cumberbatch. Because that’s what happened to me. I, terrified, went to a conference and was dismissed. I’ve gotten mail from people I don’t even know saying what we’re doing as the Babes is just silliness. Now a friend has been told she’s not a serious Sherlockian?

What the hell makes a serious Sherlockian? I’d love to know, because frankly, running around in a deerstalker and writing essays as if a fictional character was real sure doesn’t make you one mister.

The fact I got invited to the BSI Dinner this year was huge (and even then there were complaints), but for some it’ll never be enough. We’re editing this essay collection to prove to these elitists that yes, we can be silly and have fun, but we’re just as intelligent and have just as many thoughts about Sherlock Holmes as they do. We are just as passionate. This is not to say all traditional Sherlockians are like that. Not in the slightest. The vast majority are the sweetest and most welcoming people I’ve ever met. I was instantly championed by many important people in the Sherlockian world and during all of BSI Weekend I was just inundated with love and excitement. They WANT new people to come to their meetings and events. They want to talk with you and laugh with you. God, they really do want that. Find your local scion and go there! The Sherlockian world is 90% love. It’s that nasty 10% that still makes you feel, as a woman, especially a young woman, that you’re just a poser. No matter how much you love the material. And that’s not fair.

To steal from BSB Lyndsay’s facebook status at the moment: “Okay, here’s how it works…you want to be a “real” Sherlockian? Like Sherlock Holmes. Nope. That’s it. Canon, Rathbone, Brett, Cumberbatch, Downey. The ONLY criteria is that you enjoy the subject. That is all, and this has been a PSA.”