There seems to be a subconscious, ever-present tension existing within humans to satiate their contradictory needs of acceptance and self-actualization. Both do not always lend themselves to one another, which poses the question: which is more important and is the desire to equally satisfy both a recipe for madness? Particularly with women but overall a societal issue, this phenomenon is seen especially in consumerism — a perfume, for example, is marketed for its ability to enrapture the senses of passerby’s and solidify you as a unique, mysterious enigma, yet this tactic is what draws so many in and eventually, it becomes a repetitive, monotonous scent, the very thing it originally claimed not to be. It doesn’t take a psychological scholar to point out that we have a deep-seeded need for connection, understanding and belonging, and when we don’t receive it, it can lead to a whole slew of undesirable feelings of insecurity & isolation.

A common thread that runs throughout every form of religion or spirituality is the innate human desire to feel understood and find an anchor in an all-knowing higher power. For many devout followers subscribed to a certain theology, their experience is often paired with inexplicable, transcendent signs that point you in a particular direction or answer a question on you know you’ve been contemplating. Oracle and tarot cards are a more direct approach to getting answers from an organic, mystical source, shuffling cards and letting the “chosen” ones jump out — or following certain spreads that assign unique meanings to different cards in certain placements, such as your past, present, and future, as an example. Furthermore, this practice is paradoxically more straightforward yet also more ambiguous than a fleeting conversation that feels like a direct nudge from whatever higher power you seek guidance from.

Everyone’s a fan of something, some in more devoted ways than others, but when you factor in gender, you’re bound to be met with the ever-present double standard that exists between men & women when it comes to being an enthusiast about something. I’m sure you’ve seen the comparisons of grown men screaming in the stands of a football game with paint-streaked cheeks and beet-red faces to young girls in costumes, holding up hand-made glitter signs and crying over their favorite teen idol. One is perfectly acceptable, with the notion that men are simply avid about sports, while the other is trivial, childish and something that will be grown out of once they “mature.” So when genders cross over in male-dominated fandoms: what happens, and is the integration seamless?