Authenticity Mavins: Difference between revisions

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'''Authenticity Mavens''' (also known as '''Period Police''', '''Garb Nazis''', etc.) is an [[SCAism|SCA term]] for someone who is overly (some would say unfairly) critical of another's [[clothing]], particularly the finer details of [[authenticity|historical accuracy]].
Also known as Authenticity Police and Authenticity Nazis and other snotty terms.


Make no mistake, these terms are insults. While they can be used to refer to someone who attempts to do things accurately, they are more often used to refer to anyone who is perceived to be trying to force their standards of accuracy on others. In the legends spread about them, they are frequently depicted as self-indulgent cretins who are lacking in some aspect of accuracy themselves. They are thought to frequently refer to people who aren't as interested in [[authenticity]] as they are as "Farbs" and "Bobs". They are believed to aggressively attack and insult others around them. These legends serve to create more trouble by causing people are already insecure about their level of accuracy to assume that anyone discussing their clothes, whatever, are in fact attacking them.
These terms are insults and are generally not applied to those who are merely attempting to do things accurately; rather they are used to refer to anyone who is perceived to be trying to ''force'' their standards of accuracy on others, particularly beginners who have yet to embrace the full rigors of historical recreation.


As a caution, someone who gets the reputation as being overly critical of other people's accuracy may find themselves shunned except by those with extreme confidence in their own standard of recreation.
⚫
'''These people do exist in the SCA but are less common than supposed.''' They are, however, extremely common in UK re-enactment groups, where they constantly patrol seeking to ratchet up the authenticity standards to ever higher levels.

===In the SCA===
The broad historical sweep of the [[Society]] and the generally flexible approach to historical accuracy tends to make inaccuracies somewhat more excusable than in stricter recreation groups, but this also widens the scope for some truly egregious historical inaccuracies in [[garb]].

There is widespread fear of Authenticity Mavens, by whatever name, in the SCA, particularly among [[newcomer]]s. However, as one of the basic ideals of the Society is [[courtesy]], these people are far less common than [[Dame]] Rumour makes them out to be.

Generally, the best approach to a glaring inaccuracy is a courteous (and private!) explanation to the offender of what is wrong. Frankly, though, if one is going to stress about minor offenses, the SCA may not be the best place to indulge one's passion for [[re-enactment|re-creation]].

===In Re-Enactment Groups===
As the [[minimum standard]]s of reenactment groups are considerably higher than those of the SCA, one might expect a larger number of Authenticity Mavens but the opposite is in fact true, as there is a better general understanding of what is considered acceptable.

⚫
They are, however, common in some [[UK]] [[re-enactment]] groups, where they constantly patrol seeking to ratchet up the authenticity standards to ever higher levels, and loudly criticizing anyone who, in their opinion, does not come up to the "correct" standard.


[[category: SCAism]]
[[category: SCAism]]

Latest revision as of 23:03, 26 June 2008

Authenticity Mavens (also known as Period Police, Garb Nazis, etc.) is an SCA term for someone who is overly (some would say unfairly) critical of another's clothing, particularly the finer details of historical accuracy.

These terms are insults and are generally not applied to those who are merely attempting to do things accurately; rather they are used to refer to anyone who is perceived to be trying to force their standards of accuracy on others, particularly beginners who have yet to embrace the full rigors of historical recreation.

As a caution, someone who gets the reputation as being overly critical of other people's accuracy may find themselves shunned except by those with extreme confidence in their own standard of recreation.

In the SCA

The broad historical sweep of the Society and the generally flexible approach to historical accuracy tends to make inaccuracies somewhat more excusable than in stricter recreation groups, but this also widens the scope for some truly egregious historical inaccuracies in garb.

There is widespread fear of Authenticity Mavens, by whatever name, in the SCA, particularly among newcomers. However, as one of the basic ideals of the Society is courtesy, these people are far less common than Dame Rumour makes them out to be.

Generally, the best approach to a glaring inaccuracy is a courteous (and private!) explanation to the offender of what is wrong. Frankly, though, if one is going to stress about minor offenses, the SCA may not be the best place to indulge one's passion for re-creation.

In Re-Enactment Groups

As the minimum standards of reenactment groups are considerably higher than those of the SCA, one might expect a larger number of Authenticity Mavens but the opposite is in fact true, as there is a better general understanding of what is considered acceptable.

They are, however, common in some UK re-enactment groups, where they constantly patrol seeking to ratchet up the authenticity standards to ever higher levels, and loudly criticizing anyone who, in their opinion, does not come up to the "correct" standard.

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