I also think its at least partially a symptom of an infantilized culture. Alan Moore is right. We can't grow up for various reasons so we cling to our favorite franchises. Even if the people behind them suck, we have to find a way to justify our continued consumption of their products because we Grew Up With It.

Totally agree with your assessment about things not needing to be reclaimed. And I also thought you were asking a good question up top; why would a trans person write fanfiction of an IP belonging to a transphobic author? It has the same energy as casting POC as the slave-owning founding fathers in Hamilton. And you're right. the answer I came up with is dissatisfying, but that was my first instinct trying to put myself in the shoes of someone who does that and come up with an answer. A lot of people believe in Reclaiming The Bad Thing for some reason. I agree it's ill-advised.