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So, relevant to several threads I've seen this morning -- Back in the Beforetimes, I was on a panel at a regional con. I can't remember the exact title, but the topic was, essentially, examining the idea of a SFF "canon" and asking who our new masters of the genre are.
This con typically taps one of the panel members to moderate, and I got tapped for this one. So I prepped a lot of questions/springboard points questioning the value of canon, asking what makes a "master", what we need from new masters, etc.
The program synopsis had listed a lot of the *really* old names -- exactly who you'd think -- and so I also wanted to look at the evolution we've had in the past 30 or so years, the differences between the 90s and today.
I was dismayed but not surprised to discover that the panel was four white people. 2 men, 2 women.
Sigh.
It's a very white con overall, and the need for greater diversity and inclusivity is something I've pushed on both years I've attended.
Sigh.
It's a very white con overall, and the need for greater diversity and inclusivity is something I've pushed on both years I've attended.
We didn't have a big audience, because we were scheduled opposite... something. Cosplay showcase, maybe? I can't remember. So it was a small crowd, mostly but not entirely white as well.
But I figured: "Hey. Here's an opportunity to maybe introduce some people to some new ideas, get them thinking in a new way about the authors they're accustomed to be-pedestaling. I'm gonna do what I can."
And then panel members and our discussion were actually great. They were on board with the angle I wanted to take. We brought up a lot of creators who are BIPOC and/or queer and/or otherwise marginalized. We talked about abandoning the worship of those old venerables.
We talked about expanding the idea of genre mastery beyond novelists -- the need to recognize short fiction, graphic novels, directors, artists, game designers.
And I opened a lot of questions up to the audience. I mostly did not regret that choice. I used my teacher skills and called first on the people in the room whose voices were, I suspect, less often heard.
But then there was That Guy.
You can picture him, I'm sure. He was somewhere in his 60s, I would guess. Had what I would call the "military sci-fi fan" aesthetic. I'd noticed his bullish behavior in another room earlier in the day.
You can picture him, I'm sure. He was somewhere in his 60s, I would guess. Had what I would call the "military sci-fi fan" aesthetic. I'd noticed his bullish behavior in another room earlier in the day.
And he was Not Pleased with the direction I had taken the panel.
He clearly thought this was going to be a panel to talk about how great all those old venerables are. I imagine he loved the Hugo Awards ceremony this week.
I had mentioned the problem of the panel's composition right off the top; he wanted to argue with me about that. What's the problem? Why shouldn't four white people lead this conversation? What could possibly be missing?
Sigh.
Sigh.
The kicker, though, was when he said, of a well-known Chinese author, "I mean, I know who he is, and he doesn't look like us, he's yellow."
Yeah. He said that. Those words.
Yeah. He said that. Those words.
I interrupted him with "That's completely inappropriate" and refused to acknowledge him any more. He got up and left.
I wish I had done more. I wish I had gotten his name so I could've told the con organizers that he's not the kind of person they want around.
I wish I had done more. I wish I had gotten his name so I could've told the con organizers that he's not the kind of person they want around.
I'm still learning how to use my privilege to push back against racism, in and out of fandom spaces. I hope to do better in the future.
Because That Guy is not who I want directing the future of genre fiction.
Because That Guy is not who I want directing the future of genre fiction.
I'm sure he thought nothing of it except that some woman had been a bitch to him.
*I* spent the rest of the day wondering if I was going to get in trouble with the con organizers for being rude to an attendee.
*I* spent the rest of the day wondering if I was going to get in trouble with the con organizers for being rude to an attendee.
I'm so exhausted of That Guy's power to direct conversations. He doesn't speak for me. His authorial heroes are not my authorial heroes. His fannish experiences are not my fannish experiences.
And except for being female, my marginalizations are largely invisible. I know it's a lot more exhausting for a lot of other people.
But the future does not belong to That Guy. Neither does the past. SFF has always been more varied and beautiful than he's willing to acknowledge or appreciate, and it's only going to get more so. This, I believe.
