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So, relevant to several threads I& #39;ve seen this morning -- Back in the Beforetimes, I was on a panel at a regional con. I can& #39;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& #39;d think -- and so I also wanted to look at the evolution we& #39;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& #39;s a very white con overall, and the need for greater diversity and inclusivity is something I& #39;ve pushed on both years I& #39;ve attended.
Sigh.
It& #39;s a very white con overall, and the need for greater diversity and inclusivity is something I& #39;ve pushed on both years I& #39;ve attended.
We didn& #39;t have a big audience, because we were scheduled opposite... something. Cosplay showcase, maybe? I can& #39;t remember. So it was a small crowd, mostly but not entirely white as well.
But I figured: "Hey. Here& #39;s an opportunity to maybe introduce some people to some new ideas, get them thinking in a new way about the authors they& #39;re accustomed to be-pedestaling. I& #39;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& #39;m sure. He was somewhere in his 60s, I would guess. Had what I would call the "military sci-fi fan" aesthetic. I& #39;d noticed his bullish behavior in another room earlier in the day.
You can picture him, I& #39;m sure. He was somewhere in his 60s, I would guess. Had what I would call the "military sci-fi fan" aesthetic. I& #39;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& #39;s composition right off the top; he wanted to argue with me about that. What& #39;s the problem? Why shouldn& #39;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& #39;t look like us, he& #39;s yellow."
Yeah. He said that. Those words.
Yeah. He said that. Those words.
I interrupted him with "That& #39;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& #39;ve told the con organizers that he& #39;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& #39;ve told the con organizers that he& #39;s not the kind of person they want around.
I& #39;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& #39;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& #39;m so exhausted of That Guy& #39;s power to direct conversations. He doesn& #39;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& #39;s a lot more exhausting for a lot of other people.
