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Link sausage
Lots and lots of interesting, thought-provoking stuff in here. I haven't finished half of it, I have to go back to work, and the fire alarm just went off so, heart failure. Cat protesting. Yearly building test. Will return with some sub-links later on from some of these articles.
Originally posted by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
starcat_jewel at Link sausage
Originally posted by
starcat_jewel at Link sausageN. K. Jemisin is an up-and coming Hugo-nominated author. She was also the GOH at Continuum in Australia this weekend, and has posted the text of her GoH speech on her blog. It's a mind-blowing comparative synthesis of attitudes toward racism and sexism in Australia, in America... and in SFWA. Go read it.
Now, to put this in context: the membership of SFWA also recently voted in a new president. There were two candidates - one of whom was a self-described misogynist, racist, anti-Semite, and a few other flavors of asshole. In this election he lost by a landslide... but he still earned ten percent of the vote. SFWA is small; only about 500 people voted in total, so we’re talking less than 50 people. But scale up again. Imagine if ten percent of this country’s population was busy making active efforts to take away not mere privileges, not even dignity, but your most basic rights. Imagine if ten percent of the people you interacted with, on a daily basis, did not regard you as human.
Sadly, I suspect she's right about the prospects of progress in America on those fronts -- which means I won't live to see it happen either.
Here's another good post on sexism in the publishinng industry in general.
I'd like to note just in passing that the above link is from a man who says, "I've got a wife and daughters, and I want the world to be better for them, so I'm working to reduce institutionalized sexism." Down in the comments there's another guy who says, "I've got daughters and nieces, and I want the world to be better for them, so I'm teaching them not to sweat the small stuff." (Both views paraphrased.) Interesting difference in approach there.
Also, from (of all the unlikely places) a piece of Sherlock fanfic, here's what I consider to be an excellent summing-up of the whole SFWA issue, albeit in a completely different context:
"You can't expect me to shut off my powers of observation, Mummy."
"I can expect you to observe a modicum of manners in how you choose to express the results."
Why "hitting on the ladies" is a bad idea.
Starting with the metaphor itself -- what does a woman hear when you say, "I'd hit that"? No, it's not "just an expression".
False accusation of false accusation.
This happens a LOT, and it's one of the things that goes into the "many rape accusations are false" myth. Furthermore, I will bet my betting nickel that none of the men involved in this will lose their jobs.
Newsflash: treating troubled kids like troubled kids instead of like dangerous animals actually works better.
Not that this approach is going to get any traction, because just as with sex ed, the politicians in charge prefer an ideologically-correct solution that doesn't work to anything at all that does, because (1) that lets them keep the money machine flowing, and (2) if public schools could actually be shown to work, that would interfere with their goal of shoving more tax money toward for-profit private schools.
Safe spaces for comics fans.
If your local comics store is friendly to demographics outside of "straight white male", tell people about it here. Warnings are also being posted about unfriendly places.
If journalists covered America like they cover the rest of the world...
Satire, but also very true.
And in a cheerier vein:
The Affair of the Asphyxiated Acafan.
Sherlock casefic, longish but OH so worth it, rated PG, and the various women in the cast all have star turns. The dialogue, characterization, and plot arc are all just outstanding.
Digger has a Kickstarter!
They're going to print an omnibus edition, in both softcover and hardcover. They made their initial goal in 12 hours -- but don't let that stop you, because if they double it, we get another Digger story! And there are lots of other cool extras available too, as well as just-the-book packages for those who don't want extras.
This entry was originally posted at http://stardreamer.dreamwidth.org/1191318.html. It appears that commenting there may be more reliable than commenting here.
Now, to put this in context: the membership of SFWA also recently voted in a new president. There were two candidates - one of whom was a self-described misogynist, racist, anti-Semite, and a few other flavors of asshole. In this election he lost by a landslide... but he still earned ten percent of the vote. SFWA is small; only about 500 people voted in total, so we’re talking less than 50 people. But scale up again. Imagine if ten percent of this country’s population was busy making active efforts to take away not mere privileges, not even dignity, but your most basic rights. Imagine if ten percent of the people you interacted with, on a daily basis, did not regard you as human.
Sadly, I suspect she's right about the prospects of progress in America on those fronts -- which means I won't live to see it happen either.
Here's another good post on sexism in the publishinng industry in general.
I'd like to note just in passing that the above link is from a man who says, "I've got a wife and daughters, and I want the world to be better for them, so I'm working to reduce institutionalized sexism." Down in the comments there's another guy who says, "I've got daughters and nieces, and I want the world to be better for them, so I'm teaching them not to sweat the small stuff." (Both views paraphrased.) Interesting difference in approach there.
Also, from (of all the unlikely places) a piece of Sherlock fanfic, here's what I consider to be an excellent summing-up of the whole SFWA issue, albeit in a completely different context:
"You can't expect me to shut off my powers of observation, Mummy."
"I can expect you to observe a modicum of manners in how you choose to express the results."
Why "hitting on the ladies" is a bad idea.
Starting with the metaphor itself -- what does a woman hear when you say, "I'd hit that"? No, it's not "just an expression".
False accusation of false accusation.
This happens a LOT, and it's one of the things that goes into the "many rape accusations are false" myth. Furthermore, I will bet my betting nickel that none of the men involved in this will lose their jobs.
Newsflash: treating troubled kids like troubled kids instead of like dangerous animals actually works better.
Not that this approach is going to get any traction, because just as with sex ed, the politicians in charge prefer an ideologically-correct solution that doesn't work to anything at all that does, because (1) that lets them keep the money machine flowing, and (2) if public schools could actually be shown to work, that would interfere with their goal of shoving more tax money toward for-profit private schools.
Safe spaces for comics fans.
If your local comics store is friendly to demographics outside of "straight white male", tell people about it here. Warnings are also being posted about unfriendly places.
If journalists covered America like they cover the rest of the world...
Satire, but also very true.
And in a cheerier vein:
The Affair of the Asphyxiated Acafan.
Sherlock casefic, longish but OH so worth it, rated PG, and the various women in the cast all have star turns. The dialogue, characterization, and plot arc are all just outstanding.
Digger has a Kickstarter!
They're going to print an omnibus edition, in both softcover and hardcover. They made their initial goal in 12 hours -- but don't let that stop you, because if they double it, we get another Digger story! And there are lots of other cool extras available too, as well as just-the-book packages for those who don't want extras.
This entry was originally posted at http://stardreamer.dreamwidth.org/1191318.html. It appears that commenting there may be more reliable than commenting here.