not ready to play nice

30Jun09

In case you don’t pay attention to online fandom, the shit hit the fan last week in a way that manages to drag me out of my sort of hiatus state and into a ranty frame of mind.  It started out in bandom (indie band RPS/F, which personally, I don’t get the appeal of, but whatever floats your boat), but now has become an issue throughout the community, mostly because some fairly big names got involved on both sides.

Basically, the deal is that some people writing fic don’t feel the need to warn for certain traumatic issues. (Catch up via this very helpful linkpost. Triggery links possible.) And then they whinged about it, and how it messes with their intentions and artistic integrity and a bunch of other bullshit.  And some people who should have known better said some things about how they should just walk away from fic if it bothers them.  Or avoid fic altogether.  ’Click the X’, basically.

So: the argument that people who ask for warnings, people who experience triggers in reading due to experience of trauma, are privileged in asking for warnings on fic.  The fucking slippery slope argument of ‘oh, then where do we stop warning’.  The ’stop whining and grow a pair’ argument.  The ‘then just don’t participate in the community’ argument.

Any of those look familiar to anyone?

From people who should KNOW THE FUCK BETTER, no less.

And what for?  The sure feeling that they are right, I suppose?  Not wanting to think about the fact that what gets them off is someone else’s nightmare?  Why?  I can’t parse it.  I wish someone would explain it.

I will admit this: I don’t always get specifically triggered by most of the issues that arise in fandom.  But I have OCD, and I have triggers, and I know what those feel like, at least for me.  It is horrible.  I try to avoid my triggers as much as possible, but I sure as hell don’t want to stop doing anything I do in my daily life because they don’t define me entirely.  It’s just very real and very painful.

And I don’t presume to speak for those who have experienced those traumas, and I don’t want to assign them the label of illness without their consent.  But this is the same old shit that goes on with ablism as regards mental illness; suck it up and deal, basically.

No, we fucking won’t, in any way, shape, or form.

ETA: I missed Lauredhel talking about this as regards blogging a couple weeks ago. She makes some very good points.

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Tags: mark of cain and edge of able, metaculture, oh no you didn't, second class fan citizens

Again, still here.

23May09

Just have had a bunch of computer problems and massive piles of RL-based stress. Lots to say about Abrams!Trek, including WHERE DID THE WOMEN GO, but that will have to wait until I’m in a better brainspace.

Oh, and mammoth!fail.

Massive squee for those at WisCon, btw.

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Still here, still me…

05Apr09

Just had a stressful few weeks, I’m afraid.  This time of year and I don’t usually get on so well.  Stay tuned.

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Tags: meta-bene

Quick Hit: Feminism, Whedon, blah blah

19Mar09

So apparently Joss Whedon would like you to ignore what he says about himself being a feminist, in the context of his showsetc., because the author’s intention shouldn’t be relevant in deciding if a work is feminist.

Sounds sensical, but I’d buy that a LOT quicker if he weren’t already milking the auteur role for everything it’s worth.  A word to the wise, Joss–it’s hard to not read intent into something when you’ve metaphorically scrawled your name all over it.  Especially when you quote Hitchcock, who as the classic auteur of cinematic history was pretty much a hypocrite to say what he did.

Intent goes hand in hand with interpretation.  Especially if you’re a cultural analyst like me, and not a literary analyst–intent and societal impact weigh just as much, if not more, than my personal interpretation of a text.

Also, for fuck’s sake, take one minute from your terribly busy day to format your fucking comment.

(thx to the Hoydens for the concept of Quick Hit.  Have not forgotten about other posts, I swear.  I just had to get this out.)

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Tags: girls on film, grinding my axe, oh no you didn't

Note To Self: Memory Improvement

06Mar09

Now that my anger (including basically being told en masse to sit down and shut up, admittedly in an eloquent way) has burned down to simmering rage, I have a couple of things to ponder intelligently:

- oyceter asks what those who were silent are going to do, what SF fandom will do to welcome oppressed groups; while I wasn’t entirely silent, I think it behooves me to hash this out and ponder it in a real world context, not just pie-in-the-sky bs.

- why I remain doubly pseudonymous and what I feel that accomplishes.  You all deserve to know, I suppose, not like it’s anything exciting.

- and not on the Racefail topic at all, I should probably talk about Watchmen, should probably watch last week’s Dollhouse, should review the concept of realistically portrayed bisexual characters (just finished Ellen Kushner’s Privilege of the Sword, fab), should should should.

So that’s forthcoming, when it’s not late at night.  Stay tuned.

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Tags: and now a word from our sponsor, meta-bene, race is a four letter word

An Addendum ’cause I don’t know when to stfu.

04Mar09

And on the same topic as the last: I went to Smith, on generous grants from an endowment sponsored by donations big and small and investments both ethically sound and dubious.  My father is a manual laborer, and my mother teaches in a public school.  Yes, I am white.  Yes, I grew up lower-middle-class and went to a good public school and then a good college.  I had opportunities and I am privileged.

But anyone who assumes:
- that class is purely related to what school you attend
- that one can’t be a POC or an ally or a fan who just thinks this is shit if one has had said opportunities…

Well, fuck, there ain’t no hope for you.

(Private to Kathryn Cramer: one of those ISPs was mine.  Bog standard Time Warner Cable from Milwaukee.  Just thought I’d save you the time and effort.)

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Tags: meta-bene, oh no you didn't, race is a four letter word, second class fan citizens

and Bene shows her hand

03Mar09

I don’t usually say things like this.  Mostly because I don’t find it productive.  But wow, hearing about what just happened to Micole as part of Racefail?  That sort of broke me.

The ‘progressive’ SF establishment?  You can all kindly go fuck off and die.  Right now.  You fucking elitist self-aggrandizing asswipes.

How dare you claim to be adults and allies and people who try to expose the truth about society when you play elitist Rovian mindgames with anyone who disagrees?  How dare you claim to look towards the future when you can’t cope with the wave of the present?

HOW DARE YOU.

I reserve the right to shame your sorry asses.

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Tags: oh no you didn't, race is a four letter word, second class fan citizens

Throwing Pasta at the Wall

25Feb09

So Chally was doing that interview meme, and because I enjoy talking about myself, I decided to go for it.  (Chally, btw, had a great post on Octavia Butler linked at io9 recently–some feminist redemption for them, ne?)

If you would like five questions from me, please leave a comment and I’d be glad to ask.

1. What do you find valuable in blogging?
   If I’m being perfectly honest, blogging for me is to get my opinion out to the greater public; if Anglocentric society is a wall, my thoughts are the pasta I’m throwing at it to see if it sticks.  But I also find that in blogging, I end up formulating and articulating my opinions about various things, instead of just having nebulous feelings.  I have a lot of feelings about a lot of things, but I haven’t always been able to explain why.  Doing so makes me feel more secure and validated in having an opinion.
    
2. You’ve got a degree in cultural studies. How does that inform your daily life? Is it hard to switch off from analysing the world around you? How has it influenced your participation in the blogosphere?
   To be honest, it’s…I guess the word is frightening.  I don’t turn on all the time, because if I did, I really would fear for my anger and stress levels; I would be so incredibly frustrated by the constant barrage of social control that I wouldn’t be able to function very well.  Actually, the bullshit is manageable, most of the time.  What really gets to me is the history, the context, the provenance, because it’s such a massive pile of  disenfranchisement  and disrespect of non-dominant people.  It’s definitely a butterfly effect, and if I think about it for too long, I fear it will be impossible for humanity to ever claw our way out from under the kyriarchy.
   But I like having the ability to have that perspective, though obviously I have my expertise limited to American (and a little UK) culture.  It can get me in trouble, though, as cultural analysis is a fairly new field in academia, very pomo and focused on everything being relative.  A lot of times that’s the kind of thing people who are more hardcore theorists don’t like to hear.
    
3. You’re in control of the planet. (Not really, sorry.)
   Damn.  Anyway…
   What are your first three actions as Bene the Great?
    That’s tricky, because as I noted in #2, everything has so many ripple effect reactions.  I would say…enforcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for everyone on Earth.  Rights and agency for all!  I don’t think I’d need any other specific actions after that that weren’t reactions…
    
4. Because your taste in feminist SF is so incredibly full of win, what are your top five picks and why?
   Awww.  I’m not nearly as great as the WisCon people or the bloggers at Feminist SF or the Hathor Legacy, believe me.  And I don’t know if I can do a top five; here are five that I’d deem fairly essential both from a critical and an enjoyment perspective:
   - Nicola Griffith, Slow River.  This was the first book I ever read that had LGBTQI people in it  and their being queer was not the crux of the story.  It was just a matter of fact, and the (very good) narrative goes on alongside it.
   - Octavia E. Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories.  This collection had a lot more to say to me in terms of realization and thought-provokation than Butler’s novels (except for perhaps Parable of the Talents).  Along with ‘Bloodchild’, ‘Speech Sounds’ and ‘The Evening and the Morning and the Night’ really get to me in terms of understanding disenfranchisement on an emotional level.
   - Suzette Hadin Elgin, Native Tongue.  I’ve seen criticism of this on several levels, but I find a lot of value in it.  The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is a personal interest of mine; I took a linguistics course in college, and while it’s somewhat problematic and not universal as a theory, the general gist of it–that one’s language and terminology and usage shapes one’s perception of the world–is true on a general level, in my mind.  I also like women working together constructively.
   - Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time.  I’d probably go with this over Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale if given an ultimatum, because it’s about injustice in terms of race, class, and gender, and the consequences of that injustice, both bad and good.  Piercy gets points for her imperfect utopia, too.
   - Ursula K. LeGuin, Always Coming Home.  To be honest, while I like Left Hand of Darkness, I find ACH to be far more vivid and touching in its understanding of personal journeys and social equity.
   A few other books I recommend can be found at the end of this post.
    
5. Can you outline a bit of your feminist philosophy? As a whole or any aspect you wish. 
   I’d say my feminist philosophy is a firm part of my own personal philosophy, which is to say that there are either no absolutes or human minds cannot comprehend said absolutes.  I don’t believe a radical destruction of a society will do much for establishing a greater good, that the master’s house has to stay standing until structural supports are replaced one at a time.  But at the same time, I don’t buy into all of the trappings of the kyriarchy, because they’re hurtful and painful.  I think it’s about adjusting the POV through negotiation while trying to be the strongest and best person you can be in the meantime.

More feminist SF reading behind the cut!

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Tags: feminist thought, sci-fi means science fiction, second class fan citizens, the lady is a geek

Guys and Dolls

19Feb09

Dollhouse.

As Micole says, I have no political justification for liking it.

But I can’t help but watch it.  I suppose you’ve seen one post, you’ve seen them all, but I have something to say, so I’m gonna say it.  Behind a cut (apologies to those on the feed) for spoilers because I am Nice about things like that.  But before I get to the feminism and cultural appropriation pings, a few words from my film/TV analysis/fangirl side.  

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Tags: girls on film, grinding my axe, i like to watch, oh no you didn't, race is a four letter word, women on screen

All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go

17Feb09

Initial, early thoughts on Dollhouse can be found in my comment at Hoyden About Town.

Believe me, I will have more when it isn’t late at night.  Plenty more.

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Tags: girls on film, i like to watch, oh no you didn't