Archive Page 2
Throwing Pasta at the Wall
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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…
- 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.
- 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!
Filed under: Uncategorized | 10 Comments
Tags: feminist thought, sci-fi means science fiction, second class fan citizens, the lady is a geek
Guys and Dolls
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.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
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
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.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: girls on film, i like to watch, oh no you didn't
Two Problems, One Connection
In reading parts and pieces of Racefail 2009/the Great Cultural Appropriation Debate, I read something that resonated not only in the context of Racefail or in discussions surrounding racism. (…and here’s where I freely admit that I didn’t read everything, or even the majority of things. I read a lot of recaps because frankly there’s only so much I can read of original stupid without being so outraged that I have to reply in ways that it turned out someone else did in a far better way about a week and a hundred comments ago, and the discussion has long since moved from that point.) Which is not to say that it isn’t a very important point in the issue of racism:
Don’t expect gratitude if you’ve thrown a few bones, if you’ve been slightly less horrible than others. Don’t expect to be called a friend or an ally when that’s all you’ve done, and you still do problematic stuff.
Because I massively I can’t find where I read that statement, which I’m paraphrasing. I feel like it may have been said by Avalon’s Willow, but my poking around is not turning anything up. If you know where the concept came up, please let me know so I can give credit where it’s due. Racefail–or rather, this latest outbreak of racefail–has (probably in a very necessary way) exposed the real issues lurking under the veneer of the allegedly progressive SFF community. It’s vastly important, and I urge readers to look at the link above or the ones linked by myself and Chally in my post from 21 January.
Without negating the huge issue above, though, I found ‘don’t expect me to be grateful when you throw me crumbs’ to be relevant when I found myself face to face, once again, with The Whedon Issue. If you’re in Anglocentric fandom, chances are pretty good you know that Joss Whedon has a new series, Dollhouse. Lots of different talk about it has ensued, either massive yays or deeply felt nays about the concept–pretty people who can become whatever the client wants, then have their minds wiped again for the next go, issues of human trafficking, prostitution, etc. After the preview recently at New York Comic-Con, the flurry of discussion increased…
And I just got, frankly, fed up. While I’m not about to condemn Whedon as a treacherous patriarchal bastard, I continue to refuse to call him a feminist hero…just because he throws the feminist pop culture/fandom geek a few bones of empowerment does not mean I have to bow and scrape and acknowledge alleged greatness. He’s done a lot of stuff I don’t appreciate, both towards women and towards minorities. In Firefly, everyone speaks Mandarin as a second language, but where the fuck are all the Asian people? First healthy lesbian relationship in primetime, great, but where are the gay guys? (It’s not like Tony Head wouldn’t snog a bloke.) How many times do the most powerful women have to be deranged or stone bitches?
And that’s not even getting into the Frank Miller Test, which I have mentioned before and probably will again. My feelings about sex work are complicated, but I really have problems with the heart of gold vs. traitor dichotomy regarding sex workers in fiction.
Or the massive problem of removing the issue of slavery from a thought experiment about the Civil War. Or old tropes about relationships. Et cetera.
I will admit here that I do enjoy a good deal of problematic telly and fiction and comics and films. I enjoy stuff of Whedon’s creation. But I’m not going to insist you all acknowledge the feminist nature therein because the creators said they were feminists. It’s like me trying to tell you that because Heinlein loved strong women meant that he was a feminist who wrote feminist works. And I’m not going to laud Whedon as a feminist icon or agree with him that he’s a feminist just because he says he is.
But at the same time, I highly doubt he’s a massive tool of the patriarchy. He’s just another flawed ally, in my book.
I’ll be watching, Friday. I might even enjoy it. But I’m not going to applaud. I hope that’s okay with you.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 12 Comments
Tags: grinding my axe, i like to watch, race is a four letter word, what's on telly, women on screen
Something Shy of a Manifesto
In lieu of a better post explaining this, as I need to restart…I’ve found these two thoughts come close to explaining how I feel about my engagement with rights issues and why I can’t subscribe to a single line of exclusionary rhetoric.
Samuel R. Delany, as quoted by L. Timmel Duchamp
Though I am black and gay, I am as much a racist, a sexist, an anti-Semite and a homophobe as any right-wing Christian bigot: I must be; it’s desperately important that I be; if I am ever to be able to talk to such people and effect some change in their beliefs and behavior, I have to be…I will never be able to effect any meaningful change other than one or another form of terrorism by fooling myself into thinking I can do anything by “standing outside” some hegemony.
mzbitca, we are not your tools with which to fight the patriarchy
At this point in time, especially if you are involved in any type of activism, you have heard and internalized the phrase “the person is political.” I think it is important to know and internalize but I also think, much like the “master’s tools” speech, it is used and abused by those who have decided their interpretation is right and be damned what it actually meant…
These objectors argue that you cannot engage in sex work in a positive, feminist way, if you are operating in a system that is based on the male gaze and objectification of women. Some even go as far as saying what type of sex you like or porn you watch is selling out to “the man”. In other words, recognize the person is political and follow our strict rules about how you should interact with the patriarchy.
I think that says it better than I ever could.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: feminist thought, grinding my axe, race is a four letter word, ten percent
Dear Lawrence Kaplow,
Having all of your female characters engage in distinctly stereotypical feminine behavior in one episode does not good television make. I know that was you and not David Shore, ’cause I’m looking at the list of episodes you’ve written, and there really does seem to be a common theme in the last several ones.
Kindly do not do this again or I will fucking kick you in the face.
No love,
Bene, an avid House fan
(Spoilers for 5×13 ‘Big Baby’ behind the cut. My apologies to anyone reading on a feed.)
Filed under: Uncategorized | 5 Comments
Tags: i like to watch, sex and everything after, what's on telly, women on screen
Of My Own Device
Because I really just don’t know where to start with the massive clusterfuck that is this year’s cultural appropriation SFF community ‘discussion’…rydra_wong on LJ’s been making linkdumps.
Basically, I don’t know at this point if I have anything useful to add that hasn’t been said by people who are better at it than me and have more credibility than me. (I can’t/won’t speak for POC, and there are white people who have also expressed things better than I do and with less bad language.) But we’re not going to get past racism and bigotry by expecting to get pats on the back from POC or expecting critical theory to get a pass when it is fucked up. (Anyone who’s been in on the TERF wars knows that.)
Theory is not and should never be exempt from its own inescapable cultural context. Art is not and should never be exempt from its own inescapable cultural context. And this is the Internet anyway, not some kind of exalted rigorous academic symposium with all the trimmings. You say something that can be seen as fucked up, people are going to call you out. I expect to be called out with every comment and every post I make. Anyone who doesn’t…is really fucking naive.
Appropriation is that kind of minefield. There are no feel-good answers. It’s the goddamn Kobayashi Maru.
So, today, a quiet message to my fellow white people: JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP FOR TWO FUCKING SECONDS. GOD.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Tags: grinding my axe, race is a four letter word, second class fan citizens
rhyme and reason
A few bits and pieces that haven’t become their own posts.
A word on the Eleventh Doctor: Much as I remain ambivalent about Matt Smith, I am not best pleased by the fact that we have a young not-particularly-masculine white guy in the role, round three. I expected a little more diversity from Moffat; I’m not someone who really seriously thinks girl!Doctor is plausible, but I was really pulling for Patterson Joseph. (Not as much Chiwetel Ejiofor, who will forever be the Operative in my mind…) But no, we have Fall Out Boy Doctor, straight to the pages of Heat magazine.
That said, again, I am leaving my judgment on Smith himself open for now, which for my massive Tennant fangirling, is a big step for me. But if you too would like to donate to the Give Matt Smith Eyebrows fund, lemme know.
Talk about the Star Trek film has been quiet, but I did get spoiled for the plot, and all I can say is ‘why’. And JJ Abrams will throw entirely too many little details into it that I will surely miss, and…not looking forward to this much.
More talk has Shia LaBoeuf as a possible Yorick Brown in the Y: The Last Man films, which I just cannot see. LaBoeuf ’s attitude is just too damn cool to be Yorick, who is anything but badass, and he’s just way too young. I got nothin’.
That’s the theme of this post, I guess. So many things that could have been done and we end up with this.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: girls on film, second class fan citizens, what's on telly
Byte Your Tongue
My apologies for not blogging lately–the holiday season and the end of the year, between work and family and maintaining some sort of sanity, sort of chewed up my initiative to write. That, and the fact that Mr Bene bought me a Nintendo DS for Christmas, which also consumed a lot of time and brainpower. Between his gift of Animal Crossing: Wild World, and my own purchase of Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which I managed to beat in just over a week.
Animal Crossing is more of a progressive RPG, and a soap opera understandable on multiple levels, if somewhat awkward. But Professor Layton brings the best of puzzle cross-training with searching interactive mystery, and becomes more than a little obsessive. It’s just a bit awkward. Of course, it brings up the question of whether or not there are games for the DS that don’t use stereotypical characterization on all parts. I mean, it’s a low-memory interface, there’s not much room to expand. But Professor Layton’s otherwise brilliant atmosphere–excellent graphics, good use of the DS stylus interface, Triplets of Belleville meets steampunk–is dimmed for me by the fact that the women are simpering or caretakers or stone bitches, and the minority characters are drawn somewhat problematically.
This is the kind of time where you want to turn off your brain and play. Unfortunately, that’s not how I operate.
But it’s symptomatic of the greater problem in video games, which keeps coming to my attention, both in my reading of part of Game Boys (a narrative of the strikingly male-dominated world of professional Counter-Strike) and in Holly’s review and analysis of Mirror’s Edge. Synopsis: we really haven’t gotten anywhere.
At least Xeni Jardin got to go to CES for Boing Boing…wait, she’s ended up playing with the cute toys and writing about mistaken signs and strollers. Crap.
Yeah, I got nothing.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Tags: jeux sans frontieres, media, second class fan citizens
pithy remarks- benetwits: Procrastinating. Glasgow is cold and damp. Sigh.
- benetwits: Hitting the road again. Let's see how this train wireless goes.
- benetwits: @challyzatb Definitely stay strong, as HOHL said.
- benetwits: Maybe karma got me with another anxiety trigger within five minutes. Augh.
- benetwits: I had a weird OCD tendency to steal books in high school, and now I feel like karma is going to get me. I'm really sorry, Eric.
- benetwits: @KateHarding I'm really sorry for your loss, Kate.
- benetwits: Because I know it's problematic, but at the same time, said person tends to keep not taking said meds once she stops...and srs harm ensues.
- benetwits: At what point is it actually acceptable to ask a person if they have taken their meds today? Because it's clear she hasn't.
- benetwits: The chances of NBC dealing effectively and thoughtfully with issues of anxiety and panic attacks? Next to nil, even if DT is capable.
- benetwits: shit shit shit, David Tennant, nooooooo.
