RaceFail 09

[poilass]

I have been following this for some time but rarely commenting. However I do not want my silence to be taken for apathy or assent, particularly not assent with this piece of condescending fuckwittery (a more elegant response to that here, also here, here, here and hereIf you don't know what I'm talking about (srsly?), various timelines & summaries

Comments

[bookshop]

it actually did *not* explode out of the white-washing of the live action Avatar movie. That actually is a completely separate issue that fandom communities have also been dealing with. While our awareness of both issues happening at once has certainly contributed to the discussion, I do not know of any instance where those discussions have overlapped.

The issue actually began because of the advice you mention by matociquala, who unfortunately throughout this debate has not proved as willing to extend her advice about accepting the "other" to the role of accepting critique about how well she had practiced multiculturalism and non-appropriative techniques in her own writing. This began a debate that spawned outward from her journal and Seeking Avalon's (whose timeline that Poi linked to is essential reading if you want to get a good overview of the debate and subsequent upheavals/flounces/violations of privacy).

A larger debate about cultural appropriation has been ongoing and at intervals very heated (though never like this) throughout the sci-fi community, as evidenced by the WisCon panels on the subject for 2 of the last 3 years, and Bear's wry reference to the continuing WisCon debates during the post in which she asked everyone to just "let it drop." The most succinct response to that coming from bossymarmelade - "I would never dream of telling anybody to "let it drop" when what "it" is ... is themselves."

[dawnkiller]

Um, yeah, I gotta agree with bossymarmelade there. Sometimes I think the other side can fail to understand that the reason many people pursue things like gay/women/race -rights is because it's not just an abstract cause, but a personal reality.

I wasn't aware of the SF/F debate, not being hugely involved in a focused fandom, but yeah -- thinking about many of the books I've read, I can't say I'm surprised to learn it's an issue (though oddly, no one seems to mind the cultural appropriation in Avatar -- perhaps because the Asian elements were not only generally well-researched, but essentially made Asian/Inuit groups the protagonists rather than the Exotically Foreign Adversary).

I did skim the list a bit, though it was tough to puzzle out without foundation -- I've never read Bear's work, so I haven't an opinion on her failure or success, but in general terms I have to say that if a member of the group you're purporting to be representing points out errors in your approach you should probably suck it up and listen. Criticism about something you're proud of is a bit hard to take, but you know, if it's actually going to benefit what you're going for . . . ah well.

I'm pretty sure that at least one poster pointed out that you're never going to be 100% right in a depiction of another culture (although frankly the odds of you being 100% right about your own isn't exactly assured either), which is true. One of the things that makes racial politics so volatile is the fact that even among various minorities there are different flavors of oppression, so one groups' experience isn't necessarily going to convey to another's. If you want to tackle the issue, your only hope is probably to be sensitive and willing to take criticism. And, possibly, invest in a flak suit.

[poilass]

Bear's book was criticised -- politely -- by all of two people, at least one of whom also said that she had enjoyed the book despite having some problems with it. Bear responded in a post that was widely praised, apologising and agreeing the book had failed in that respect. The fail began when people made racist comments in that post, Bear didn't call any of them on despite having promised to moderate the discussion, and eventually started agreeing with them, saying she was just "taking a hit for the team" and, god, I don't even want to go into it now, the details are linked above if you want to search them out. In her most recent post she now says that the original criticism was shallow and never valid, and she only *pretended* to believe that she'd made a mistake because she "felt it was important to serve as an example of how to engage dialogue on unconscious institutional racism."

Not that Bear is even the point anymore, despite what she seems to think, but no-one needed a flak jacket for making a *mistake*, is what I'm saying. No-one attacked Bear or anyone else for trying but not quite getting it 100% right. It took a lot of people working very, very hard to cling to their racism to get this thing where it is now.

[dawnkiller]

"Taking a hit for the team"? Yeah, I think that's the official sign that Reason has left the building because Martyrdom keeps elbowing it in the eye. *headdesk*

Well, the debate proved a kind of equality . . . If nothing else, we've got a good demonstration that anyone, regardless of race, sex, religion, finances and fandom, is capable of sticking their foot so far up their mouth they can kick themselves in the tonsils.

[trishalynn]