ArmadilloCon, with a side of Why isn't SF/F Fandom More Diverse?
This past weekend was the annual running of the Armadillos festival, otherwise known as Armadillocon. I enjoy going to ArmadilloCon, it was my first con, it's local, it has a lot good going for it. And this year was no exception. I took off Friday and spent some time straightening up for guests (The Simpsons stayed with me, to the chagrin of my cats). Upon first arriving, I was immediately sucked into conversations galore with a variety of people. It seems that Friday was the day to talk to people. I had a long talk with Artist Guest of Honor Vincent Villafranca, chatted for quite a while with all around swell guy Brad Denton (and I told him about Ganymede street not far from me off Parmer, and how every time I drive by that street I think of him, which he found amusing). I talked to so many people I don't remember them all at this point. I did go to a panel called Imagining the Future which turned into a panel on dystopian fiction with a side order of futurism thrown in. Because there were no parties, many people ended up in the con suite, and I ended the evening watching the ebb and flow of people into and out of the con suite.
Saturday was more of the same, good panels, did some shopping in the con suite and art show, attended panels. I had dinner with Ray and Elze and little Rowan (who slept through much of dinner). After dinner, I ran into Scott Lynch and a crew of folks in the bar playing a game. Scott was on the WTF Wiscon panel, which I had not planned to attend, but I ended up going anyway. Now, part of me wonders why have the panel. But okay, people want to talk about this, except the audience got very little time to express their issues. And then there was the Big Fat WHITE Elephant in the room which no one addressed, and which irritated the hell out of me: for a panel that was discussing an issue related to diversity, there was remarkably little diversity on the panel. The panel was all white. There was one gay man and one bi woman, but they were All. White. And not once did anyone seem to think that a panel where the discussion revolved around another white writer's views on Muslims (views which got her removed as Guest of Honor from a convention that goes out of its way to be inclusive and diverse) might benefit from a more inclusive and diverse panel. I don't know if this issue is even something that was on the radar of the person who did programming, but the fact that this was an all white panel talking about issues of diversity, and that this was not in any way acknowledged, was a huge issue for me. There were a variety of opinions on the panel, from left to right, but how could anyone not see the inherent problem from the very start?
Sunday I ended up at lunch with some folks who were also at that panel in the audience, and we talked about a variety of problems with the panel - it seemed a bit like a tribunal, and the lack of any seeming awareness of the diversity issue. To be fair, most people on the panel took the position that Elizabeth's thoughts really were troublesome, and that Wiscon had every right to do what they did (even if they could have handled it better, although to be fair to Wiscon, there's not exactly a manual for this kind of thing). But in the end, it just seemed a frustrating waste of time. I don't see what got resolved or expressed (esp since the audience had virtually no ability to give voice to the discussion). The token conservative on the panel was relating a lot of opinions as facts (always frustrating, and he was called on it ever so gently once). If this was somehow supposed to be an insightful, informative panel on diversity issues surrounding the controversy from last summer, the composition of the panel itself highlights that there is a serious diversity issue within SF/F fandom. The discussion at lunch on Sunday did go to this point, and I brought up how there is so much gnashing of teeth within fandom on the graying of fandom, and how can we attract younger audiences, but rarely does one see any similar gnashing of teeth about the lack of diversity within fandom as a whole, and how can we attract a more diverse audience. SF/F fandom is, for the most part, a white fandom. I know there are some exceptions to that, Wiscon being one of them. But go to any con, and I'm willing to bet it's overwhelmingly white. I will admit that I haven't been to too many cons outside of Texas, but Texas cons are certainly white. I've been to one Worldcon and several World Fantasys. Mostly white. I don't know the reasons for this, although I suspect the roots are deep, going back to the 40s and 50s, when SF was primarily targeted to young (white) boys, and those young boys, now aging men, are still very much a staple of fandom. Sure, there are a large number of women active in fandom, but still, not a terribly diverse group on the whole.
Saturday there were only 3 parties, but the party scene was seriously happening. ApolloCon, FenCon and ConDFW threw a combined party, which was very nice. The newly seated 2013 WorldCon, LoneStar Con 3 threw a party. And then there was Finn. Mark Finn, this year's toastmaster (and my not-so-secret admirer) decided to throw a tiki party. He had his friend Professor Tiki mixing up a variety of rum drinks all night long. This was the happening party to be at. That Finn knows how to do up a party. I ended up in a corner talking to Guest of Honor Paolo Bacigalupi and some others about all manner of environmental issues. I had told Paolo on Friday that I was reading The Windup Girl (I finished it yesterday), and that I could not imagine more perfect weather to be reading a book about a sweltering city dealing with environmental disaster than right now, where it is sweltering and we're dealing with our own environmental disaster. Turns out Paolo is not only a badass hippy, but he's got a bit of Dr. Evil in him. Very enjoyable conversation.
Sunday was more low key, as just about any Sunday at a con is. Hit up a panel on super hero movies, attended Mark Finn's/Rhonda Eudaly's joint reading, did some more shopping. I did hit up the BBQ, and enjoyed talking to several folks at the Dead Dog.
And yesterday, I rested. During the BBQ Sunday night, I was talking to Editor Guest Lou Anders, gushing about The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith, and how I couldn't wait until next week for the second book to come out. He told me he had seen it on the shelves at the Arborertum Barnes and Noble. I thanked him for the tip and popped over there yesterday. I also got the new (and last) book in Richelle Mead's Succubus series (release date is today, but the very nice Barnes and Noble Customer Service guy grabbed a copy for me from the back, and I'm halfway through it already). I also got Louise Marley's newest book. I'm set for a while for books (I know, I say that all the time).
Today, I'm back at work, and tomorrow (through possibly Friday) I have jury duty. Cons always seem to happen so fast, can go by in a blur. But I have a pile of books and a new Peri Charlifu bowl on my table still to remind me. And I get to look forward to FenCon in just a few weeks, and World Fantasy a few weeks after that.
Saturday was more of the same, good panels, did some shopping in the con suite and art show, attended panels. I had dinner with Ray and Elze and little Rowan (who slept through much of dinner). After dinner, I ran into Scott Lynch and a crew of folks in the bar playing a game. Scott was on the WTF Wiscon panel, which I had not planned to attend, but I ended up going anyway. Now, part of me wonders why have the panel. But okay, people want to talk about this, except the audience got very little time to express their issues. And then there was the Big Fat WHITE Elephant in the room which no one addressed, and which irritated the hell out of me: for a panel that was discussing an issue related to diversity, there was remarkably little diversity on the panel. The panel was all white. There was one gay man and one bi woman, but they were All. White. And not once did anyone seem to think that a panel where the discussion revolved around another white writer's views on Muslims (views which got her removed as Guest of Honor from a convention that goes out of its way to be inclusive and diverse) might benefit from a more inclusive and diverse panel. I don't know if this issue is even something that was on the radar of the person who did programming, but the fact that this was an all white panel talking about issues of diversity, and that this was not in any way acknowledged, was a huge issue for me. There were a variety of opinions on the panel, from left to right, but how could anyone not see the inherent problem from the very start?
Sunday I ended up at lunch with some folks who were also at that panel in the audience, and we talked about a variety of problems with the panel - it seemed a bit like a tribunal, and the lack of any seeming awareness of the diversity issue. To be fair, most people on the panel took the position that Elizabeth's thoughts really were troublesome, and that Wiscon had every right to do what they did (even if they could have handled it better, although to be fair to Wiscon, there's not exactly a manual for this kind of thing). But in the end, it just seemed a frustrating waste of time. I don't see what got resolved or expressed (esp since the audience had virtually no ability to give voice to the discussion). The token conservative on the panel was relating a lot of opinions as facts (always frustrating, and he was called on it ever so gently once). If this was somehow supposed to be an insightful, informative panel on diversity issues surrounding the controversy from last summer, the composition of the panel itself highlights that there is a serious diversity issue within SF/F fandom. The discussion at lunch on Sunday did go to this point, and I brought up how there is so much gnashing of teeth within fandom on the graying of fandom, and how can we attract younger audiences, but rarely does one see any similar gnashing of teeth about the lack of diversity within fandom as a whole, and how can we attract a more diverse audience. SF/F fandom is, for the most part, a white fandom. I know there are some exceptions to that, Wiscon being one of them. But go to any con, and I'm willing to bet it's overwhelmingly white. I will admit that I haven't been to too many cons outside of Texas, but Texas cons are certainly white. I've been to one Worldcon and several World Fantasys. Mostly white. I don't know the reasons for this, although I suspect the roots are deep, going back to the 40s and 50s, when SF was primarily targeted to young (white) boys, and those young boys, now aging men, are still very much a staple of fandom. Sure, there are a large number of women active in fandom, but still, not a terribly diverse group on the whole.
Saturday there were only 3 parties, but the party scene was seriously happening. ApolloCon, FenCon and ConDFW threw a combined party, which was very nice. The newly seated 2013 WorldCon, LoneStar Con 3 threw a party. And then there was Finn. Mark Finn, this year's toastmaster (and my not-so-secret admirer) decided to throw a tiki party. He had his friend Professor Tiki mixing up a variety of rum drinks all night long. This was the happening party to be at. That Finn knows how to do up a party. I ended up in a corner talking to Guest of Honor Paolo Bacigalupi and some others about all manner of environmental issues. I had told Paolo on Friday that I was reading The Windup Girl (I finished it yesterday), and that I could not imagine more perfect weather to be reading a book about a sweltering city dealing with environmental disaster than right now, where it is sweltering and we're dealing with our own environmental disaster. Turns out Paolo is not only a badass hippy, but he's got a bit of Dr. Evil in him. Very enjoyable conversation.
Sunday was more low key, as just about any Sunday at a con is. Hit up a panel on super hero movies, attended Mark Finn's/Rhonda Eudaly's joint reading, did some more shopping. I did hit up the BBQ, and enjoyed talking to several folks at the Dead Dog.
And yesterday, I rested. During the BBQ Sunday night, I was talking to Editor Guest Lou Anders, gushing about The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith, and how I couldn't wait until next week for the second book to come out. He told me he had seen it on the shelves at the Arborertum Barnes and Noble. I thanked him for the tip and popped over there yesterday. I also got the new (and last) book in Richelle Mead's Succubus series (release date is today, but the very nice Barnes and Noble Customer Service guy grabbed a copy for me from the back, and I'm halfway through it already). I also got Louise Marley's newest book. I'm set for a while for books (I know, I say that all the time).
Today, I'm back at work, and tomorrow (through possibly Friday) I have jury duty. Cons always seem to happen so fast, can go by in a blur. But I have a pile of books and a new Peri Charlifu bowl on my table still to remind me. And I get to look forward to FenCon in just a few weeks, and World Fantasy a few weeks after that.