[156] racefail strikes again.
most of you in supernatural fandom are already aware of the recent racefail debacle stemming from the spn_j2_bigbang fic caught between the earth and sky, which was written by gatorgrrrl and illustrated by mementis. i am mentioning this in my lj because i have a lot of friends from other fandoms, and something like this deserves as much signal-boosting as possible.
the fic is set in post-earthquake haiti, where the fictional white characters help the victims, and in the process, find true love. the original art was also made using real photos from the disaster. reading the summary left me queasy because of the fact that this horrifying event happened only recently, and the condescending premise of "white people help those poor coloured folk and zomg have glorious buttsecks in the end!" reeked of colonial attitudes. i was still tempted to read the story to find out whether the content was as failtastic as the summary predicted, but reading
bossymarmalade's collection of excerpts from the story left me horrified and enraged, and completely robbed me of any desire to follow through with my plan.
the author has since issued an apology, which is a step in the right decision, but certain lines in it rub me the wrong way. that, combined with her refusal to remove this fic - which has hurt so many people with its offensive content - still leave me feeling angry.
amazonziti has done a phenomenal job of creating an excellent round-up post containing many, many links to fandom-wide reactions and discussions. please visit this post if you are interested in reading more about this issue.
furiosity has made a great post about certain reactions to frank discussions about various forms of privilege.
comments to the gatorgrrl's story are now disabled, but please respond to the author on her apology post to tell her that what she has done is wrong.
ETA #1: apparently comments have been disabled on her apology post as well. colour me surprised. well, i still ask you to spread the word - whether it be through a post like mine, or a simple one-liner on your lj.
ETA #2: she has now taken down her story and has issued another apology. once more, some parts rub me the wrong way, but it's better than her former apology, and again, a move in the right direction.