Undoing Oppression 101: first in an on-going series
I just read chr0me_kitten's post here, about some people of color getting the "zoo treatment" at WisCon. WTF?
Look, people. There is no need for this kind of behavior, this kind of othering. I'm going to continue some of the work we started in the Cultural Appropriation 101 panel. For my friends of color and some of my white friends, this may seem like a well-worn path (Trail of Tears?). For others, however, this may be educational. Feel free to comment, but arguments of a non-constructive variety will not be allowed.
Undoing Oppression 101: Recognizing each other
I'm going to start with a quote from Audre Lorde's "Open Letter to Mary Daly," in which she questions Daly's failure to recognize the contributions and her-story of women of color in Gyn/Ecology:
"...I ask you to re-member what is dark and ancient and divine within your self that aids your speaking. As outsiders, we need each other for support and connection and all the other necessities of living on the borders. But in order to come together we must recognize each other. Yet I feel that since you have so completely un-recognized me, perhaps I have been in error concerning you and no longer recognize you....I feel you do celebrate differences between white women as a creative force towards change, rather than as a reason for misunderstanding and separation. But you fail to recognize that, as women, those differences expose all women to various forms and degrees of patriarchal oppression, some of which we share, and some of which we do not." (This Bridge Called My Back, pp. 96-97)
From Lorde's essay "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master's House":
"Women of today are still being called upon to stretch across the gap of male ignorance, and to educate men as to our existence and our needs. This is an old and primary tool of all oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns. Now we hear that it is the task of black and third world women to educate white women, in the face of tremendous resistance, as to our existence, our differences, our relative roles in our joint survival. This is a diversion of energies and a tragic repetition of racist patriarchal thought." (This Bridge Called My Back, pg. 100)
These essays are nearly thirty years old, which means they have been around and influential in feminist thought for almost as long as WisCon has been around. This is important, because the relevance of these quotes today stands as a marker of just how little progress has been made.
I have encountered the tired old argument that "fans are under-socialized, and therefore need to be cut extra slack, and because they themselves have been social outcasts." While perhaps true in a sub-cultural context, the reality is that WisCon has over the past 15 years been actively re-connecting feminism with speculative fiction, and so does not have the excuse of remaining unaware of these issues. True, not every WisCon attendee has been coming that entire time - every year there are newcomers - but any attendee would have to be living under a rock to miss the ongoing discussions, debates, and work that have been going on around issues of race and racism at the convention. The mere fact that WisCon has a webpage to welcome people of color is indicative of the importance of this issue. So it is a distraction - a kind of derailing - to suggest this as a legitimate response regarding WisCon and its attendees. It might, however, continue to be true of attendees of many other conventions that have not addressed issues of race and racism within SF fandom.
What I am suggesting is that it is not solely up to WisCon attendees of color to educate other WisCon attendees about their lives, their presence, and their participation. In reality, it is the job of white attendees to do their own work to educate themselves about these issues - indeed, it seems odd that people who otherwise are proud of their ability to learn about strange new worlds find it difficult to impossible to educate themselves about something as evident and relevant as race and racism in their own lives. Indeed, the idealist in me has hoped that all WisCon attendees would actively welcome others of all colors. While I know some are actively welcoming, apparently some are not - and it is the job of longer-term WisCon attendees and planners to educate each other about this...and not leave them staring slack-jawed at some of the newcomers. It is particularly galling since some fans and writers of color have been working at this for over a dozen years, already.
We are no longer newcomers - you simply have not recognized us. And therefore it is increasingly difficult to recognize you.
NB: this entry was edited to clarify some issues at the request of a friend, minnehaha. Thanks to minnehaha for the request, and I hope this is more clear.
Look, people. There is no need for this kind of behavior, this kind of othering. I'm going to continue some of the work we started in the Cultural Appropriation 101 panel. For my friends of color and some of my white friends, this may seem like a well-worn path (Trail of Tears?). For others, however, this may be educational. Feel free to comment, but arguments of a non-constructive variety will not be allowed.
Undoing Oppression 101: Recognizing each other
I'm going to start with a quote from Audre Lorde's "Open Letter to Mary Daly," in which she questions Daly's failure to recognize the contributions and her-story of women of color in Gyn/Ecology:
"...I ask you to re-member what is dark and ancient and divine within your self that aids your speaking. As outsiders, we need each other for support and connection and all the other necessities of living on the borders. But in order to come together we must recognize each other. Yet I feel that since you have so completely un-recognized me, perhaps I have been in error concerning you and no longer recognize you....I feel you do celebrate differences between white women as a creative force towards change, rather than as a reason for misunderstanding and separation. But you fail to recognize that, as women, those differences expose all women to various forms and degrees of patriarchal oppression, some of which we share, and some of which we do not." (This Bridge Called My Back, pp. 96-97)
From Lorde's essay "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master's House":
"Women of today are still being called upon to stretch across the gap of male ignorance, and to educate men as to our existence and our needs. This is an old and primary tool of all oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns. Now we hear that it is the task of black and third world women to educate white women, in the face of tremendous resistance, as to our existence, our differences, our relative roles in our joint survival. This is a diversion of energies and a tragic repetition of racist patriarchal thought." (This Bridge Called My Back, pg. 100)
These essays are nearly thirty years old, which means they have been around and influential in feminist thought for almost as long as WisCon has been around. This is important, because the relevance of these quotes today stands as a marker of just how little progress has been made.
I have encountered the tired old argument that "fans are under-socialized, and therefore need to be cut extra slack, and because they themselves have been social outcasts." While perhaps true in a sub-cultural context, the reality is that WisCon has over the past 15 years been actively re-connecting feminism with speculative fiction, and so does not have the excuse of remaining unaware of these issues. True, not every WisCon attendee has been coming that entire time - every year there are newcomers - but any attendee would have to be living under a rock to miss the ongoing discussions, debates, and work that have been going on around issues of race and racism at the convention. The mere fact that WisCon has a webpage to welcome people of color is indicative of the importance of this issue. So it is a distraction - a kind of derailing - to suggest this as a legitimate response regarding WisCon and its attendees. It might, however, continue to be true of attendees of many other conventions that have not addressed issues of race and racism within SF fandom.
What I am suggesting is that it is not solely up to WisCon attendees of color to educate other WisCon attendees about their lives, their presence, and their participation. In reality, it is the job of white attendees to do their own work to educate themselves about these issues - indeed, it seems odd that people who otherwise are proud of their ability to learn about strange new worlds find it difficult to impossible to educate themselves about something as evident and relevant as race and racism in their own lives. Indeed, the idealist in me has hoped that all WisCon attendees would actively welcome others of all colors. While I know some are actively welcoming, apparently some are not - and it is the job of longer-term WisCon attendees and planners to educate each other about this...and not leave them staring slack-jawed at some of the newcomers. It is particularly galling since some fans and writers of color have been working at this for over a dozen years, already.
We are no longer newcomers - you simply have not recognized us. And therefore it is increasingly difficult to recognize you.
NB: this entry was edited to clarify some issues at the request of a friend, minnehaha. Thanks to minnehaha for the request, and I hope this is more clear.