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sooooooo I am not thrilled with the response folks have been getting when they contact @OTW_News about fandom racism and the current political moment. https://twitter.com/no_detective/status/1272747576970928128
I've been having discussions with smart friends about this for, idk, years: the value of statements, the value of action
action matters so much more, but I still think both are important
action matters so much more, but I still think both are important
here is why I think statements are valuable:
1) they establish a shared reality
2) they establish shared values
1) they establish a shared reality
2) they establish shared values
When folks say that a statement without an action plan is useless, they're talking about #2. If your actions don't back up your stated values, then the stated values are not values you're prioritizing.
it's empty.
it's empty.
I want OTW to be working on an action plan laid out by Black volunteers and non-Black POC volunteers to make fandom a more welcoming space for non-white people.
I'm ... not necessarily finding it easy to believe that's what they're doing, but I hope they are.
I'm ... not necessarily finding it easy to believe that's what they're doing, but I hope they are.
in the meantime, though, folks who talk about racism in fandom (I've deeply valued the perspectives of @stichomancery, @RukminiPande, and @SamiraNadkarni) are met with constant pushback and gaslighting
at best, it's "yes fandom is racist but those specific examples have a different explanation" or "yes fandom is racist but there's literally nothing we can do about it"
more often it's "no fandom's not racist and how dare you target a majority-queer community"
more often it's "no fandom's not racist and how dare you target a majority-queer community"
so let's get back to the "shared reality." it would be huge for the OTW to say "fandom has a racism problem, and the affordances of the spaces we created are such that fans of color feel unsafe and unwelcome."
And yeah! If they said that, I'd be like, "Okay, so what are you going to do about it?" AND THEN I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
but in the meantime, that kind of statement establishes a shared reality with POC fans who have been speaking out FOR YEARS about racism in fannish spaces.
and what I hope it would do for white fans is make us recognize what the situation is.
The situation is: Racism. So what are we going to do about it? How are we going to support our fellow fans?
The situation is: Racism. So what are we going to do about it? How are we going to support our fellow fans?
I think one reason statements can feel empty is that they're just marketing. Which is true! They are just marketing! They are not structural change; they're not even really change.
But one thing they do is make SPACE for change.
But one thing they do is make SPACE for change.
when privileged people hear there's a problem of oppression, the instinct is to deny it. No way! X marginalized group can't be experiencing that, else I'd have heard about it!
but that first touch -- hey, X group exists! here are some problems they have! -- creates a framework for the second time you hear about the problem. and those two times set you up for the third time you hear about it, and the fourth.
cw: gender essentialist shittiness by Past Me
I did not used to know about nonbinary people. I was skeptical. when I started talking more about nonbinary people, though, the weirdest thing happened.
I did not used to know about nonbinary people. I was skeptical. when I started talking more about nonbinary people, though, the weirdest thing happened.
a bunch of my friends, including people I have known for DECADES, started saying things like "well nobody's comfortable in their ASSIGNED gender"
and it was like, ....Oh. OH. I didn't used to hear about this because I didn't used to LISTEN for it.
and it was like, ....Oh. OH. I didn't used to hear about this because I didn't used to LISTEN for it.
You know those charts of how public opinion has swung on police racism/brutality? It feels abrupt but it has been incrementally slow: Black activists, journalists, and protestors made that change possible through years of work
DECADES of work, actually, to break through white America's conditioning to trust cops and distrust Black people, enough that we let ourselves see what was right in front of our eyes
I have rarely, rarely seen a white fandom person admit that the affordances of AO3 enable racism and could be altered to ameliorate that problem.
I don't think it's such a huge ask for OTW to acknowledge that, especially in light of the current political moment.
I don't think it's such a huge ask for OTW to acknowledge that, especially in light of the current political moment.
Also, they should then begin work to establish an EDI committee, prioritize populating it with people of color including Black people, and then put resources and support behind that committee's recommendations.
I want to close by saying, I love AO3. I fucking love it. When that meme went around a while back that was like "you can save one website from all of the internet," I chose AO3.
I'm saying this BECAUSE I love the Archive.
I'm saying this BECAUSE I love the Archive.
I do not want my good feelings about the Archive to be the exclusive provenance of white people like me. I want the space to change so that fans of color are safe and welcomed.
not for nothing, I asked my friend who does antiracist archival work how SHE would go about reforming the Archive
with zero prep time she produced a multi-stage plan of action that would leverage volunteer labor, support community buy-in, and prioritize the voices of POC fans
with zero prep time she produced a multi-stage plan of action that would leverage volunteer labor, support community buy-in, and prioritize the voices of POC fans
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS FOR WORK.
if you are not sure how an archive can become less structurally racist, maybe ask one of the people who LITERALLY DO THIS FOR A LIVING
if you are not sure how an archive can become less structurally racist, maybe ask one of the people who LITERALLY DO THIS FOR A LIVING
