How can we encourage a sense of inclusivity and community in your favorite geek spaces? Participants: Rakhi Rajpal, Echo Martin, AlysshaRose Jordan, Justin Edward Grays (mod)
Listen to the audio here. Downloadable version available ASAP.
This panel took a few minutes to get off of the ground as it was the first panel of the day - early morning panels at a science fiction & fantasy convention are difficult, as many events tend to run late into the evening. There was some difficulty in the marshaling of thoughts - especially by me, which became very apparent as I couldn’t figure out where to find the panel description on the back of my panelist card.
In our opening, I asked that we each give our pronouns. It is important to normalize giving out our pronouns when we introduce ourselves at functions. As pronouns are words that we use to replace names (she/him/theirs), they are often used when referring to people; it is an important matter of respect and dignity to use what most accurately represents the people to whom we are referring. If you don’t know a person’s pronouns, please ask them; this is something that needs to be normalized.
I personally identify as graygender - that is, I identify outside the gender binary and feel generally ambivalent about my gender identity. For pronouns, I really am comfortable with any pronoun that is used for me (except for “it”) - however, I very much enjoy it when people change up what pronouns they use for me. As of late, I have been using xe/xem/xyr [Note 1] pronouns, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule; it may change at any time.
Inclusivity is the practice or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. Members of minority groups and persons with physical and/or mental disabilities are often excluded from common spaces; it is important to create spaces that are welcoming to people, regardless of sex, gender, orientation, religion, and disability. This doesn’t mean that the space must be all-inclusive - for marginalized people to feel welcome, those who will do them harm must be excluded.
Inclusivity also includes having a universal design for marginalized people (or as universal as possible). Universal Design is the design of spaces so that they can be used by the greatest number of people regardless of size, disability, age, or ability [Note 2]. I had mentioned hearing at another panel that there is a museum in New York that was designed universally from the start, but unfortunately I did not write down which museum it was. I have been searching for it, and I think that the museum that was referenced is the Metropolitan Museum of Art (and this article from Architizer seems to support that), although it could be the Museum of Arts and Design (at least from my reading of their accessibility section) [Note 3].
Aside from making spaces inclusive by incorporating universal design into the architecture, there is also what is called Active Representation. It is shown that agency heads are responsible for setting the tone of their organizations, both passively and actively; this is as true for geek spaces as it is for government organizations. Diverse organizations and spaces consider a broader set of interests as an organization than do their less diverse counterparts; this is not just for race and ethnicity, but also language, gender, religion, and so forth. After-the-fact representation is not representation. It’s a problem that J.K. Rowling builds diversity into her novels after-the-fact [Note 4]; the lack of representation is uninspiring. And when she does make things canon retroactively, it is problematic. Nor is J.K. Rowling alone in this; Lando Calrissian supposedly being pansexual in Solo: A Star Wars Story is taken out of the same playbook, for example. It creates an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” mentality.
If you become aware of a situation that affects others, make others aware to try to correct it; but don’t give your opinion in a fashion that will shut down or block out the affected people. We don’t always want to be the educators or the ones who have to make change, and it is great that others are willing and able to help, but those same people must also be willing to learn from us and pay attention to our experiences. If you have privilege, use it for good.
Notes:
The third-person sex-neutral pronouns that I have been using are xe (subject), xem (object), xyrs (possessive), xyrself/xemself (reflexive), xyr (pronominal).
The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design has a fantastic description of what Universal Design is - I suggest that people check out their site.
The Museum of Modern Art also came up in my search, with a story about what it means to be an accessible museum; as did the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (see their Access + Ability and Design Access pages). I am not sure which of these are the correct museums; however, The New York Public Library has a list of accessible museums in New York City.
That’s not the only problem with J.K. Rowling, of course. She was always terrible, even though it took many of us a while to recognize her racism and to find out that she is a feminism-appropriating radical transphobe.
If you can, please help me continue to get out to conventions and attend panels. Writing about each panel takes a lot of work, ranging from extensive note-taking and transcribing, to understanding the content of the panel, to analyzing the information, and there is maintaining this website and creating the content for ease of access. As little as $1/month will help me get into a position where I can prepare and create quality content for everyone. To this end, I am on Patreon, a membership platform service to help facilitate the relationship between patrons and creators.
I know that it's not always possible to sponsor someone on a monthly basis. If you would help me with a one time donation, please feel free to use PayPal, CashApp, or Vemno. Producing content takes time and effort, and any support would be most appreciated. Your donations help me cover expenses and eventually will let me be able to create quality content full-time.