sigelphoenix

What is it that has spawned the sudden upsurge in talking about women in fandom in recent weeks? *blinks* Whatever, I'm having fun.

First off, in case anyone *hasn't* read this yet: cereta's post on Fandom and Male Privilege. She talks a little bit about male privilege in the real world, but then goes on to articulate, in a beautiful way, many things about invisibility and the assumption of privilege in fandom.

The post has been linked on metafandom, along with many responses that bring to light other aspects of being female and/or feminist in fandom.

Unfortunately, there have been some other responses that, well ... *sigh* I'm not going to point fingers or tear into anyone, but come. on. people. Can we not respond to a discussion of privilege and oppression with "what do you mean privilege, we're oppressed tooooo"? I mean, seriously. I do understand the feeling of defensiveness when your privilege is brought to light. I feel it myself during discussions about straight privilege, economic privilege, and even white privilege (the last one because even though I'm not white, I'm of a race that has often gotten less crap than, say, blacks or Latinos, and also, most of the friends I've had and have now are white). But the point is: No one is saying *you* are an evil person. *We* are not saying we hate you, and all who are like you. Most importantly, no one says that you don't have *any* disadvantages. So can we quit it with the "Well, I don't enjoy this particular privilege, or that one, so look, I'm just as badly off as you!"

Because I can't resist, I will highlight one example: There was a discussion on the fear of rape, and the OP pointed out that men get raped too. But, see, the risk of rape is probably frightening to men because it's a break from the typical, default safety from being attacked. But, um, women? Fear of rape *is* the default. I'm not saying it's a constant, paralyzing fear that rules our minds, but rather that we always have to keep in mind to "be careful" against an unnamed threat. It's always a consideration when we do the simplest things -- walk home at night, ride the bus, visit a male acquaintance, go to a party where there will be people we don't know, put on a short skirt, sometimes even when we go on a date. I don't mean to be excluding, but I honestly don't think anyone who isn't female can truly comprehend how the risk of rape pervades the lives of women, and can affect so many of our choices. Men don't *have* that basic fear. I can be concerned about men who are raped, or the risk for men to be raped, while still being fully aware that the huge discrepancy between what men and women have to deal with in this arena is a blatant sign of privilege.

Okay, didn't mean to go on for that long. I think it needed to be said, though.

Next, there has been a lot of discussion about female characters in fandom. I don't even know where to begin on those articles, so I don't have any useful links (besides again pointing to metafandom). Instead I'll just pimp out backward_heels, the snazzy new community made by zinjadu and rivendellrose for the purposes of celebrating female characters in any fandom. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun. :D

And finally, I got a link from chasdini about an open call for submissions to an upcoming anthology about girl geeks. It'll be called She's Such a Geek, and the details for submitting are here. It looks really interesting, and I want to see if I can come up with something to send in.