sigelphoenix

I have a Tumblr now. I'm using it as a repository for linkblogging; at the moment, all the links I'm blogging are about The Avengers, so if that's what you're looking for, have at. I expect that it'll expand to other geeky things and social justice stuff soon enough.

There's just over a day left in the Royal Archivist funding project. It's over the funding goal, which is fantastic, but I want to give one final heads-up because the more funding it receives, the more art RA can buy (action scenes! landscapes!). Also, the rewards for donating are pretty nifty, so if you want freebies like art-filled version of the universe guidebook (in PDF) or a physical print, you might as well donate now than later.

*I will, no doubt, continue posting requests/PSAs as various RA products come out.

5 days left! $430 to go!

Please consider chipping in! Even $10 will help us get closer to the goal.

(See my earlier entry for details.)

In the midst of all the various aggravating or horrific things going on, I'd like to talk about something that makes me happy: Royal Archivist.

Royal Archivist publishes speculative fiction in various mediums set in a shared universe that explicitly invites and is impacted by fan contributions. We see ourselves not so much as a publishing company, but as a storytelling company, producing fiction, setting-expanding guidebooks, sequential art, roleplaying scenarios, regular columns, audio works and more, all tied together by our setting and the contributions of our fans.

We believe that by creating in a wide variety of media, we open the door to both a greater number and greater diversity of contributors. From the beginning, it has been our goal to see our shared universe populated by characters traditionally underrepresented in fiction, speculative or otherwise. Expect to see protagonists who are also people of color. Expect non-traditional gender roles, and non-traditional genders. Expect us to be a place that your story can be told. Join us, and expect more from our world.

In other words, to pull out two examples from their FAQ that appeal the most to me: it's like the Forgotten Realms D&D setting, or DC and Marvel's comic book universes, with the one major difference being that the founding philosophy incorporates anti-oppression as a welcome and necessary component.

Excited? 'Cause I am.

The launch date is March 14, but in the meantime you can sign up for the weekly newsletter and look into submitting your work.

At the moment, what RA needs most help with is their Kickstarter project, seeking money with which to hire artists. They have $1700 of the $2500 goal needed by March 1. If you have any interest in what they're doing (speculative fiction informed by anti-oppression! who doesn't?) and a little cash to spare, please take a look and see what level of pledge - taking note of the rewards offered - you can afford.

Full disclosure: the people behind this company are close personal friends of mine. To me, the only difference that makes is that I've already had the opportunity to see their work in these arenas (fiction, game design, GMing) and know them as trustworthy in regards to issues of privilege and oppression.

People of color/non-white fans of sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction, please stand up!

This roll call, from the deadbrowalking community on LJ, is a response to yet another white SFF writer displaying ignorance of the long-standing presence of fans of color - not yet six months after RaceFail '09. You don't have to write anything lengthy or clever - this post is merely an attempt to get a (however incomplete) count of fans of color, after the nth time a white writer/reader said, "Wow, there's non-white people in SFF?"

And people wonder why we need to specify "'09" after "RaceFail" ... The ignorance is here, again, still.

People of color/non-white fans of sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction, please stand up!

This roll call, from deadbrowalking, is a response to yet another white SFF writer displaying ignorance of the long-standing presence of fans of color - not yet six months after RaceFail '09. You don't have to write anything lengthy or clever - this post is merely an attempt to get a (however incomplete) count of fans of color, after the nth time a white writer/reader said, "Wow, there's non-white people in SFF?"

And people wonder why we need to specify "'09" after "RaceFail" ... The ignorance is here, again, still.

This wasn't how I intended my first post on Dreamwidth to go. Ah well.

ciderpress (LJ) has posted the first Asian Women Carnival!

I haven't had a big chunk of time in which I could sit down and read through everything, so instead I've been reading a post here or there, spending a few minutes at a time. And that's been better, in a way, because then I get to savor each individual post instead of trying to digest all this emotion and wisdom and passion at once. I am so, so loving it.

I'm excited to announce that there's just one week left until the release of Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology!

For those who still haven't heard about this book, Secret Identities is a graphic novel collection of new superhero stories by and about Asian Americans. If you want to find out more, there's plenty of material to browse in the PDF preview, or the video trailers.

I highly encourage you to pick up this book, if you're someone who loves comic books and is impatient with how slow the mainstream publishers have been to leave behind the straight-white-male majority in its characters. (In other words ... like, all of my friends? :D) Please spare a few bucks to support it - it's less than $15 at Amazon! I think this project deserves major success, and I'd love to send the message to the comics industry that Asian American superheroes DO have an audience - and deserve a place, front and center - in comic books.

(Those of you who know ratzeo, he is happy to have you buy the book through him and take advantage of his sweet discount at the Comics Dungeon. Heck, even if you don't know him, he'd probably do it anyway as long as you're local.)

( Some personal background explaining the reasons behind this post )

1. For those who are still asking, "What is RaceFail '09?" the briefest answer I can manage is: what started as another instance of the discussion about misrepresentation/lack of representation of people of color in science fiction and fantasy has resulted in a particularly public and particularly ugly backlash from (often white) writers and readers.

For a timeline of specific events, please start with this summary by Avalon's Willow. Further events occurred later, as described here by rydra_wong, who has also painstakingly collected all the RaceFail-related links she could find, under this tag

If you're ready for further detail, please see my LiveJournal memories for (what I consider) some of the important posts.

And finally, please refer to this guide to the positive, productive actions taken by POC and allies in the face of RaceFail. Not because of. In the face of.

Read as much as you can. Learn as much as you can. If you take nothing else away from this, remember these two things: This is not "just another wankfest," because it's about race, racism, and representation - not individual personality clashes and this or that book. Also, this is not the first or only such conversation, even if it's the first time you've heard of one like this.

2. One of the best responses to RaceFail has, by far, been the creation of Verb Noire, an e-publishing company dedicated to written works by and about people of color and/or queer people. Please support them by donating.

3.I've posted this before, but remember: if you are an Asian woman or an ally, please contribute to the first Asian Women Blog Carnival. The deadline is tomorrow.

4. This is not a new study (it was published in 2007), but it's highly relevant: Subtle Discrimination is More Taxing On The Brain. Instances of ambiguous racism were more detrimental to black test subjects than obvious cases.

"Interestingly, white volunteers were more impaired by overt racism than by the more ambiguous discrimination. Salvatore and Shelton figure this is because whites rarely experience any racism; they do not even notice the subtle forms of racism, and are thrown off balance when they are hit over the head by overt acts. Many blacks, by contrast, have developed coping strategies for the most hateful kinds of racism; it's the constant, vague, just-below-the-surface acts of racism that impair performance, day in and day out."

This is why I'm more disturbed by expressions of privileged ignorance from people whom I have some trust in, rather than dude-on-the-street spouting a racial slur. This is why I care more about creative works that fail in race or other areas when they come from creators who should know better, based on their previous performance (Joss Whedon, I'm looking at you).

5. This is not race-related, but it's important: March 31st was End the R-word Day, a day dedicated to ending the use of "retard"/"retarded" as a derogatory term.

I have succeeded in removing the word from my vocabulary, but I've utterly failed in speaking out to the people around me. There's no excuse for this. I wouldn't tolerate people using "cunt," "pussy," or "gay" as insults to me, so I can't tolerate "retard" used in the same manner.

I will start by resolving to respond to derogatory uses of "retard"/"retarded" by saying, "Please don't use 'retard'/'retarded' as an insult." That's all. It's just a start.

Yes, you! From the comfort of your computer chair!

1. Donate to Home Alive

Home Alive is a Seattle-based anti-violence organization that has presented community-based responses to violence since 1993. However, severe lack of funding has caused them to cut back on their work, and even lose their office space. They are very much in need of financial support right now.

( More details on the situation )

Please consider donating to help keep Home Alive functional. Every little bit helps.

2. Support the first Asian Women Blog Carnival

ciderpress (LiveJournal) is launching this carnival in April. The call for submissions has details and background, but ( here's the basic information: )

According to these criteria, every single one of you is eligible to contribute to this carnival! You have until April 3 - go for it!

x-posted to LJ