Combined Linkspams: Gender and Con Safety #1, Gender and Slash #5

[linkspam_mod]

[Trigger Warning: Discussion of gender and con safety includes discussion of sexual harassment at cons]


Gender and Con Safety Linkspam
jer_: The Safety Dance

I was sitting down, tonight, to do a little writing about the recent ConFusion convention from the perspective of a con-runner; but the more I pondered how best to kick things off the more I realized that there is something else I would prefer to address. Sexual harassment.
The problem, and a partial solution...

jer_: Idle Thoughts

Some thoughts about yesterday's sexual harassment post and some of the responses thereto.
A lot of people (many, many people) have pointed out that what “really needs to be done” is to tell everyone which touching is bad, tell everyone that this touching will not be accepted, and tell everyone that—if you are harassed—you absolutely can tell folks and get help. This implies a few things I find ludicrous...

netmouse: Ending Sexual Harassment at cons

I want to emphasize that whole list of what you should not do without explicit permission: touch, hover over, leer at, or otherwise harass someone. I believe we should have a community culture where, if you see someone doing this to someone else, if that person complains or asks for help, you should take them seriously, and respond with support. Even if someone is not complaining but looks distressed, it is all right to check with that person to make sure they are ok. And someone who persists in harassing behavior or is snide or disparaging about having it pointed out (as opposed to apologetic) should face anything from a stern talking to to removal of their membership by convention ops. But also, as Jer points out, possibly a more significant thing they should face is vocal intolerance of such behavior by the community. In other words, we should all work on speaking up when someone does or says something inappropriate.

Gender and Slash
annwyd: there is no one antidote to sexism, internalized and otherwise.

We have all had the madonna/whore complex imposed upon us in different ways, both those of us who create the characters and those of us who evaluate and react to them. Deciding that some female characters (love interests and damsels in distress) are Bad Models Of Women, while others (ass-kickers and tough loners) are Good Models Of Women, only reinforces this. Like who you like. Be receptive to others' different views of these characters, though.

Prof Susurro @ Like a Whisper: Want Ad for a Feminist Revolution Pt. 1

Wanted: feminists who are deeply committed to intersectionality to change the world. Must know the difference between “valuing diversity” or “tolerance” and actually being willing and able to understand the intrinsic equality of and work with people whose experiences, frame of reference, physical and mental abilities, pathways to knowledge, language skills, and access to capital, desires, etc. are profoundly different than your own.

carmarthen: Some spiffy communities in light of recent discussions
[DW mirror of post included in Gender and Slash #3]

copracat: Untitled [Post discusses the issue of same writers creating male as female characters]

The female characters are written by the same people who write the male characters.
Do the writers' limitations and prejudices cease to exist they write male characters? Or do they just not matter?

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