My WisCon 34 Schedule

My WisCon 34 Schedule

I have less than a week to go before WisCon, hooray! Thinking of that made me realize that I haven’t posted my panel schedule here. It’s light this year and thus I will likely be a lot saner. But I am contemplating doing a panel in the overflow room. We’ll see. Meantime, here you go:

Chicks Dig Time Lords

Fri 4:00 – 5:15PMConference 4

Lynne M. Thomas, K. Tempest Bradford, Evelyn Browne, Kathryn Sullivan

There is a perception that there weren’t many women in Doctor Who fandom before the New Series was launched. This is patently false. Women have had a major role in Doctor Who fandom since the inception of the show. Do women approach and experience their Doctor Who fandom (or other media fandoms) differently than men? This panel explores different approaches to media fandom by the women involved in it, functioning within an assumed male–dominated fandom. Approaches to fandom discussed will range from feminist critique to costuming to fan fiction.

Chicks Dig Time Lords Reading

Sun 10:00 – 11:15AM – Michelangelos

K. Tempest Bradford, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kathryn Sullivan, Lynne M. Thomas

Writing the Other: Shout–Outs

Sun 2:30 – 3:45PM – Assembly

Nisi Shawl, K. Tempest Bradford, Moondancer Drake, Nabil/nadyalec, Michelle Kendall

Fail is not the topic of this panel; instead, we want to hear about where you feel like your group was well represented in fiction by someone from outside it. This panel is the carrot, not the stick!

Take Back the Sci–Fi: Redux

Sun 4:00 – 5:15PMCaucus

Shira Lipkin, K. Tempest Bradford, Michelle Kendall, Rachel Swirsky

Sexual assault and rape frequently get used as symbolic plot devices, with no consideration of how sexual violence actually affects survivors and the people around them. Let’s discuss books that accurately portray the repercussions of and recovery from sexual assault, as well as those that merely use it as a shortcut to character development and those that end up glorifying it in the process—and how we can write about sexual assault and rape in a way that is true to the character and respectful to survivors. Note: this is a discussion of rape and sexual assault in fiction, and is not the place to discuss our personal experience with sexual assault.

Yes, the majority of my panels are on Sunday :) Which makes it likely that Saturday something fun will happen. Stay tuned.

What I’m Saying Elsewhere

What I'm Saying Elsewhere

1. The Fangland contest is over! But you still have a chance to participate (a little). We have more than one copy to award, so we’re going to give one to the entry the readers like the most. Check out the entries here and vote for your favorite in the comments. The entry with the most votes wins Reader’s Choice. We’ll reveal the winners on Tuesday. @ Fantasy

2. PodCastle Has Girl Cooties! I have been poking my head in the forum topic and the post for the third episode, “Run of the Fiery Horse” because Rachel, the editor, asked me to do the intro (because I love, love, love the story).  As with most Escape Artist forum discussions, people have wildly varying reactions to and interpretations of the story.  But there’s also been some discussion of the “tone” of PodCastle as being too women-centric/feminist. Quotes & Anti-Quotes @ FeministSF The Blog.

3. On Feminism, Part 2. Feminism is made for and by white women. And I really feel like this is one of those areas where the white women need to get enlightened before things can change. But, of course, many of them won’t be because they don’t see racism, which is directed against women of color, as a feminist issue. They’re hard pressed to acknowledge that racism is as great a problem as sexism at all.

No, actually, what I should say is that the white feminists who are seen as leaders, who are given press and attention and cred are in need of enlightenment. Because there are plenty of white feminists who do get it, who are enlightened, who can see the interconnectedness between anti-racist work and anti-sexist work. So what’s really needed is a good purge. Those of you who know what’s up need to weed out or educate those of you who don’t. Because obviously we women of color are too angry or jealous or indelicate to do it. @ ABW