{"id":9871,"date":"2012-02-23T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T09:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=9871"},"modified":"2012-02-23T09:00:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T09:00:32","slug":"guest-post-the-5050-sff-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2012\/02\/23\/guest-post-the-5050-sff-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"[Guest Post] The 50\/50 Movement: Why We Need To Get Practical For Equality In SFF"},"content":{"rendered":"

Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) has long been a battlefield of the sexes, with countless essays, blogposts and events on topics such as \u2018Mary Sues\u2019<\/a>, \u2018the state of women in SFF<\/a>\u2019 and \u2018why are cosplayers at conventions naked if female and storm troopers if male?\u20191<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Image Last week, Paul Cornell (comics, TV and novel writer) stated that, in a bid to get more equal gender representation on Science Fiction and Fantasy convention panels, he was going to stand down from any panel that wasn\u2019t 50\/50 or near as and invite a woman to take his place<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cue an awesome shitstorm of vitriol and support. The main thrust of some feminists’ arguments I’ve heard against this, and in some cases against Paul personally, is that this was ego boosting, man-on-a-white-horse, mansplaining wank and we don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

Sorry, sisters, but we do. Let\u2019s take a look at the arguments.<\/p>\n

1. ‘This looks like it\u2019s a man to the rescue of women, showing us in a submissive and passive light, needing us to be thrust into the spotlight by a man with agency.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Um, yes. You know why? Because sexism has been so ingrained in SFF over the years, back when it was a male-dominated genre, this is actually our starting point. Editors get fewer submissions from women regarding horror, fantasy and hard SF, the subgenres that are often most applauded by critics (also mostly male). Publishers put fewer women forward for convention guest spots, and female authors themselves look at the gender make-up of panels and step back. I think women haven\u2019t stood up en masse to rectify this because it became the norm. We told ourselves \u2018SFF is sexist, so they don\u2019t notice women\u2019 and forgot that arguably – especially when you take account of urban fantasy and paranormal romance – there are more of us in the genre, and hey, we sell more copies. We have as much right to be at those cons, doing those signings, making our voices heard, as the feted men do. SFF convention organisers have shoved women on all-women panels, told us to talk about ‘women in SFF’ and then told us that\u2019s the debate and equality will shake out of that. It won\u2019t. I think, somewhere along the way, we forgot to band together and tell SFF and con organisers to go shove their sexism. Maybe this will help.<\/p>\n

2. ‘We don\u2019t need no man sorting this out for us.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

See above. We do. It sucks. That\u2019s the frikkin\u2019 point. SFF wasn\u2019t listening when we were raising our voices. I wish, I fervently wish, that when a woman makes a point about gender inequality, it wasn\u2019t explained away as being a ‘women\u2019s issue’ and therefore marginal and easy to ignore. It shouldn\u2019t be. This is about equality – which affects you, regardless of gender. Yes, it sucks that the world takes notice when a man does something. No, it shouldn\u2019t be this way. But it is. And maybe, just maybe, if we join hands and do this thing together without drawing gender lines ourselves, in a few years, it won\u2019t be this way anymore.<\/p>\n

3. ‘This casts the woman who is invited to speak as an also-ran, putting her immediately as a runner-up to the man stepping down for her.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ImageYes, it does. And I think this does mean that Paul may have to change his approach, perhaps so that he and other people (male or female, it\u2019s 50\/50 for all) ask the con organisers to disclose the gender balance of the panels they are being invited on, and then, if it\u2019s out of whack, suggest another male (or female) author to readdress the balance. This way, your fans still get to see you on a balanced panel elsewhere at the convention, and there doesn\u2019t have to be any theatre or drawing of attention to an act of substitution.<\/p>\n

But, and I want to be really clear about this, just because Paul suggested something that isn\u2019t 100% ideal for women, doesn\u2019t mean we have to throw out the entire idea. The theory is good; we just have to look at the best way of putting it into practice. We don\u2019t need to get into an uproar because the first suggestion wasn\u2019t the best approach \u2013 it\u2019s not carved in stone.<\/p>\n

My point is: this is a starting point. We\u2019re gonna have to be big girls and suck up some of the stuff we don\u2019t like to help make a change that we desperately want. We have to be pragmatic and proactive, because the status quo wasn\u2019t changing with us doing nothing or shouting about it in forums and on blogs. We shouldn\u2019t be jumping on this suggestion and saying it\u2019s all tosh because it can be seen as patronising \u2013 can we please get past that and look at how the entire situation that this is trying to fight against is worse?<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s proposal may not be perfect. But out of it is growing a 50\/50 movement<\/a> that a lot of women and men are getting behind. We\u2019re asking people to talk to cons to check out their gender balance before they say yes. We\u2019re asking women to promote themselves more. We\u2019re asking readers to look at their shelves and see if they read mostly female or male authors, and to try adding a different gender to the shopping cart next time they buy books. I\u2019m hoping that feminists can look at the big picture here and see that we are struggling to bring visible equality to SFF \u2013 and that along the way, we\u2019re going to need equal input from all genders to do it.<\/p>\n