Question for Feminists: Is it wrong to directly target women for inclusion?
One of the things I’ve struggled with as someone who sees himself as a feminist is whether it is right to intentionally create diversity by targeting women (or another minority group). One specific instance can be found here. Jen and I do not get as many women authors on our show as we would like […]
SF/F Rant of the Day: Privilege is Not Equal
You’re probably already familiar with the shitstorm that erupted on Peter Watts’ blog over acrackedmoon’s “review” of R. Scott Bakker’s novels. If not, then you should glance through to see what has been going on (this is not the same as the other shitstorm which also involved acrackedmoon’s comments, though certainly the issues are related). Here, I […]
England: The Country With a History Face
There is something absolutely magical about visiting another country, especially a country like England. At least, I think so. But why? On my descent into Gatwick, I thought about that question, and this is the best I could come up with: England is a country that wears its history on its face. To someone like […]
The West’s Third World Others (or, Hey, Thailand Has Prostitutes, What’s the Big Deal?)
The latest shitstorm in the SF/F community comes in response to acrackedmoon’s criticism of Pat’s (of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist) controversial perspectives on Thailand and travel (acrackedmoon offers a counter here). The short version: Pat reinforces some stereotypes about Thailand and non-Western culture, some of them through sexist and/or racist lenses, gets called out on it […]
A Fantastical Fantasy Conversation w/ the Girlfriend
If anyone wonders if my creative juices are still flowing, you’d only need to sneak in on some of the conversations I have with my girlfriend. I say “conversations,” but really these are long, surreal rambles I launch at her, which she finds amusing. This is one such conversation: Me: Would you prefer I court […]
The Black Santa Chronicles (or, Why Size Really Matters)
This is the story of Black Santa and his wife, Black Santa’s Wife. They also go by Black Father Christmas and Black Father Christmas’ Wife (I assume the missus has a proper name or title of her own, but I can’t find it). Don’t they look like a happy couple? Well, perhaps not, but that […]