You don't have to act like a Klingon glacier, I don't bite. Well, that's wrong, I *do* bite.
I'm interested in reading the posts that will come out of this first-ever Feminist SF Carnival. Here's the call for posts (Via Lis Riba):
Even today, some fandoms seem to have a “No Girls Allowed” sign. Created by men and for men, and populated with men who don’t realize that women also dream of telepathic communication, traveling to the stars, dragon-slaying and x-ray vision, it can get stifling for a female fan. Often a search for positive female portrayals is answered by “This is not for you, so go read Harlequinn romance,” “CENSORSHIP!! She’s crying for CENSORSHIP!!” “I know at least two women who like [simpering, annoying female stereotype “character”]” or even “If you are actually a woman, online its hard to tell.”
(At least, that’s how it seems in superhero fandom.)
But there are female-friendly stories out there. There are female-friendly sites and communities. There are female-friendly fans out there. And yes, there are even feminists out there! Which brings us here.
The Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans periodically collects posts from the hazy side-reality where feminist social consciousness meets the outer limits of the imagination. This is to draw attention to lesser known bloggers, to bring individuals of like-minded (or at least, understanding) interests together, and to foster the growth of feminist fan communities.
The first edition will be on Written World (a comics weblog, so posts from other sci-fi/fantasy fandoms will be welcome and necessary) on July 2, 2006.
Deadline for submissions is June 29th, 2006. Since this is the first edition, we’ll be considering posts during late May 2006 and all of June 2006. After that it will go back to the deadline of the previous carnival. Please email the hostess at ragnellthefoul AT hotmail DOT com or use the submission form.
Some Basic Guidelines:
- All Weblog Postings on Science Fiction and Fantasy works in all media (books, comic books, television, film, roleplaying tabletop games and video games) written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Fan fiction written from a Feminist Perspective is eligible.
- Posts about fan fiction written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Posts about conventions and fan gatherings of a Feminist nature are eligible.
- Posts about conventions and fan gatherings written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Posts about any science fiction or fantasy fandom written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Posts linking to news and announcements are eligible, so long as they pertain specifically to the Feminist Sci-Fi Fantasy community.
- Considerations about science fiction/fantasy news from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Analysis of non-Feminist works from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Rants about any of the above written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Posts which spell “Space” using 3 A’s and two exclamation points and are written from a Feminist Perspective are eligible.
- Posts about Green-Skinned Amazons (from Outer Spaaace!) with more than two breasts that are not written from a Feminist Perspective will not be eligible (and if they aren’t damned funny,* will be reproduced for mockery).
- Posts about Getting Your Girlfriend into [specific type of fandom] had also better be damned funny. If written from a Feminist Perspective (even tongue-in-cheek), they will be eligible.
*Sexist and/or homophobic does not equal damned funny, nor does it constitute anything approaching a Feminist Perspective.
Any questions may be directed to Ragnell the Foul — ragnellthefoul AT hotmail DOT com
I'm not as involved in fan communities as I'd like to be, but it seems clear from this call and a few other things I've read that they're called the fanboisie for a reason. Maybe I'll contribute a brief annotated bibliography of feminist SF scholarship that's published online.
