Another post to read

tekanji

Still on blog break, but since the others are busy I may as well do some more link blogging. Here’s a post I came across today that deals with misogyny in geeky fandoms.

Here are some exerpts:

And that ironic, self-aware misogyny is still misogyny. You have to make a point of actually criticising it before “it’s ironic” is a servicable defence.

But this “geek space” we’re in… It isn’t taken seriously by the mainstream, which gives us a certain amount of free agency to do whatever, because standard reaction is “Oh, those crazy undersexed geeks and their weird fantasy women!”. In response, we have created a psychological space in which it’s not just OK to treat women like shit, it’s awesome. We have then endlessly justified it using every lame excuse in The Big Lame Book Of Big Lame Excuses. Handily, this means we don’t even need make apologies, because blah blah ironic blah blah parody blah blah she shoots the guy after he rapes her so she’s the real winner! You just can’t take a joke!

All “irony” and “parody” are doing, in this context, is creating a safe space for misogyny. They aren’t real irony or parody, because they never challenge the stuff they’re supposedly mocking.

A post to read while I'm away

tekanji

Still on break. Having fun playing Final Fantasy XI. While I’m gone, you can check out this post by Tamora pierce.

Here’s an excerpt:

[…] But honestly, why is it strange to like to write for girls?

Aren’t they worth it? Look at them on the soccer field, or bent over a book. Watch them in the mall, looking at music or clothes, or at home or in gym, practicing headstands and somersaults. Do you see them in class, getting all fired up about injustice, or in a club, dancing to set the world on fire? Do you see them bent over sketch pads or lap tops, working away, or read their internet posts, where being unseen sets them free to say what they think? They’re a more tremendous resource than oil or water, and they are trashed, ignored, lectured, talked down to, shoved aside, told they’re hos/sluts/technoignoramuses, tied up and abused in games/movies/comics/television, handed diets until they collapse from the weight of them–and yet they are still thinking, still active, still passionate, still idealists. They are world-beaters.

Why aren’t more people writing for them, and I mean “for”, as in, in ways that makes them feel like what they are: a powerful force. People who make a difference. Not toys, not negligible quantities to be shoved aside every time people get their panties in a bunch about boys, but serious players on the world stage. Serious contributors to everyone’s lives.

Suggestions for a New Spam Blocker?

tekanji

I’ve had it with Spam Karma. Because it bypasses the indigenous moderation settings, it’s causing certain comments to bypass moderation. The plugin I downloaded for it just doesn’t work properly, and because I’m no longer going to be around every day to catch these things that’s just simply not acceptable.

So, does anyone know of any other decent spam blockers that don’t interfere with WP’s moderation setting? I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know.

Also, if people are still having problems with their comments being marked as spam, please let me know. I think the cause is Akismet, but I need to know all the details I can so I can troubleshoot things.

Self-transformation and the challenges of unpacking privilege

arielladrake
[Hi everyone, I’m Jen/Arielladrake. Tekanji has kindly invited me to guest-blog here for a while. I’m a mixed race (Asian/white) Australian, bisexual cisgendered woman who lives and goes to university in Queensland. I’m a sociology/politics/applied ethics major with a bent towards gender studies. I have a personal/political blog on Livejournal, which can be found here.]

Something that comes up often in discussions about challenging privilege is this idea that asking someone to check their privilege is akin to expecting them to engage in some kind of Maoist form of self-criticism. This analogy almost always gets my back up for a few reasons. Some of these are quite personal, and I don’t really wish to go into them here, but aside from that, it’s about the fact that such reactions tend to betray a misunderstanding of the nature of the state, and a failure to acknowledge the particular coercive powers of the state; coercive power that non-state parties generally don’t have. However, this misunderstanding, whilst one reason for my frustration, isn’t the whole story either. Continue reading

Site Notice

tekanji
[12.13 Please Note: Comments are not “being deleted” as many people are claiming. This blog is moderated and that means that all comments must go through the moderation queue first. Because of an issue with Spam Karma, sometimes comments get approved without going through first. When I see that, I automatically put them back into the queue without reading them first. That doesn’t mean they’re deleted, it just means that they haven’t been reviewed by a moderator yet. The bloggers here do not live online so be patient!]

Apparently a lot of people are having trouble getting comments through. I’m not sure if this is another Akismet problem (it was freaking out about a month ago) or a Spam Karma problem. If you try to comment, please save your text in another file before you submit it so you don’t lose anything if it screws up. Also, if you have any idea what plugin is giving the error, I would much appreciate being informed.

Half the time I’m not even being mailed the comments, and the other half I’m getting mailed comments but then they aren’t in the queue to approve. I’ll try to fix this as soon as possible, but since I don’t know what’s freaking out and why I don’t know how long it’ll take.

Rules Update and Admin Notice

tekanji

First of all, I’ve added a new section to the Discussion Rules about what to do if you’re told to check your privilege. Just a reminder, folks, this blog is an anti-oppression blog and while it’s okay to disagree with what’s said, if you’re told that your comment comes from a privileged POV saying “no it doesn’t!” (however politely) is not acceptable.

Also, comment threads are not the place to ask questions or comment about the Discussion Rules. Period. If you have a question, you can contact me with it. I may or may not answer. But if you try to argue the merits of the rules on the board, your comment will be deleted (hopefully before it gets posted… damn Spam Karma) and I will heavily consider banning you.