The Problems With Geek Girl Con – And Some Solutions
Handing everyone a syllabus on modern feminism 101 might not work out, but GGC could make sure that panels — at least the ones purporting to be about feminism — are thoughtfully moderated. An even easier fix is to just bring more diverse voices to every table; that way, even if the discussion is still centered in personal-experience-as-general-reality, at least there will be a wider variety of general experiences to draw on and compare.
2) More diversity requires more nuance
I found myself wondering why there were so many women on stage who were talking about feminism when they clearly hadn’t read anything in the field since the 60s. The answer, I think, is that these were women are accustomed to being on panels about feminism at conventions for no other reason than their willingness to speak up and their gender. At a normal convention, this is incredibly admirable; in a space where even saying the “F” word out loud is controversial, there’s a lot you can accomplish just by sharing your experience as a woman and providing a space where these conversations are accepted.
At GeekGirlCon, however, some of these conversations come of feeling like Charlie Brown kicking a football that’s already been removed; the universal support for basic ideas like “Yes, women should be here and should not be harassed” renders them a little lackluster as takeaways. If the goal is for GGC to be a space for girl geeks to strategize for other conventions, this standardization of the party line could be useful. Otherwise, the discussions could really stand to be a little more detailed.
Solutions:
Go ahead and take for granted that both the audience and the panelists primarily identify as female, and will be speaking about things from a female perspective. If the panel description no longer says anything meaningful, one could probably be asking more interesting or specific questions. Instead of inviting the usual suspects who do girl power panels at other conventions, GGC should try to coax out new speakers who don’t have the same preconceived battle lines. I also want to give a shoutout to the Geeky Intersections panel, which did a great job of taking the conversation to the next level.
3) Think Outside the Panel
In 2008, I co-founded ROFLCon, a gathering that attempted to cross a fan convention with an academic conference, and we arrived at something totally bizarre and unique by accident: the resulting mix forced our attendees to break their habits and try new things, and to participate in the group experiment that any new con is. We surprised people into being actively engaged attendees.
For their part, GGC attendees seemed very happy with the format overall. However, a change in pace could help both organizers and attendees think more critically about why and how they come together. One mentioned that, for all the talk about the need for professional geek women to connect, it would have been nice to have a mixer aimed at doing just that. Likewise, if one of the goals of the merchandise hall is to highlight the work of marginalized content creators, why not curate that content into a show?
Solutions:
I hope that the organizers will take more time next year to write down all of their goals for the con, big and small, and figure out what kind of events and activities best further them. Whenever possible, figure out how to turn a panel into something more engaging.
4) Who, exactly, is a geek?
For a long time, the word “geek” implied a group of people who were rejected by the mainstream for their interest in weird subcultures. But in an age when superstar rapper Nicki Minaj name-checks Street Fighter characters and streetwear brands team up with comic-book companies like Marvel and DC, who exactly is the geek referred to in GeekGirlCon? To be a geek, do you have to prefer filk over bounce? Is it a self-identification?
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