Carriger Pigeon: (noun)
A term coined by Mike Perschon (@DocPerschon) meaning:
(a) A steampunk fan whose dress and appearance are influenced by the colorful and stylish dress of the characters in the works of Gail Carriger
(b) A fan of Gail Carriger Carriger
Pigeons dress well for all occasions, are always polite, and communicate in little coos of amusement.
_______________________________________
This is a fanblog dedicated to the works of Gail Carriger. The pigeon behind this blog is an agent of extreme excitement, reportedly reputable character, and questionable gender. They ask a plethora of questions, shitpost regularly, and give unwanted prediction/headcanons often. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Oh good, I am not the only one being deeply uncomfortable with the San Andrea Shifter books sometimes! Like, we got "coffee skin", an Asian one who is actually part of an eugenic programm so basically no cultural thing behind, Judd whose all personnality is "Colin" (you lived 150 years, can I have a bit more on your backstory!). Some things really squicked me and I keep reading because it was gail but she didn't handle some matters well! It was just pure racist and I tell this as a white
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
From my NAMES blog post: https://gailcarriger.com/2011/06/30/pronouncing-names-and-the-reasons-behind-them/ Why is it there? That blog post gets some of the most traction on my site.Ā
Soap.
I chose this name thoughtlessly and I was not aware of the modern history behind Black identity and cleanliness. If I had it to differently, I would not have chosen this name. Since learning of this mistake Iāve donated proceeds from The Finishing School series to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Iāve no excuse. Iāve actively avoided modern American history my whole life, my interest in history tends to end when corsets do. His real name, Phineas B Crow is a reference to a friend named Phineas (by permission) and the Jim Crow laws, since I was hoping readers might look into understanding them more. Again, I apologize for clumsy handling, I will strive to do better.
Manifest Destiny.
I messed up again. I was genuinely thinking of Mandate from Heaven and chose the wrong flipping historical term. My brain is dumb.
I wrote an apology short story for this one (coming 2021). Proceeds go to The Seventh Generation Fund which supports Two-Spirts and LBGTQI identified Native Peoples and The Marsha P Johnson Institute for Black Trans Awareness. But if you feel personally wronged please email me and I will send the story to you gratis (post publication).
So yeah, I suck. Iāll try to suck less.
In case this one gets traction, hereās three posts recommending authors you might want to read instead of me:
If You Like My Books, Try These Black Authors https://gailcarriger.com/2020/06/17/if-you-like-my-books-try-these-black-authors-gail-carriger-recommends/
Black Authors Writing Queer Comfort https://gailcarriger.com/2020/06/08/2020-06-08-edited-black-authors-writing-queer-comfort/
Further Fiction Reading: Gender Fluidity & Varied Sexual Identities https://gailcarriger.com/2019/06/05/further-fiction-reading-with-gender-fluidity-varied-sexual-identities-the-5th-gender-special-extras/
{FYI for my Black readers: Iām linking a number of really vile/antiblack vintage ads, so cw for those. There is one image of Blackface beneath the cut.}Ā
Hi Gail.Ā
Please know that I am writing this with no idea as to when you first posted the āI suck :[ā apology(?) edit, as the original naming conventions post appears to be from 2011, but my post youāve linked to is from four years ago (roughly Sept 2016). So I have to assume you added the āGailās Name Fuck Upsā amendment somewhere within the four year span of you blocking me for mentioning this very issue on some social media, microagressing me (or allowing your fans to do so with neither condemnation or commentary from your end) for my critique on others, and now, here in 2020, where some of your more prominent (and non-Black, though Iām sure thatās no nevermind) fans are also beginning to feel uncomfortable with some of your writing/naming choices, and are thankfully getting vocal about it.Ā
So!
Maybe itās just me remembering how you posted your Team Soap shirt promos shortly after my post was published, but this all rings as extremely hollow. Primarily because Iām uncertain as to whether or not you actually read and sat with the entirety of my post, as I have issues with āSoapāsā introduction that go beyond just his nicknameā but we can start there.
Iām not certain how one names their character (The Nubian/The Black) B. (Pitch black bird if we want to be denotative, Jim Crow if not) and yet remains ignorant of what theyāre invoking? Like⦠friend-name-shoutout or not, you named your Black character Negro McNegro, and in conjunction with his awful nickname, it becomes: Negro āNeeds Soap More Than Most Normal Skinned Peopleā McNegro.Ā
Thatās bad enough, but if that did, in actuality, happen without even trying? Well thatās a very unlucky absolute circuses-worth of coincidences indeed, but Iām willing to say āsureā on the āPhineas B. Crowā part of the selection. I would think someone in the manuscript to published pipeline would run a quick Google and go āhmmā, but I guess not.
On to Soap and the rest.
I find it very, very hard to believe that a self-described Vintage Maven like yourself, who puts such research into fabricating a richly anachronistic steampunk world, is somehow simultaneously unaware of the history ābehind Black identity and cleanlinessā. (And with your stories written with female empowerment at the forefront, I think itās odd that in your research for one, you somehow did not manage to come in contact with the other.)
Likewise, it is very, very disingenuous to imply that the issue is exclusive to āmodern historyā, taking place in some Post-Corset Era that would somehow fall out of your field of knowledge/interest, and therefore be one of the sources of your mere āignoranceā on the topic.Ā
The concept of āWashing the Ethiopian/Blackamoor WhiteāĀ āwhich inspired some of the Pears Soap ads I linked originallyā goes back as far as Aesopās fables. That antiblack trope is like,Ā at leastĀ Ancient Greek old. Itās simply ahistorical to pretend otherwise.Ā
Hi, I'm not up to date on Gail Carrigers work, although would have still Hi, I'm not up to date on Gail Carriger's work, but I would have still considered myself a fan. However, I wanted to give my support to your thoughts certain elements of her work. From your other posts I think you've had some negative reactions and I wanted to ensure that you also that others agreed with you and were doing their own thinking on their relationship with her work.
Iām losing followers left and right and I have shit I have to do IRL that isnāt sitting in bed staring at my laptop and disassociating, so Iām going offline.
Sorry if you followed me for happiness and goofy lesbians. Itās all still here, I promise. But this is a conversation amongst the Carriger fandom that needs to be had.
Since Iām still angry. After having listened to Gail talk on multiple panels at Worldcon about race, class, and gender in the Victorian era if anybody tells me she is racist again I am punching them in the face.Ā
We have multiple main characters characters of color, an entire series that is a running social commentary on how awful Victorian colonialism is/was, an endgame interracial couple and a second one on itās way, countless mentions of the disparities on race, class, and gender (and their intersections) in the Victorian era, literally an entire series on how girls are trained to use gender discrimination to their advantage, and I have actually lost count of how many LGBTQ characters we have across 15 something books because there are literally that many.
Anyway since I saw her linked on my goodreads and it brought back all these fond memories, remember how Soapās real name was āPhineas B. Crowā?
As in like:
(The Nubian/The Black) B. (Pitch black bird at best/Jim Crow at worst)?
why did this woman name her Black character Negro āNeeds Soapā McNegro?
So the original post from my blog is from 3+ years ago. THAT BEING SAID, since then I (a white person) have learned some things and had to do some interrogation of myself and my biases. So weāre going to discuss that today!
First, I canāt speak for Gail because I am not Gail. However, I can own up to my own words, cuz theyāre up there in that post.
Second, in the original post, I was racist and wrong (for reasons I will unpack below). Thank you @jhenne-bean for calling me (and Gail, whom I was defending in the OP) out. My loud, wrong, and racist opinions are on me, and Iām sorry. I perpetuated an act of racism through my comments and as a white person itās on me to own up to and apologize for my past actions, as well as my place in white supremacy (past, present, and future).
White people are really fucking good at that doing shit, and I was no exception. Itās super important for white people to listen and learn from Black folks and other people of color about how micro and macro aggression pertaining to to race manifest in media and publishing (and in all other aspects of culture and society). After listening and learning it is then up to white people to do what Black and brown folks ask and work to correct themselves and others. This is a long process, and for white people it is NEVER done! We gotta fix our racist shit, and then try and fix our racist friends, family, coworkers, and structures we find ourselves inside of.
I am going to do some corrections and debunking for my past self so that other folks who might have the same opinions that I did can see how my thinking was misguided and perpetuated racism.Ā
Inclusion of Queer characters/discussions of class/subverting of gender norms/social commentary on colonialism/inclusion of interracial couples =/= antiracist activities, as my original post suggests.
(For those who donāt know, antiracist refers to people who are actively seeking not only to raise their consciousness about race and racism, but also to take action when they see racial power inequities in everyday life.)
As white people we always need interrogate our racist bias. Sometimes we canāt always see that, no matter how many books weāve read or things weāve learned, because we donāt have lived experience. This is why sensitivity readers are important. This is why including more Black and brown folks among the ranks of agents and editors in publishing are important. ESPECIALLY in YA, but in all publishing brackets.
You can still be ānot racistā in a macro way (i.e. not shouting slurs at people or enacting physical violence against Black and brown folks) but perpetuate white supremacy through otherĀ āmicroā means (making Black/brown folks constantly defer to or take care of white folks in plotlines, naming characters incorrectly/not understanding cultures behind naming, etc).
In the case of Soap, as @jhenne-bean says in response to my post, this includes trying to be funny/comedic using wordplay around naming conventions and make one offs like āI need [soap] more than mostā in reference. While white people might think this wordplay is funny, it can and is hurtful to Black and brown readers. A non-white editor, beta reader, or Black sensitivity reader would probably have caught this in manuscripts and drafts and sent it back for corrections.
When Black folks says youāre being racist, donāt be defensive. Donāt try to explain it away via point #1. Listen to the Black and brown folks calling that shit own, own your problematic/racist viewpoints, and move forward being ready to learn and be better. YOU AS A WHITE PERSON ARE NEVER RIGHT ON ISSUES OF RACE. The sooner you learn that, the better.
Iāve learned a lot since I made the OP, and Iām still learning. Hopefully my breakdown helps some of the white folks who follow me understand how I was racist and wrong, and how they are also wrong if they hold the same viewpoint. Remember, weāre all entrenched in white supremacy and we all need to do the work to unlearn our biases. Itās not fun to be wrong and/or realize you perpetuated racism, but if you shut up and fucking listen, youāll come out as a better person.
If youād like to do more reading/learning on this topic, which you should, there are tons of people doing the work over multiple social medias (although these days it seems to be collected largely on Twitter). I recommend following @nkjemisin, @jyneonyang, @emeryleewho, @AlyssaColeLit, @rgay, and @nickydrayden, just to name a few. I learn from them every day, and Iām grateful.
Buying and reading books by Black and brown authors, along with other authors of color, can give you insight into experiences that are not your own. This is very important for white people. Itās also important to support these authors, as supporting shows publishing we care about these stories and want more of them. Iāve reblogged lots of books you can read in the past few months, and the authors Iāve tagged above all have good books you should buy and read.
If youād like some resources that are not Twitter or fiction, here are some articles and book lists:
Remember white people: You can ālistenā and ālearnā all you like, but if you donāt put that into actionable change, you arenāt doing anything with your white privilege. Donāt give ālistening and learningā lip serviceālisten, learn, and then USE your newfound knowledge to ACT and change things that are wrongā¦whether it be to confront racial bias in fiction, teach your friends and family what youāve learned, tear down structural inequality in systems that seek to marginalized and exclude people of color (like publishing), and otherwise create concrete economic and legislative changes.
Also apologize when youāre fucking wrong, because sometimes past!you loudly shows your ass on social media and present!you (meaning me, carrigerpigeon, right now, in 2020) needs to own up to your past racism and eat a giant slice of humble pie.
I appreciate the apology, and I am happy to see that youāve since become more open to critique, and have made steps toward advocacy.Ā
I canāt tell you how to interrogate your fanship towards Gail and the āGailverseā.
I do hope that there is more than surface level disagreement over the Obvious (or what should be, the Obvious) occurring on your end, in order for your advocacy to be meaningful and true, rather than lip service. Like, because of my critiques, Iām blocked by her on multiple social media sites. Maybe her fans who arenāt could engage her on her naming choices and how they ring problematic and offensive, as we both agree on the harm. That would be a fine use of privilege; spreading the word on āSoapā, and how messed up that is. Because even recently, on Instagram, she continues to post her Team Soap shirt promotional picture (which she originally uploaded in 2016 not long after my post gained traction, and then deleted after I took up the subject matter with her fans in the comments, but I digress).Ā
She is still, obviously, of the mind that her choices were acceptable, or at the very least defensible, when in truth they are not. It would be heartening, if there were fans of hers who made a point of addressing the antiblack choices, in addition to all the āOMG TEAM SOAP šā and āI LOVE SOAPā comments. Especially because I donāt believe that the entirety of her fans are aware of the racist naming tropes to begin with, and genuinely just enjoy the character, which is understandable. Fan-to-Fan discussions could easily change minds/influence people to cosign less racism, and confront it in a meaningful way when they encounter it, even from a favorite author.Ā
Push her to changeā beyond apparently realizing for the first time in June 2020 that she can actually use her platform to boost #OwnVoices stories -something she started doing as soon as it became in vogue to do so.
Ask her about her choices.Ā
I think that should be a significant part of the actionable change youāre seeking and encouraging for others. No, you canāt speak for her, but you can speak to her.Ā
She isnāt JKR, she can still be spoken to by her fans and readers. Y'all should take it upon yourselves to do so.Ā
___________________________________
And, ARE her naming choices supposed to be taken as jokes?Ā
This is a genuine question.Ā
Is it funny? Was it an uninformed accident where he was named āincorrectlyā or without ācultural understandingā and sensitivity, or was it an intentional joke? Was it supposed to be comedic wordplay?
Itās pretty fucked up either way, honestly.
Even if someone found Phineas B. Crow (Black B. Black, ohoho!) chuckleworthy, the line: āHe wasnāt simply dirty; he was actually black.ā is deeply racist. His entire introduction, even beyond his name and nicknames themselves, is deeply racist. An editor could have caught it, but she should know better.
I shouldnāt have to write her a āHereās Why You Shouldnāt Name Your Token Black Character Blackity āNeeds Soap More Than Most Normal Non-Soot Colored Peopleā McNegroā post. She should know better, and do better.
She should know what Golliwog and Jim Crow imagery is. She should knowĀ what the optics of his eyes and teeth being āstartlingly white in a dark faceā is rooted in.Ā
She should know that.Ā
She probably does. She just thought the racism was funny.Ā
Because, as a self proclaimed āvintage mavenā, I find it hard to believe that she has no awareness of the historical antiblackness she was leaning onā it seems that someone with her breadth of knowledge simply came to ignore the violence of that entire history, and still find her name selection/nicknames not only tenable, but funny.
(And I donāt consider the āneeds it more than mostā point a one offā itās literally the (alleged) joke behind his nickname. The reference, the tentpole that the name is fastened to, is the antiblackness. He needs more soap *because* his skin is black, *because* it is, according to Sophronia, āsoot-colored by natureā.)
I appreciate your efforts here, but Iurge you to consider this with a little more severity than the extremely benefit-of-the-doubt-bestowing angle of ~a poor joke~.
Like yes, please buy books by authors of color, please please push for structural and legislative and industry changes, but also, please confront these instances as they happen, including here and now with Gail. Thanks.
This is all 100% correct and is important. Thank you very, very much for taking the time to write it out and explain for the folks who might not understand (or for the folks who are still learning).
As you say, Soap was just the beginning of a larger problem with Black and brown characters in the Gailverse. Thank you for calling it out then and now.
Followers, especially my white ones:
We have a reckoning we have to undertake with these books.
It is clearly no longer an issue of a one-off issue or one of ānot being educatedā in the past, etc. These are large and persistent problems that stretch through The Parasol Protectorate/Finishing School Series (and probably the Custard Protocol as well) and now are included quite blatantly in the San Andreas Shifters series. All of these books have racist undertones and other harmful stereotyping of Black and brown folks, as well as gay men. The Enforcer Enigma has many of these problems and more, including issues I laid out recently in my post re: The Enforcer Enigma. The Omega Objection has them as well re: Isaac, another Black gay male MC, but I havenāt read that book in a while and I frankly donāt really want to reread it.
Please listen and take to heart what jhenne-bean has to say. Since Gail has her blocked, she canāt see this chain of posts, but you can. Please use this information to confront the issues laid out within the above posts and push for an apology and for change.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
THE ONLY THING I KNOW ABOUT YOUR BLOG IS YOUVE READ THE FINISHING SCHOOL SERIES AND NO ONE HAS HEARD OF IT SO IM FOLLOWING U CAUSE AAAAAAAAAA ITS SO GOOD??????? AND U KNOW THAT????? AND JUST HSNCSKDJSS SOAP OWNS MY HEART AND SOPHRONIA LEGALLY OWNS MY SOUL
Very happy you love the series. You might want to read through some of the more recent posts on my blog re: the problems with the Finishing School series, especially with the depictions of Phineas/Soap.
We need to talk about The Enforcer Enigma because I have many, many problems with it.
Iāve been sitting on my feelings for this book for a month or so, after I got my ARC of it and I read it. Itās been hard to decide what I was going to say, how I was going to approach this. Like Iāve said before, my relationship with Gail exists in a liminal space between fan and friend, and is even more complicated than that.
Iāve decided, as both a fan AND friend, that I canāt ignore the problems in this book.
Which is where this post comes from.
When I first I heard it was dealing with the Selkie mob I was excited, because I loved how ridiculous they were in the short story and I think the concept is gloriously ludicrous. But this book overall felt very contrived, very basic, and very tone deaf in a racist way. The gay boys felt objectified and cookie cutter, and the racist treatment of Judd made me very, very upset.
Iām going to get to my issues with the treatment of Judd, as best as I can as a white person with a lot to learn, but I want to start with something I am able to speak better on, and thatās the gay characters in this book.
So letās get into it. Spoilers, obviously, and lots of talk about systematic racism and homophobia, stereotypes, etc.
(Also, Gail, since you follow me on this blog and I know youāll probably see thisāREAD THE WHOLE THING. Think about it. And then if youād like to talk about it, you know how to contact me.)
This is going behind a cut, not because of the content but because itās almost 6 pages long.
Also, per my last couple of posts, I would like to say this:
I had a very violent falling out with a mentor of mine this January. The depression spiral this kicked me into was not pleasant. I was still reorienting from leaving grad school and starting my professional life. I had just started to recover from that falling out and beginning to regain some thread of ānormalcyā when we entered the pandemic.
So, naturally, my mental health is currently in the garbage. Iāve lost my job because of COVID. Iām currently unemployed and without insurance during a global pandemic.
I donāt usually get into deep shit like this on this blog, but please consider:
Do you really think Iād call out one of my only usual sources of happiness and stability, and risk loosing a friend and mentor of TEN YEARS, if I didnāt think it was serious?
We need to talk about The Enforcer Enigma because I have many, many problems with it.
Iāve been sitting on my feelings for this book for a month or so, after I got my ARC of it and I read it. Itās been hard to decide what I was going to say, how I was going to approach this. Like Iāve said before, my relationship with Gail exists in a liminal space between fan and friend, and is even more complicated than that.
Iāve decided, as both a fan AND friend, that I canāt ignore the problems in this book.
Which is where this post comes from.
When I first I heard it was dealing with the Selkie mob I was excited, because I loved how ridiculous they were in the short story and I think the concept is gloriously ludicrous. But this book overall felt very contrived, very basic, and very tone deaf in a racist way. The gay boys felt objectified and cookie cutter, and the racist treatment of Judd made me very, very upset.
Iām going to get to my issues with the treatment of Judd, as best as I can as a white person with a lot to learn, but I want to start with something I am able to speak better on, and thatās the gay characters in this book.
So letās get into it. Spoilers, obviously, and lots of talk about systematic racism and homophobia, antiblackness, stereotypes, etc.
(Also, Gail, since you follow me on this blog and I know youāll probably see thisāREAD THE WHOLE THING. Think about it. And then if youād like to talk about it, you know how to contact me.)
This is going behind a cut, not because of the content but because itās almost 6 pages long.
The Gay Boys
Okay. Look.
I love a catty, fabulous gay boy as much as the next queer. They have a space and a place in our community. But not EVERY gay man is like this IRL. Meanwhile, in SAS, it feels like every gay male character (or close to) in this series is a waspy, catty, faaaabulous gay. Isaac, Marvin, Max, Trick, even to some extent Alec and Bryanā¦theyāre just all the exhausting waspy, catty, fabulous gay boy that we see exhibited heavily on Drag Race and other mainstream platforms.
And like. I get it. Colin is repressed and gay and wants to be a fabulous twink. Thatās fine. But it just felt like he was slipping into the stereotype all the other gay male characters inhabit in these books, and thatās really, really exhausting.
Also, I am from the East Coast, where according to my West Coast friends we apparently grow gay boys differently. I canāt say with any accuracy how much of this is true. BUT MOST OF THESE GAY BOYS ARE FROM THE EAST COAST. They lived in Boston before moving to California. So why are they like this?
It feeds into this larger trend Iāve seen in Gailās word with fabulous, savage gay boysāfrom Akeldama and all his drones, to Biffy, and even Lyall. Seen over the spread, itās harder to sweep it away as just a āmodern storylineā thing or a āCalifornia storylineā thing. Itās a trend, one which I find very uncomfortable as a queer person.
There is a place and space for Queer people to take back the tropes and stereotypes that have been used against us and write them our own way. But what Iāve seen as a longtime reader isnāt that. What I seem is lazy stereotyping and an overarching stereotype and characterization that feed into the larger the ways I feel gay men are objectified by female authors (no matter how queer the author is).
Many more people have covered this topic better than I, but it explains why Iāve felt so uneasy about this series from the get go. The sex and the relationships in these books donāt feel realāit feels objectifying. Thereās lots of talk about big and strong sexy, muscle-y men but very little else. And while there is something to say about having a partner who thinks youāre sexyāthatās important, and I want everyone to have thatā¦. this isnāt that.
These are muscle-y, strong, sassy gay men for cis white women to coo over on Facebook and feel good about. But to me, a real life nonbinary queer person, I feel uneasy and frankly uncomfortable with the objectification of them.
And since weāre talking about queer representation, after having a decent wlw spread in the Parasolverse there are two WLW (specifically lesbians) in SAS (Trickle and Pepper) and they (a) barely get any screen time and (b) feel stereotypical to me. And they are side characters, so I get it, but seriously?
And also while weāre on queer representation, thereās Mana, aka Manifest Destiny. Mana is the drag queen and arguable trans woman* who started off alright BUT was named after the colonization and violent taking of Native and Indigenous peopleās lands and wrapped up in patriotism. Gail has said she made a mistake, that she meant her name to be Mana From Heaven, and that this would be addressed in the upcoming book (aka The Enforcer Engima).
It was not.
There is talk, from what I understand, this issue will be addresses in the upcoming short story about Mana and Lovejoy. But there are several throwaway lines about Mana in this book, her work in LA and her becoming a drag queen superstar (I guess akin to RuPaul?). So why wasnāt her name change discussed or even mentioned there?
[*Sidebar: Mana has been quoted as saying, āI suppose I should be transgender, under modern parlance. But I like drag queen. It suits me. I like the fabric roughness of drag, and the royalty of queen. It's a nice change to have the luxury of choosing one's own semantics, if not one's own situation." But whenever she appears, it seems sheās always in face/wearing false eyelashes/wearing womenās clothing.
Iām not going to police Manaās trans experience because gender is a spectrum, and I as someone under the trans umbrella know that. But it feelsā¦weird and off to me.]
Regardless of my sidebar, the name she was supposed to have, Manna from Heaven isā¦also sort of problematic? If I understand the reference correctly, it refers to the Biblical story of the food that God miraculously provided to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. It means as a phrase the coming of unexpected benefit or assistance, especially when that benefit/assistance comes at the time when it is needed most. Which is what Mana is for the packāshe lets them live in her apartment in Book 1, she swoops in to save the day in Book 2. But it feelsā¦very white and more than a little gross to name a character with Chinese and Japanese ancestry after something from the Bible.
And then thereās Judd.
Oh, Judd.
I really wanted to like Judd. The premise of his character was interesting, a Black, Pre-Saturation werewolf shifter, and I liked his cameos in the other books. But then we got a book about him, and it all fell apart.
Judd is a gay Black character, pre-Saturation, meaning heās old as hell (from the Parasolverse time). He is objectified like the other gay boys, and thereās a lot of talk about how hard and strong his muscles and how sexy he is. Heās depicted on the cover this way.
And thatāsā¦fine I guess, but gay Black men frequently have their bodies objectified as Black and muscley and strong. Heās also a pack Enforcer, so heās depicted as not very smart and very violent. All of those are racist stereotypes that Black men deal with constantly, and they are racist stereotypes and tropes that are constantly hurled at Black men by the system and by society.
Additionly, Judd, the only Black member of the pack, is the only werewolf in the series to carry a gun.
A Black man. Is the only member. To carry a gun.
Yeah.
It gets worse.
There is mention of Juddās backstoryāvery heavy inferences to Phineas/Soap (whose problematic naming convention and descriptors have been talked about especially by jhenne-bean ) being his mentor until he gets kicked out of Sidheagās packābut it falls very flat. I understand not wanting to write too much history of a Black character as a white writer, especially after tenuously connecting that history to the traditionally published series youāre Not Connected SAS To Not At Allā¦.
But.
Judd is over 150 years old.
He lived through some of America and Canada's worst racial discrimination, discrimination which would have affected him and his habitus and the way he moves through the world. Heās a gay Black man, and his gayness and his Blackness does not appear to affect how he interacts with the world at all. The police are called at the beginning and heās OKAY ABOUT IT? AS A BLACK MAN? He basically says, āThank God, the cops are here.ā
You had a BLACK MALE CHARACTER SAY THAT when weāve had a nationwide conversation since 2013, a conversation that has been reignited in the past three months?
Like????
And I was willingāperhaps whitely and naivelyāto give Gail the benefit of the doubt with Soap/Phineas. E&E was written in 2011, before Black Lives Matter was founded, before we began to have this nationwide reckoning with how Black and brown folks are treated systematically and especially by police violence. These conversations were definitely being had in 2011, but they were seen as fringe discussions and not necessarily part of the mainstream narrative as it is today.
However. Itās not 2011. Itās 2020.
Itās been 7 years since BLM was founded, and there have been countless discussions happening about racism and systematic issues in publishing and with white writers writing Black characters since that point.
Soap/Phineas has been mentioned or has cameoād in The Custard Protocol and in Meat Cute. Thereās been no conversation about his name or the way he has been described Ā And both he and Judd fall into the Caring-POC-Partner trope which has been discussed very heavily in romance circles and in ways I am not necessarily equipped to discuss in this post. But I will link to this post for everyone to read: https://medium.com/@ashiamonetb/queer-love-interests-of-color-and-the-white-gaze-8928b7b5e6ad
Itās 2020. These conversations have been being had, quite fervently, for many years, so thereās absolutely no excuse with how Judd is approached or treated in this book.
And hereās the CRUX of all this.
This book isnāt even really about Judd.
Itās about Colin.
Even though Judd is on the cover of the book, in all of his objectified Black body goodness, the plot of the story is about Colin. Itās very much entrenched in Colinās issues with his family and his identity. Judd is there to take care of Colin and ~guide~ him and ~teach~ him things. To protect him. To be sexy to him.
See the medium article above. See the conversation about objectification above.
So if this book is SO MUCH ABOUT COLIN, why is Judd on the cover?
Why is Judd naked and glistening and Black on the cover of the story about the trials and tribulations of a white twink?
ā¦Do I really have to say it? Maybe I do. Itās racist.
It might not be intended that way, but it is.
And look. There were parts of this book that I found enjoyable. I am still a fan of Gailās wit and the way she writes. Iām a sucker for the found family trope, which all of these books have, and I really like Trick and Marvin. Iāve been where Colin is. Iāve fucked around with my gender presentation and been scared to out and fabulous or be perceived a certain way because I present a certain way.
But Iām really frustrated and frankly ANGRY with the racist stereotypes and gay stereotypes present in this book. It doesnāt feel like this was sensitivity read at all, by anyone. The book feels like a culmination of racist and homophobic trends that make me feel that Gail hasnāt been paying attention or listening to the cultural reckoning happening nationwide or in publishing.
And yes, there is a lot of ādonāt idolize authorsā talk, but hereās the thing.
Gail isnāt some anonymous author to me, someone I can just cancel and be done with.
Gail is a mentor to me. Weāve hung out at multiple cons, shot the shit about publishing, and talked about queer shit together with. We arenāt close, but sheās a friend (liminal space, etc). She gets a Christmas card from me every year, she asks after my partner when we chat. Weāve been in each otherās orbits for TEN YEARS.
I have this entire sideblog dedicated to her books, for fucks sake.
So when I read shit like this, it makes me upset. This book is a pile of microaggressions that stacked into a macroagression. Itās insensitive, definitely hurtful, and feels exceptionally tone deaf (AT BEST) to have written and released this book.
She has people in her inner circle who could have caught this if weād been allowed to read it before hand, if weād been a part of the beta process. But we werenāt. And it shows.
Gail, this is a message directly for you: You talk a lot about supporting people. You reblog lots of #ownvoices work and have been plugging a lot of #ownvoices fiction. I know (or at least hope) youāre a good person.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
Why is this book such a disaster?
Have you been listening at all?
And I get it, we all have things to learn and things to unlearn. As white ally, and as a member of the queer community, as someone in your inner circle and as a friend (liminal space!), I get it.
Iām also saying this isnāt ok.
This book that youāve written is not okay. Not even a little bit.
Hereās the thing: you can fix it (or you can try). Itās gonna be hard and require difficult conversations and actions, but you can.
If you want to know more, if you want to talk: you know how to contact me. Iāll give you my number. We can email, Skype, Zoom, text, call, whatever. I know Iām not the only member of the Pigeons that feels this way. You have people here to help.
As for everyone else:
As might be apparent I haveā¦a lot of feelings right now. Iāve loved these books for so long, made a friend (liminal space!) with the author through social media. Genevieve Lefoux, and Sidheag, and Aggie, and lots of other characters mean a lot to me. Gailās books have helped me through hard times and hard places, and sheās influenced a lot of whom I am as a writer.
But right now having this blog, dedicated to all these books with this massive subthread of racism and stereotypes, feelsā¦not great.
And I donāt know if I can continue to support Gail and continue to be a fan (and a friend) if she keeps up with this.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
This novella is the wlw sci-fi I wanted as a child and never got. Seriously.
I grew up in SF/F fandom, teething on Star Trek and spending many weekends at Sci-Fi/Fantasy conventions. I grew up immersed in space shit, with paintings of imagined worlds and the space ports that serviced them hanging in my parentās home. I grew up dreaming of speculative worlds like this, and I canāt say how meaningful it would have been to me to read something like this when I was younger, just a tiny gay who wanted to see themselves reflected in the worlds they grew up in.
Y'all. I feel seen in this spaceport Chiliās tonight.
This novella is beautifully written and has amazing characters, worldbuilding, and plot. Tons of disability and nonbinary rep, which made me so happy to see. Elsenna is a delightfully grouchy protagonist and her voice is strong and sure. The pining and angst is SO SO GOOD, with a very sweet HEA. The romance is SO SWEET and the political bits are suspenseful and hard hitting. So much packed into a novella, but it doesnāt seem rushed or forced at all. Masterful, masterful pacing.
This is a beautiful debut novella and I wish I could read it a thousand times with fresh eyes. Justā¦..wow.
5/5 stars, please go and pre-order immediately.Ā
OUT AUGUST 3, 2020!
A disclaimer: Skye is one of my betas, and I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. But even if I hadnāt known Skye, I would have gushed over this book. Princess/bodyguard f/f HEA in SPACE!
CW: This book contains violence, graphic reference to torture including amputation (off-page), the murder of a side character/family member, ableism (from antagonist), descriptions of state violence, and reference to a possible forced marriage
This novella is the wlw sci-fi I wanted as a child and never got. Seriously.
I grew up in SF/F fandom, teething on Star Trek and spending many weekends at Sci-Fi/Fantasy conventions. I grew up immersed in space shit, with paintings of imagined worlds and the space ports that serviced them hanging in my parent's home. I grew up dreaming of speculative worlds like this, and I can't say how meaningful it would have been to me to read something like this when I was younger, just a tiny gay who wanted to see themselves reflected in the worlds they grew up in.
Y'all. I feel seen in this spaceport Chili's tonight.
This novella is beautifully written and has amazing characters, worldbuilding, and plot. Tons of disability and nonbinary rep, which made me so happy to see. Elsenna is a delightfully grouchy protagonist and her voice is strong and sure. The pining and angst is SO SO GOOD, with a very sweet HEA. The romance is SO SWEET and the political bits are suspenseful and hard hitting. So much packed into a novella, but it doesn't seem rushed or forced at all. Masterful, masterful pacing.
This is a beautiful debut novella and I wish I could read it a thousand times with fresh eyes. Just.....wow.
5/5 stars, please go and pre-order immediately.Ā
OUT AUGUST 3, 2020!
A disclaimer: Skye is one of my betas, and I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. But even if I hadn't known Skye, I would have gushed over this book. Princess/bodyguard f/f HEA in SPACE!
CW: This book contains violence, graphic reference to torture including amputation (off-page), the murder of a side character/family member, ableism (from antagonist), descriptions of state violence, and reference to a possible forced marriage
Forgot to post about this when I read it because my life/health has been falling apart the last few weeks, BUT:
5/5 stars for The Black God's Drums by P. DjĆØlĆ Clark
Creeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marieās trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black Godās Drums.
But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart--Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marieā¦
It is/has:
Steampunk
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Alternative history
MC is a girl pretending to be a boy/wearing boys clothes
WLW
Disabled characters
Amazing world building
Black/POC characters by a Black author
I cannot emphasize enough how much I loved this novella, and I immediately put a bunch of Clarkās other work at the top of my TBR. The characters are top notch and the world building is superb. Clark is also a historian IRL and focuses onĀ Black Atlantic History, Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation, and Slavery in Popular Culture. Iām going to track down his academic nonfiction to read as well!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Also re: my last post: Iām specifically asking my white followers to do the work to recognize your social biases and their space in white supremacy. Own up to your shit, learn how to be better, and then go out and help enact change (however that looks like for you).
How this looks for me for me is directly calling for change, supporting protestors who are fighting against white supremacy in the police force by donating money and my time scanning on social media and alerting for incoming threats, supporting Black and brown authors directly via my dollars, amplifying Black and brown voices, signing petitions, supporting historic preservation of communities of color, giving up my space on panels to people of color or insisting the panels I am on also have voices of color, confronting and educating my fellow white folks, and more.
It might look different for you, but I encourage you to find those in your specific lane of the world who are already doing the work, specifically the Black and brown folks, and follow their lead. You as the white person do not know best.
My ask box is open to Black and brown folk if theyād like to add points to my post/recommend other resources/recommend books people should read or authors people should support/ask me to reblog and amplify opinions and/or other things re: the Carrigerverse.
Iām not on tumblr a ton anymore but I will do my best.
Since Iām still angry. After having listened to Gail talk on multiple panels at Worldcon about race, class, and gender in the Victorian era if anybody tells me she is racist again I am punching them in the face.Ā
We have multiple main characters characters of color, an entire series that is a running social commentary on how awful Victorian colonialism is/was, an endgame interracial couple and a second one on itās way, countless mentions of the disparities on race, class, and gender (and their intersections) in the Victorian era, literally an entire series on how girls are trained to use gender discrimination to their advantage, and I have actually lost count of how many LGBTQ characters we have across 15 something books because there are literally that many.
Anyway since I saw her linked on my goodreads and it brought back all these fond memories, remember how Soapās real name was āPhineas B. Crowā?
As in like:
(The Nubian/The Black) B. (Pitch black bird at best/Jim Crow at worst)?
why did this woman name her Black character Negro āNeeds Soapā McNegro?
So the original post from my blog is from 3+ years ago. THAT BEING SAID, since then I (a white person) have learned some things and had to do some interrogation of myself and my biases. So weāre going to discuss that today!
First, I canāt speak for Gail because I am not Gail. However, I can own up to my own words, cuz theyāre up there in that post.
Second, in the original post, I was racist and wrong (for reasons I will unpack below). Thank you @jhenne-bean for calling me (and Gail, whom I was defending in the OP) out. My loud, wrong, and racist opinions are on me, and Iām sorry. I perpetuated an act of racism through my comments and as a white person itās on me to own up to and apologize for my past actions, as well as my place in white supremacy (past, present, and future).
White people are really fucking good at that doing shit, and I was no exception. Itās super important for white people to listen and learn from Black folks and other people of color about how micro and macro aggression pertaining to to race manifest in media and publishing (and in all other aspects of culture and society). After listening and learning it is then up to white people to do what Black and brown folks ask and work to correct themselves and others. This is a long process, and for white people it is NEVER done! We gotta fix our racist shit, and then try and fix our racist friends, family, coworkers, and structures we find ourselves inside of.
I am going to do some corrections and debunking for my past self so that other folks who might have the same opinions that I did can see how my thinking was misguided and perpetuated racism.Ā
Inclusion of Queer characters/discussions of class/subverting of gender norms/social commentary on colonialism/inclusion of interracial couples =/= antiracist activities, as my original post suggests.
(For those who donāt know, antiracist refers to people who are actively seeking not only to raise their consciousness about race and racism, but also to take action when they see racial power inequities in everyday life.)
As white people we always need interrogate our racist bias. Sometimes we canāt always see that, no matter how many books weāve read or things weāve learned, because we donāt have lived experience. This is why sensitivity readers are important. This is why including more Black and brown folks among the ranks of agents and editors in publishing are important. ESPECIALLY in YA, but in all publishing brackets.
You can still be ānot racistā in a macro way (i.e. not shouting slurs at people or enacting physical violence against Black and brown folks) but perpetuate white supremacy through otherĀ āmicroā means (making Black/brown folks constantly defer to or take care of white folks in plotlines, naming characters incorrectly/not understanding cultures behind naming, etc).
In the case of Soap, as @jhenne-bean says in response to my post, this includes trying to be funny/comedic using wordplay around naming conventions and make one offs like āI need [soap] more than mostā in reference. While white people might think this wordplay is funny, it can and is hurtful to Black and brown readers. A non-white editor, beta reader, or Black sensitivity reader would probably have caught this in manuscripts and drafts and sent it back for corrections.
When Black folks says youāre being racist, donāt be defensive. Donāt try to explain it away via point #1. Listen to the Black and brown folks calling that shit own, own your problematic/racist viewpoints, and move forward being ready to learn and be better. YOU AS A WHITE PERSON ARE NEVER RIGHT ON ISSUES OF RACE. The sooner you learn that, the better.
Iāve learned a lot since I made the OP, and Iām still learning. Hopefully my breakdown helps some of the white folks who follow me understand how I was racist and wrong, and how they are also wrong if they hold the same viewpoint. Remember, weāre all entrenched in white supremacy and we all need to do the work to unlearn our biases. Itās not fun to be wrong and/or realize you perpetuated racism, but if you shut up and fucking listen, youāll come out as a better person.
If youād like to do more reading/learning on this topic, which you should, there are tons of people doing the work over multiple social medias (although these days it seems to be collected largely on Twitter). I recommend following @nkjemisin, @jyneonyang, @emeryleewho, @AlyssaColeLit, @rgay, and @nickydrayden, just to name a few. I learn from them every day, and Iām grateful.
Buying and reading books by Black and brown authors, along with other authors of color, can give you insight into experiences that are not your own. This is very important for white people. Itās also important to support these authors, as supporting shows publishing we care about these stories and want more of them. Iāve reblogged lots of books you can read in the past few months, and the authors Iāve tagged above all have good books you should buy and read.
If youād like some resources that are not Twitter or fiction, here are some articles and book lists:
Remember white people: You can ālistenā and ālearnā all you like, but if you donāt put that into actionable change, you arenāt doing anything with your white privilege. Donāt give ālistening and learningā lip service--listen, learn, and then USE your newfound knowledge to ACT and change things that are wrong...whether it be to confront racial bias in fiction, teach your friends and family what youāve learned, tear down structural inequality in systems that seek to marginalized and exclude people of color (like publishing), and otherwise create concrete economic and legislative changes.
Also apologize when youāre fucking wrong, because sometimes past!you loudly shows your ass on social media and present!you (meaning me, carrigerpigeon, right now, in 2020) needs to own up to your past racism and eat a giant slice of humble pie.
SIDHEAG HAS A WIFE @carrigerpigeon - Tumblr Blog | Tumlook