WisCon General Write-up, Part the First

So…WisCon, the good parts. Elephant in the room post follows.

We got in on Friday afternoon after an uneventful journey and settled into our room. Jana got her work set up in the Art Show while I left messages for people and went down to The Gathering. It seemed a bit sparse, compared to years past, but there was more programming scheduled against it than in past years, so that wasn’t unexpected. I talked aging parents with several other folks, including my friends Caroline and Warren before heading off to the Dealer’s Room and equivalent. The evening was a blur of dinner at the surviving Nepalese restaurants, running into friends, camping out in the hot tub and hitting a few parties.

Saturday, we had our usual glorious wander through the Farmer’s Market, then the Art Show (where Jana’s boxes and journals got lots of positive attention and sales) and the Dealer’s Room. From there, it was on to lunch with a couple of lovely new writer friends, Monica and Nene, then on to more or less moderate the Unheard Voices of SF/F/H Panel. We did a lively panel on why Broad Universe, the Carl Brandon Society and Outer Alliance exist and what each organization does and how we are working together. And why we all need more members to make an impact. The resource list that I created from the Arisia version of this panel is here, for those looking for more info. After that, I was off to the Outer Alliance Reading, which was a fine, fine group reading this year. I say this as a participant, but when I want to hear more of everyone else’s work, that’s a good thing. After that, I met up with friends and headed over to 43 North, a most excellent restaurant near the Concourse. Then, there was hot tubbing and parties and sleep.

Rolled out of bed to greet the dawn and an 8:30 panel on Corporations as Character, which was quite interesting if not quite what I had in mind when I thought it up with my original co-conspirator. I went to a panel and part of a reading, which is unusual because I often don’t make it to things I’m not on. I met up with friends for lunch, then came back for more hanging out, followed by a panel on Wuxia as a Fantasy Tradition. This was most fun and excellent geekery, with film clips. J Then there was relaxation time, then dinner time, then hot tub time, followed by the GOH speeches, which were well worth listening to, and a few parties. Monday was breakfast with friends and heading back.

I went into the con completely exhausted from Mom stuff/work stuff/health stuff and if I seemed disconnected, I was, particularly on Friday and Saturday. I’m feeling a tad more recharged now. Oh yes, and I came home with a request for a nonfiction book proposal which I will commence working on shortly, about which more later. Plus some other potential nonfictional things on the horizon.

Many, many thanks to the many folks who make WisCon work well for the many things that were quite splendid about the weekend. I mention this because it needs to be said and because my follow-up post deals with the negative aspect of this year’s con.

WisCon Post, Part the Second: The Elephant in the Room or #FrenkelFail

So…at WisCon37,  Tor editor James Frenkel was charged with sexually harassing  a female attendee at the con. The attendee (who I’m not naming right now because she got plenty of crap for it last year and because it is not germane to what should have happened afterwards) immediately reported the incident. She had cause and even witnesses, at least one of whom also got grief afterwards from the awesome troll communities invested in supporting guys who harass, assault and demean female-identified people at cons.  The incident was widely publicized and other women came forward to talk about their experience with both him and others of his ilk (he was long rumored to be a harasser, for the record). By July, he was a former Tor editor.

But here’s the thing: he wasn’t banned from attending future WisCons. Why this came about has to do with sundry convention policies about which I give not a damn except for the fact that they are wildly, wildly wrong in this instance. What matters is the impact. Frenkel was back at the con this year, making the rounds, volunteering in the Con Suite and being generally ubiquitous. If  there was anyone keeping an eye on him and his behavior, they were being quite subtle about it; neither I nor anyone I spoke to noticed any security or con personnel tracking him. He even informed one attendee that he was there to “prove what a nice guy” he is.

The point is that he shouldn’t have been there at all, not after last year. And he is not a nice guy (and yes, I do know he was a GOH at this very con back in 1994). But nice guys do not view women as property,  as objects they can do anything they like to regardless of consent. And this is WisCon, the premier feminist science fiction and fantasy convention, which means the stakes are much higher. It means expectations, an attempt to strive for an ideal. It means an implied commitment to try and create safer space. It means that as women, we should have the right to control access to our own bodies and that the con should be backing that up.

Not banning this man undermines everything the con stands for. It undermines the courage that it took for the women who experienced and witnessed his assault last year to come forward. It undermines every other person who considers reporting harassment at this or any other con by sending  the message that they don’t matter, that their safety doesn’t matter, when compared to that of an entitled jerk who doesn’t think they’re people. 

I have been going to this con for 25 years or so, give or take. I do not think I will be returning for WisCon39, barring a drastic sea change in the policies and an apology to the women he’s hurt in the past. I hate this so very much. This is the con I make time for each and every year. The con I love. If you were at or are normally at WisCon and want to share your opinion (respectfully, please. I suspect a fair number of the con runners were conflicted about letting him come back), the survey is here.