Bondage and Knitting redux
Mar. 30th, 2010 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bohemiancoastprobably a less exciting post than you would think from the title.
A month or so ago there was a little flurry about the number of bondage items at the Eastercon. I pointed out that the issue wasn't that the number of panels, it was the lack of relevance to SF/fantasy. I suggested that it would be quite wrong to have that many knitting items, and gave the example of a sock knitting workshop as the sort of specialised event that would be quite inappropriate to have at the Eastercon.
I then was informed first that there are in fact as many knitting items as bondage items, and second that there will be a sock knitting workshop at Eastercon. I expressed some surprise at this and was told that items of this kind were there because con members had volunteered them.
Today I was reading, on another site, a thread about knitting at the Eastercon. In that thread a knitter explained that she had been approached to do a sock knitting workshop, but had declined -- and she was glad that the committee had found somebody else.
Sock knitting -- like the specialist bondage ties they're having workshops on -- is not a beginner skill; this isn't a 'have a go and try out something new' workshop, it's a specialist workshop for established knitters to develop their skills.
How many SF/fantasy items do you think you will find at a knitting convention? (There might well be one -- a knit a dalek/tardis/clanger type thing, which the Eastercon is also having and which I think is entirely appropriate).
You know, there is scarcely any fannish programme, fan history programme or fanzine programme at this convention. I've talked to fans who are equally concerned about areas of SF/fantasy that they are interested in and that are under-represented. And yet we have dozens, perhaps hundreds of items on topics that have no relevance to SF other than that 'fans like to do them'. And yet, the same committee members who are ignoring swathes of the core of the hobby are going to considerable lengths to develop programming relating to non-SF hobbies.
We need to take some action here, chaps. This group of people have asked to run the Eastercon again in 2012; some of them are influential in the 2014 Worldcon bid (I should stress that I have no concerns about programme for that convention). This isn't a 'general way for geeks to hang out with agreeable company and do interesting geeky things', it's the National SF convention. We should ensure that it is so; that it reflects, in an ecumenical way, the broad SF/fantasy interests of the membership, and that the non-SF items represent an interesting alternative to the main events rather than the main activity.
A month or so ago there was a little flurry about the number of bondage items at the Eastercon. I pointed out that the issue wasn't that the number of panels, it was the lack of relevance to SF/fantasy. I suggested that it would be quite wrong to have that many knitting items, and gave the example of a sock knitting workshop as the sort of specialised event that would be quite inappropriate to have at the Eastercon.
I then was informed first that there are in fact as many knitting items as bondage items, and second that there will be a sock knitting workshop at Eastercon. I expressed some surprise at this and was told that items of this kind were there because con members had volunteered them.
Today I was reading, on another site, a thread about knitting at the Eastercon. In that thread a knitter explained that she had been approached to do a sock knitting workshop, but had declined -- and she was glad that the committee had found somebody else.
Sock knitting -- like the specialist bondage ties they're having workshops on -- is not a beginner skill; this isn't a 'have a go and try out something new' workshop, it's a specialist workshop for established knitters to develop their skills.
How many SF/fantasy items do you think you will find at a knitting convention? (There might well be one -- a knit a dalek/tardis/clanger type thing, which the Eastercon is also having and which I think is entirely appropriate).
You know, there is scarcely any fannish programme, fan history programme or fanzine programme at this convention. I've talked to fans who are equally concerned about areas of SF/fantasy that they are interested in and that are under-represented. And yet we have dozens, perhaps hundreds of items on topics that have no relevance to SF other than that 'fans like to do them'. And yet, the same committee members who are ignoring swathes of the core of the hobby are going to considerable lengths to develop programming relating to non-SF hobbies.
We need to take some action here, chaps. This group of people have asked to run the Eastercon again in 2012; some of them are influential in the 2014 Worldcon bid (I should stress that I have no concerns about programme for that convention). This isn't a 'general way for geeks to hang out with agreeable company and do interesting geeky things', it's the National SF convention. We should ensure that it is so; that it reflects, in an ecumenical way, the broad SF/fantasy interests of the membership, and that the non-SF items represent an interesting alternative to the main events rather than the main activity.
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no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 03:24 pm (UTC)I don't mean this to sound harsh, but from the outside it looks more like the latter than the former, and now that I'm in the know it just looks like both. I see a very big difference between leading the programming process and "putting on a programme based purely on what I personally enjoy". The former would certainly involve being aware of the range of peoples' interests, seeking out people who might take on little-covered topics, and suggesting revisions to proposed items if they're topics that have been frequently or recently covered at other conventions.
I'm probably getting more grumpy about this than it really warrants. I expect to have a good convention ... just not the sort of good convention I hope an Eastercon will be.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 10:40 pm (UTC)When Judith approached me, I made it clear I would be happy to talk about Iain's work (I've read everything), but it turns out that there is no such item. Judith ignored everything I said (and decided that I didn't want to be on programming -- something I still find astounding). My own experience with this con was almost the opposite of inclusion and after watching senior fan/critic/author after another post programmes consisting of just one item, I'm sorry, but I don't think it was isolated.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 12:08 pm (UTC)I did turn down ... OMG three programme items, though: one because I knew nothing about it, one because I have done it too many times, one because of scheduling. Was somewhat surprised that none of my areas of interest [insert long list here] coincided with any programme items.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 04:10 pm (UTC)I must say, I do approve of the early morning Tai Chi and dance classes, no connection with SF in the slightest but I do enjoy the exercise. Followed by a long soak in the hot tub and a beer or two in the bar, obviously.
FF
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 09:14 pm (UTC)