Dear feminist writers of fiction and poetry,<\/p>\n
I’m putting together an article on how feminist writers deal with sexism and racism when it comes up in workshop environments. I’d like to gather as many answers as possible.<\/p>\n
Many workshops are voluntary, so one can choose to leave when racist or sexist material comes up — but only if one is willing to deprive oneself of the feedback. Some workshops are compulsory, however, particularly when one has signed up for a class. Voluntary or compulsory, workshops are always a unique combination of work and play. On the one hand, one is usually friend with ones workshop peers, but on the other, for working writers a workshop can also be a functional and essential part of how one prepares one’s work.<\/p>\n
Workshops can also become hotbeds for emotional turmoil, since the material in question is so personal.<\/p>\n
If you’re planning to stay in a workshop, you have to create a business relationship with the other people involved. So what do you do when one of them writes a story with blatant racist or sexist content? I think this has happened to all of us; certainly, it happens in the workshops I’m in.<\/p>\n
How do you handle it? If you’re interested in contributing to my project of discovering methods, I hope you’ll consider the topic and let me know. Comments are appreciated, or you can drop me a line at rachel dot swirsky at gmail dot com. Anywhere between 200 and 750 words on the topic would be fantastic, although if you want to just write a few lines, that’s fine too. I’m interested in hearing from feminist men and women, and anti-racist whites and non-whites.<\/p>\n
Feel free to address the topic in any manner of your choosing, and defining your own questions and agenda. For those of you who’d like a few questions to get you started, here they are:<\/p>\n
*When you encounter racist or sexist (or otherwise bigoted) material in a workshop setting, how do you deal with it? Do you ignore it? Do you call it out? How do you decide whether to ignore it or call it out?<\/p>\n
*How do you call out racist and sexist material while preserving your relationships in the workshop? What techniques do you use? How do you vary them based on context (power dynamics in the group, your own place in the group, the type of racist or sexist material being presented)?<\/p>\n
*Have you ever decided not to call something out? What happened? How did you feel afterward?<\/p>\n
*Have you ever regretted calling something out? Why? What happened?<\/p>\n
*Have you ever quit a workshop because of racist or sexist material?<\/p>\n
*What was the most offensive thing (on the lines of bigotry) you’ve ever encountered in workshop? (Please describe it in generic terms.) How did you react?<\/p>\n
*How do other people in workshop situations tend to react when you note offensive material? How does it vary between workshops you’ve been in, and why do you think it varies that way?<\/p>\n
*Anecdotes that you can tell without compromising yourself or anyone else (changing names and story subject matter helps) would be quite appreciated.<\/p>\n
*Have you ever been in a workshop that was a safe space for race or sex? What was it like? Did it feel limiting or limited?<\/p>\n
*How can workshop leaders (or the group in an acephalous workshop) create a positive environment? What environments have worked best for you?<\/p>\n
I need responses by this Sunday, November 4th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear feminist writers of fiction and poetry, I’m putting together an article on how feminist writers deal with sexism and racism when it comes up in workshop environments. I’d like to gather as many answers as possible. Many workshops are … Continue reading