In January, I had the
opportunity to get a bunch of books. Now, it’s not a big secret that I buy
books, kind of a lot. But I don’t usually buy a bunch at once, for obvious
financial reasons. But I had a gift card, obtained via Christmas, and I was
keen to use it.
I also had a mission.
It’s been increasingly
clear to me that I need to do more to support
diversity in science fiction and fantasy (I’m just going to abbreviate that
SF&F from here on in). That includes opposing sexism, racism, homophobia,
ableism and other forms of bigotry where and when I can. And working at being actively welcoming
and inclusive of other people in the SF&F fan and creative communities I participate in.
In January, I decided
that it also meant making an active, conscious choice to prioritize buying
books by women and/or people of colour.
I made that choice for
a really simple reason: Women and people of colour are still under-represented
in huge swathes of genre (as they are in publishing overall). A really good way
to help that change for the better is to let publishers and booksellers know
there's a demand for books from a wide and diverse range of writers, bringing a
broader and deeper range of experiences and viewpoints to their work.
This is not a perfect
approach; there are less visible forms of diversity (like gender identity,
neurodiversity, being differently-abled and sometimes sexual orientation)
that are less visible and that it’s therefore more difficult to take into
account.
But it's a place to
start.
I felt uncomfortable
with the idea of blogging about this, initially. After all, the publishers have
the data on my purchases; they can take it into account when they decide what
sells. Would going public about my choice just be crowing? Was I fishing for
validation for being a good progressive? And did I really want to risk getting
caught up in the ongoing, sometimes very acrimonious debate about these issues
in the SF&F communities?
Then I read blog posts
by Foz Meadows and Emma Newman. I was reminded of
Jessica Strider of Sci-Fi Fan Letter putting diversity into practice and
creating a wonderful Special Needs In Strange Worlds display of SF&F books dealing with issues of ability and
disability at Toronto’s own World’s Biggest Bookstore.
And it became clearer to me that being a passive voice for diversity wasn't going to cut it.
I forget, sometimes,
how lucky I am to live in Toronto, where we have great bookstores like
Bakka-Phoenix and World’s Biggest. In Toronto, diversity is part of the fabric of
our lives (our mayor notwithstanding), and I forget that not everyone is a
privileged as me.
And so I forgot that
what reactionaries and haters might think of me is less important than the support I
can offer by adding my voice and speaking out.
Because the writers,
booksellers and publishers out there who are working for diversity or are
themselves diverse need to know that they’re appreciated and supported. If I
want to truly affect the conversation, I need to participate it, not just hope
that the data resulting from my purchases is correctly interpreted by a huge
and complex system full of variables.
I support diversity in
SF&F. I do so actively and consciously. I do it by being welcoming and
inclusive, opposing bigotry, speaking out – and I also do it by voting with my
dollars.
I did that by buying four books:
Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie,
published by Orbit. A smart space opera that explores some interesting ideas
about colonialism and about gender and language.
Between Two Thorns, by Emma Newman,
published by Angry Robot. An urban fantasy about class conflict between
powerful Faerie rulers and their human servants.
The Incrementalists, by Steven Brust and
Skyler White, published by Tom Doherty Associates. A secret society of sort-of
immortals who make the world a little bit better, very slowly.
The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu,
published by Angry Robot. High-energy science fiction about martial artist
superspies and a secret war between factions of aliens.
(You may have noticed
Angry Robot did well by me. They deserved to.)
The result? Four
books, with a total of five authors (since The
Incrementalists was co-written). One of the writers was a white dude. Not
bad; I give myself a 3.5 out of 4. I did pretty well from a gender standpoint,
but I could do more with regard to other kinds of diversity. That’s something
I’ll keep in mind for next time.
I was reticent about
naming the books I chose at first. It felt awkward and I was afraid that it
might seem patronizing. It’s not my intention to impose my own labels or
definitions on anyone or to try to put them in a little identity box.
But the point of
practicing diversity is that, as Emma Newman points out, we don’t have a level
playing field. Society puts people into those little identity boxes whether we
like it or not, and we need to do more to reach into boxes that differ from our
own.
One final thought: Another
reason to practice diversity in book-buying is that it gives us another way to
seek and find great things. Three of the four books were by authors I’d never
read before (I’m a long-time fan of Steven Brust). All of them were books that,
based on my reading about new books in SF&F, sounded really interesting.
And all of them were well worth it.
In other words, I
never had to resort to second-tier choices. In fact, if I'd had the resources, I
could have bought a dozen more books by women and/or people of colour and still
not have been going with second-tier choices.
You don’t have to give
anything up to practice diversity. It doesn’t subtract. It adds.
Of course, there are
books by white dudes that I really want too. And I'm going to continue to
support those authors as well (I'm not going without getting caught up on the
Gentlemen Bastards series for much longer, that's for sure). This isn’t a
boycott and it’s not either/or; it’s a reminder to myself to expand my
definition of being inclusive, and putting it into practice via the books I buy.
(And really, as an
aspiring SF&F author and life-long white guy myself, I’m pretty sure we
don’t need to worry. The white dudes are going to be okay.)
This was an
experiment, and from where I’m sitting, a successful one. Worth repeating.
Diversity will continue to be one of the lenses I view my book buying through.
Working to be inclusive.
Speaking out. Opposing bigotry. And voting with my dollars.
It’s a place to start.
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