Announcement - Let's Talk About Fictional Sex

Over on the newsletter, I announcement the newsletter series I'm starting next week - Let's Talk About Fictional Sex.  The longer version is here.  The TL:DR version is basically, I'm putting together a series to talk about the things authors, writers, creators should think about in terms of the sexual dynamics they depict, and how sex scenes are a chance to better demonstrate who characters are.  Some of the pieces will be behind a subscription/paywall, some will not.  And then I'm going to compile these entries into a book.  Right now, I have over twenty pieces planned.  There may be more as we get deeper into this.  (Yeah, I saw that entendre and I left it there.) 

Edited to update link

Three Interesting Things

1. Tavi Gevinson writes searingly about the framing of "Framing Britney Spears" and the ways in which society confers the illusion of control onto teenagers who act sexily.  Content note: Includes discussion of sexual coercion.  RAINN has resources for those seeking support or seeking info on supporting others.  

2. Soraya Nadia McDonald tallies up a list of characters that are magical negro characters and looks at the white characters that require such support. 

3. As a semi-regular PlayPerView viewer, I appreciated this interview with one of the folks behind it. 

Me and the Denver Airport

The first time I flew into Denver was for a friend's wedding.  The wedding had a snow theme, and so it was pretty cute when it snowed day of.  Especially since I wasn't a bridesmaid and didn't have to stand outside for pictures or anything.  

Anyway, the day following the wedding, we got to the airport, and were calmly dining in the restaurant when another guest texted my friend to ask if our flight had been cancelled too.  Too?  There had been no signs of trouble when we checked in, but as we all pulled out our phones, we discovered that due to an expected snowstorm on the East Coast (that was not scheduled to start until well after our arrival) everything going East had been cancelled. 

We ended up gathering up our luggage(which they just dumped onto the floor) and working on getting rebooked.  Interestingly, given we were all on the same flight, my one friend was rebooked for first flight out the next day, two were placed on the second flight the next day, and I was offered a flight out in three days.  I took it, but also asked what the chances were for me to fly standby the next morning.  

And I ended up being the last person allowed onto that first flight the next morning.  Which meant middle seat, but hey I was headed home.  

Except of course, now it really was snowing in the East Coast.  So, the DC airport (DCA) closed while we were in the air to catch up on snow. So we landed in Harrisburg.  We were let off the plane to use facilities, grab drinks, and charge up the devices.  And then we all loaded back on the plane and flew to DC.  Did I get home about the same time as my friends on the second plane that ended up leaving later? 

Yeah. But I got home.  

The second time, my flight got delayed.  I was there for a conference and discovered I was on the same flight with a fellow attendee and we chatted for several hours until the flight finally left.  

The third time was also for a wedding, this time family.  I had taken the butt crack of dawn flight and my lovely relatives got up before the crack of dawn to drop me off, which was very kind.  

Oh, I should probably mention, if scary plane stories bug you you should probably stop reading now.  Huh.  Spoiler. 

So, the plane was delayed due to a maintenance issue.  So we sat there, all at the gate with no plane for an undetermined amount of time.  The gate agent actually disappeared, perhaps tired of explaining that he did not know when the plane would be there.  It arrived, but they still didn't allow us on.  Then they started boarding.  We got on and the pilot said - after everyone was boarded - that there was just a small delay because they were waiting for a confirmation on something that maintenance had been working on earlier.  Which I confess was a worrying announcement, but delightfully transparent.  We took off.  

And about thirty minutes into the flight, I noticed a lot of call buttons going.  I was seated near the front of the plane.  Apparently, in the back, the noises they were hearing changed significantly, and the passengers felt the flight crew needed to know.  (Some of this I learned later.)  

And the pilot came on again to alert us that the hydraulic system had gone out, which had been the issue that they were working on this morning and it appeared that it had not been sufficiently resolved.  So we were using the backup system but the pilot and co pilot did not wish to complete the trip on backup, so we were returning to the airport.  And then the plane turned around.  

So, we all got food vouchers to use in the airport, which was nice.  And then we waited.  See, since our plane had taken off, it had disappered off the flights board.  So we waited.  The pilot and co pilot came off the plane and let us all know that we would be getting a new plane, which honestly seemed wise, and possibly like what the pilot and copilot had maybe wanted all along.  So that plane left the gate and then eventually a new plane arrived.  

The second time we took off, we flew and landed just fine.  And I got home.  

But it did mean, when I saw a story about an engine catching fire and then saw it was a flight from Denver, well, I felt a tiny sense of - of course.  Even though it wasn't the same airline or even a flight in the same direction. It is perhaps unfair to blame the airport for these problems.  But this level of consistency has only happened to me when I try to leave Denver.  

Three Interesting Things

1. I have not watched "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" this season, but this interview with John Clarence Stewart looks at the preparation they did for the recent episodes where they attempt to depict how large corporations address issues of racism when the time comes to confront them. 

2. This piece looked thoughtfully at the limits of the lunchbox moment for immigrant kids, and touched on something that having grown up in a school that - while still white dominated - had more than one kid of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  (Full disclosure, we all ate cafeteria food.) That a lot of fiction still focuses on the only Asian American kid in school.  Or the kid who is embarrassed by their food, and that just as representation can be empowering, having the only representation feel different than your experience can feel alienating.    

3. This piece looks at the lasting cultural impact of the Whitney Houston/Brandy "Cinderella". 

The Texas Tribune has a list of warming centers and various folks gathering donations and offering assistance.  In general, if you are not in an area, your best help comes from offering to connect resources, or by sending money not things.  If sending money isn't feasible for you right now, amplifying resources can be a way to assist.  

A Gentle Reminder

I know or know if in my immediate circles - approximately forty people who have been diagnosed with COVID 19 in the last two months.  The teams I play silly web games with had several people who got sick, and one who passed away.  One of my writer's groups had someone contract it, and their whole pod got it too.  Another writer I met virtually has a relative who is currently sick.  In one of my knitter's groups, one person's coworker had a whole segment of the family contract it.  So all of this is to say, I know we are so, so tired of this.  But we still need to be vigilant.  We need to be honest and clear with those we meet up with about the risks we have chosen to engage in.  And we need to continue to limit interactions, and space them out wherever possible so that if we get sick, we aren't the disease vector that takes out a large number of people.  

COVID 19 isn't as infectious as some other diseases.  But it's genius - other than being novel, which is always an advantage because human immune systems can get lazy with unrecognized viruses - it's genius is it's incubation period. On average, each person infects on average 2-3 other people, even with the new variants.  (Standard disclaimer, I have read up on this, but I am not an epidemiologist.  I know just enough to know what R2.7 is supposed to mean.)  But if you don't know you are sick, and those 2-3 people don't know they are sick, by the time you can alert them, they will have passed it on to others.  Unless after the gathering, you all went home and quarantined.  And yes, I have seen the stories about outbreaks on sports teams, schools, camps, colleges, and weddings.  But again, one gathering spreads out because those infected continue to go places and interact with more folks.

So, it's repetitive but true.  Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.  Stay home when you can.  Wear masks when interacting with folks outside your household.