Yay! WisCon Panels!
Counting Past Two
Thinking in terms of opposites -- man and woman, black and white, good and evil -- is deeply, deeply entrenched in Western discourse. What alternatives are there? Some theorists, like Homi Bhabha, talk about "third spaces" and hybridity. What's that all about?
Taking It To The Next Level
Instead of repeating the same '101' discussions about class, race, (parenting, trans issues), etc., how can we facilitate a more advanced discussion of these issues?
The Tragedy of Change
How often is futuristic morphological change viewed in a tragic light in fiction, as in the cybernetically enhanced person feeling sorrow for the physical feelings they've lost, or the "inhumanity" of disembodied aliens? Why are transsexual humans of today often portrayed tragically in fiction and movies? How about post-menopausal women? People who've lost mobility or ability through illness? Is there a way to look at the future of our bodies that doesn't involve what we've lost, but what we have to gain?
Transsexuality as Trope
Much science fiction and fantasy of recent years deals with changing sex. But it treats it as a trope rather than a process: LARQUE ON THE WING, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, "Changes," the work of John Varley. While there is no denying the usefulness of transsexuality as a trope in discussing the social construction of gednder, what are we missing by eliding transsexuality's nature as a process?
Guess which constituency I'm representing at WisCon this year!