WisCon panels

Here's my preliminary schedule:

Who owns the spoons?

Moderator: BC Holmes. BC Holmes, Andrea Chandler, Magenta Griffith, Criss Moody
How appropriate is it for able-bodied people to use the metaphor of "spoons"? Does anyone (trans people, people of color, etc.) own the concept of "passing"? What happens when terminology used by one minority gets adopted by a wider audience?

I confess that when I saw that on my list, my first reaction was, "Really? I signed up for that?" I suspect that I glommed on to the part about passing. I've been trying to think, over the last few days, what my neat idea for the panel was (I usually have an idea that I'm interested in raising in most panels I sign up for.) I'm not sure, but I suspect that it might have had something to do with cultural translation. But in any event, I'm moderating, which means that I facilitate interesting conversation -- I don't have to be responsible for all the good ideas.

Untangling class

Moderator: Jess Adams. Jess Adams, BC Holmes, Alexis Lothian, Chris Wrdnrd
What do we mean when we talk about class? Is it about how much money we have? How much education? How we grew up? Our position with respect to a global capitalist world system? There have been a lot of WisCon panels in the past focused on speculative fiction that "does class well"––but how can we know whether something's being done well if we don't even know what it is? This panel brings together WisCongoers with expertise and experience in talking about class to hammer out (if not actually decide upon) some definitions.

I'm very much looking forward to this panel. I mean, look at those awesome panelists, for starters! The scariest part is that Anne Robinson might point me out and say, "You are the weakest link! Goodbye!"

Last year, I started to think through the multiple markers of class in many of the same terms that one might think through the multiple markers of gender. And I'm starting to believe in a notion of class panic that's in some ways similar to gender panic when those markers refuse to be congruent.

Dispelling Trans Myths

Moderator: Rachel Kronick. Rachel Kronick, BC Holmes, Elliott Mason, s.e. smith
Trans women think about things other than make-up! Not all people who have penises are men! Hormones are often more important than surgery! Some people don't even want surgery! Some trans people have non-tragic lives! Come and have your mind *blown*.

In many ways, this panel sounds like Trans 101 (or maybe Trans 201). Me, I'm interested in the part of the panel description that involves blowing people's minds. Like, seriously: I soooo don't want to talk about bathrooms. Can we get into some of the really "out there" aspects of trans experience? Mind-blowing! That's my target.

Mario Joseph in the Huffington Post

Is it dangerous for you to do your human rights work in Haiti?

Yes it is very dangerous. Generally, I lead a very restricted life. I have been separated from my family because of my work. My wife and children live in Miami. Thankfully, they have political asylum. It is not a very easy situation. There have been several times where bullets have flied into the office. My home and car has been broken into. I have been stalked by phone and told that I was going to be killed. Once, I received an envelope with a bullet in it. It is not a very easy situation. You can see that I have lost all of my hair. I also have diabetes and high blood pressure. This means that this work is very stressful. It is very difficult. I recognize this because it has affected my health. It is true that we will all die so I am not bothered. I do not want to die but I know that the cause I am defending is a good cause. I do not have a problem with this. What I would really like to see is for the situation of Haiti to change. This is what I will regret if I do not have a chance to see this.

- "Has Foreign Aid Hurt Haiti: An Interview with Mario Joseph", Huffington Post

Every once in a while I'm very conscious of the fact that I prevent myself from thinking about how much danger people I know in Haiti live with. It's hard knowledge to process. And yet, clearly it doesn't take anywhere near the toll on me that it takes on them. They do what they do because it means everything to them.

Just annoying enough

I have a cold. It's a completely minor cold. Yesterday I had a bit of a sore throat. Today, I have a bit of a hacky cough and occasional headaches. Minor minor symptoms. But just annoying enough that I know that they're there.