[Edited 5/25: Thanks so much for visiting my blog during the Hop! My giveaway has ended and the winner is: H.B.! Check your e-mail. :)]
The Hop Against Homophobia and Bi- and Transphobia is on!
I’m taking part by writing a short blog post and sharing the list of participating writers/bloggers who you should visit. Each of us hosts a giveaway. Drop a comment below, and you’ll be entered to win my recent release Werecat: The Trilogy.
#HAHABT is a weeklong event (May 17th – May 24th) created by writers to join forces for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. I’ve been participating since I found out about it in 2013.
A writer-led campaign to advance social justice for LGBTs? Yes, please!
I caught the social justice bug at student protests against Cornell University’s investments in Apartheid-era South Africa. I remember the rush of my first demonstration. As individuals, we had no influence on the university’s financial practices, let alone the situation in South Africa. Together, we were strong and filled with belief.
I joined Take Back the Night marches to eliminate violence against women. In the early 90s, I demonstrated to protest the first Gulf War. When I came out as gay, I marched to protest gay-bashings, religious condemnation, and government inaction on the AIDS crisis.
Activism has changed in the digital age. We take to Twitter, Facebook and online petitions instead of taking it to the steps of City Hall or stopping traffic on Main Street. An important, recent exception is the “Black Spring” to protest police brutality, which has called for traditional strategies of civil disobedience. But generally we communicate and organize in different ways.
I miss the real-life camaraderie and the homespun feel of old school social action. One of my fondest memories is when a group of friends was so energized to counter-protest a “pro-life” group targeting Planned Parenthood that we had an all-night party painting signs, talking politics, and of course tossing back a sizeable quantity of beer.
But a good case can made that technology has made activism more effective. Taking for instance the reaction to the state of Indiana’s regressive legislation to sanction religious bigotry, social media can be a powerful platform for change. The flood of memes (#boycottindiana) with personal testimonials on Facebook and Twitter created a tidal wave of social pressure. That nationwide phenomenon had impact on corporations and elected officials that I don’t believe would have happened through local demonstrations alone.
As a fantasy author, I don’t very often write explicitly about homophobia or transphobia in a modern context. I do think a lot about how fairly I portray sexuality, gender and “race.” One of my current manuscripts features a lesbian character for example who happens to look physically male and to express herself in a “masculine” way, and I puzzled for some time about what that would say to readers since she is the only lesbian in the story.
We need more diverse portrayals of LGBTs in books. I don’t claim to be the authority on how to do that well in every instance though my gut feeling is that it’s a good thing when writers question what we write and ask people who are representative of the characters we’re writing about for feedback.
I’ll stop there and look forward to your comments. Feel free to fill your red, plastic Dixie cup from my virtual keg while you’re here. Leave your e-mail address if you would like to enter a drawing for an e-copy of my latest book Werecat: The Trilogy. I will pick a winner through random.com on May 25th 12:00 AM EST.
And don’t forget to click below to check out some of the 100+ writers/bloggers who are participating in #HAHABT this year:
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Good post. 🙂
I think social media can be an amazing tool for organizing but sometimes I feel it is too easy to have a moment of outrage, click “like” or share a meme and then move on. It makes it too easy to dis-engage. But it’s still a new thing! Have a great week!
Good post. I noticed, during the last few years, that street protest doesn’t rally as many people as ten years ago. And sure, I too miss the camaraderie of fighting with a lot of same minded people. Yet, I think there are advantages. Thanks to online petitions and social media I can add my voice to plead for same sex marriage in e.g. the US, though in my home country this has been resolved fourteen years ago.
Thank you for your post and participating in this blog hop.
kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com
Many thanks to everyone for stopping by!
@Stephen – I agree. Although it’s nice that social media allows people who would probably never protest in real life to support important causes. It has also likely helped closeted LGBTs to be more vocal about issues of discrimination from their perspectives.
@Andrew – Thanks for supporting marriage here in the US. 🙂
@Kimberly – Right back at you: thanks!
Thanks for the great post. I do think social media has helped in some ways, but hurts in others. I think it has become too easy for us to see something, make a post and then get distracted and move on. The people who were always passionate about causes will always be there, but I agree the camaraderie is missing.
jczlapin@gmail.com
Thank you for sharing your story with us and for taking part in the hop to help spread awareness!
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
I’m not a political activist and don’t do rallies but I do use social media to promote my views on LGBT issues
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
@Jen – I think you’re right. Attention-spans have dwindled to thirty seconds or less it seems, and that means on one hand, a cause can quickly gain someone’s attention, but supporters are apt to be distracted by the next big cause that comes up in their news feed. I guess it’s all about adapting to new strategies to engage people.
@H.B. and @Lee – Many thanks for hopping over!
Thank you for the interesting post! I agree using social media is great for reaching large numbers of people quickly but it is also so impersonal. Back in the day, lifelong friendships were formed from working together side by side and interacting on a personal level. I miss that too. However, social media has also made it much easier to connect with them again!
I enjoyed the post and I suppose we are lucky today we do have social media so the voices can be heard louder and by many more people who can get involved.
ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
I am using social media and my writing to support the community
dannyfiredragon@aol.com
Social Media like everything else has it’s pros & cons. :/
Great post! Thanks for taking the time to share and be a part of the hop!
Cheers ~Rissa~ raynman1979 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Thanks for post and Hop.
thanks for taking part in the hop.
rojoroaors@yahoo.com
@Ree Dee – I sure agree. With social media, the sense of solidarity is both instantaneous and fleeting. I sometimes follow people on Twitter or Facebook when they have something to say that I really admire. But rarely do those contacts turn into real friendships.
@Shirley – Yes, it’s nice that anyone can be an activist on social media!
@Danny – Thanks for your efforts!
@Rissa @Cornelia @Roger – I’m glad you stopped by. 🙂
Social media is wonderful for awareness and mobilizing, but paradoxically I do think it can distance people from each other…
vitajex(at)Aol(dot)com
Hi Trix – Thanks for stopping by again this year! Yes, I do think social media is paradoxical. There’s quantity but not always quality. For example, a cause can have thousands of “followers” but what is the quality of the engagement? I don’t believe that makes social media a bad platform for activism, but probably people are choosing to support many different causes during their lifetime versus being lifelong supporters of one near and dear cause.
social media can be helpful
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks for the great post and sometimes I think social media helps but it can also be used to really hurt someone.
sstrode at scrtc dot com
My thanks, bn and Sherry for stopping by!