Declined, of course. (No honoraria or travel costs mentioned, either, ha ha.) But let's discuss this a bit. Leaving aside the fact that pretty much everything I've ever written is intended to make people uncomfortable, because it engages with power dynamics...
-
-
Show this thread
-
I am a black woman. At a tech company, my very presence is likely to make employees uncomfortable, if only because I'd be a rare sight. Big Tech in the US has always had a problem with race, gender, and other marginalizations.https://www.cnet.com/news/tech-leaving-behind-women-of-color/ …
Show this thread -
But what a statement like this does is shift that systemic problem onto me, individually. The discomfort of tech employees -- forced to sit in a room with someone whose very presence reminds them that their industry has an entrenched bigotry problem -- becomes my responsibility.
Show this thread -
At that point there's really nothing I can say that won't make *somebody* uncomfortable. I could just stand there and smile, and... freakouts. (Used to do that to my students when they got rowdy, back when I was teaching. Shut them right the hell up. I use my powers for good.)
Show this thread -
So don't do this. Don't invite marginalized speakers and then put the onus on them to make an overtly hostile environment feel "comfortable" to all. First, that centers the needs of fragile bigots. Second, it sends a clear message that *the speaker's* comfort is irrelevant.
Show this thread -
And yeah, "Don't make people uncomfortable" is the opposite of making a marginalized speaker feel welcome. It's actually a blinking red warning that this company knows it has a bigotry problem... and is okay with that. Is unwilling to *fix* that problem.
Show this thread -
There are no politically neutral spaces. People are involved, i.e. it's political. There's politics all over places like these; the politics are just cishet white male -centric. "Don't make people uncomfortable" really means "focus on cishet white dudes' concerns."
Show this thread -
And that's completely apart from the fact that you do not invite speakers from marginalized groups without *at least* discussing travel costs and compensation for that person's time and labor. I don't need exposure; you invited me, so obvs you've heard of me.
Show this thread -
So what this invite actually said to me was, "We know nothing about you, we don't value your perspective, we just want you to provide token representation but talk about the same stuff we hear all the time, and we'll hang you out to dry if you get targeted by bigots."
Show this thread -
So, uh, YEAH I said no. (Actually I asked my assistant to decline on my behalf. She can be trusted to keep it professional. I might have written back, "Are y'all high?") Anyway. Off to write more uncomfortable stuff. As you were.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.