Feminist SF Wiki - User contributions [en]

N. K. Jemisin

2008-05-23T17:13:19Z

167.206.128.33:

{{WOC}}

'''N. K. Jemisin''' is an African-American female speculative fiction writer. Her fiction explores a wide variety of themes informed by the intersection of race and gender oppressions, as well as traditional science fiction, fantasy, and horror themes such as first contact and mythology (especially that of non-Western cultures). She is a former member of the Boston-area writing group "BRAWL", as well as the New York-area groups "The Secret Cabal", "Black Beans", and [http://www.alteredfluid.com/af.php Altered Fluid]. A graduate of the 2002 Viable Paradise writing workshop, she has published a number of short stories and has completed several novels. Her novel THE SKY GOD'S LOVER will be coming out from Orbit sometime in 2009.

==Names==
* N. K. Jemisin (pseudonym)
* Nora Jemisin

==Works==

*[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2007/20071203/train-f.shtml The You Train] Strange Horizons, 2007.

*"Playing Nice With God's Bowling Ball" Forthcoming from Baen's Universe sometime in 2008.

*[http://abyssandapex.com/200701-bittersweet.html Bittersweet"] Abyss and Apex, 2007.

*[http://www.helixsf.com/archives/Jan07/fiction/Q3_jemison_narcomancer.htm The Narcomancer"] Helix, 2007.

*[http://www.helixsf.com/fiction/Q1_jemisin_brides.htm The Brides of Heaven"] Helix, 2007.

*[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2005/20050801/jemisin-f.shtml Dragon Cloud Skies] Strange Horizons, 2005. Also an [http://escapepod.org/2007/07/12/ep114-cloud-dragon-skies/ Escape Pod] episode

*[http://www.fishnetmag.com/archives/2005/04/red_riding_hood.html Red Riding-Hood's Child] Fishnet, 2005.

*[http://nojojojo.livejournal.com/103618.html#cutid1 L'Alchimista] Scattered Covered Smothered (out of print), 2004. Winner of an Honorable Mention from The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 18th collection. Also available as an [http://www.escapepod.org/2006/01/25/ep038-lalchimista/ Escape Pod] episode

*[http://www.ideomancer.com/ss/Jemison-Tomorrows/Jemison-Tomorrows.htm Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows]. Ideomancer, 2004.

Her novel-length fiction is represented by Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

==Awards==

Speculative Literature Foundation's 2004 Travel Grant.

Nominated for the Fountain Award (2006).

On the 2006 Recommended Reading list for the Carl Brandon Society.

==External links==

http://home.earthlink.net/~njem

[[Category:Writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jemisin, N. K.}}
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Default white

2007-08-28T16:33:03Z

167.206.128.33: Describes the "default white" assumption

The tendency to assume that a person or fictional character's race is white, in the absence of other identifying characteristics.

The default white assumption is a manifestation of [[racism]]. In white-dominated societies, whites are most often prime movers or agents of change. In fiction, white characters are most often the ones given [[agency]] by the work of fiction's creator. This is in part a manifestation of the fact that most writers, directors, producers, etc. in [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], and [[horror]] are themselves white. While some of these creators accurately represent [[people of color]] within their works, most creators do not, instead crafting settings which are white-dominated if not entirely white.

Some creators attempt to avoid this tendency by adopting a raceless or [[colorblind]] strategy, deliberately avoiding mention of race or race-related characteristics. In principle this should lead audience members to ascribe whichever race they choose to a given character. But just as [[implicit assumptions]] about gender in [[patriarchial]] socities lead to [[default male]] thinking and [[universal "he"]] language, similar implicit assumptions about race lead most audience members to assume that all unmarked characters are white.

There is considerable debate in the fiction community about how to effectively combat this assumption in text.

[[Category: Racism]]

Carl Brandon

2007-08-28T15:56:40Z

167.206.128.33: Filling out the stub article about Carl Brandon, and correcting the category.

Namesake of the [[Carl Brandon Society]].

"Carl Brandon" is a fictional [[person of color]] in the [[science fiction]] fan community, created as a response to the near-invisibility of people of color in fannish spaces. Fans of color who found themselves the sole nonwhite person at a convention, or one of few, would jokingly refer to the fictional Carl (e.g. "Where's Carl?" "Oh, I just saw him in the dealer's room.") to create the illusion there was at least one more.

As described by Mary Anne Mohanraj, one of the founding members of the [[Carl Brandon Society]] (a network of SF fans of color), "We named ourselves after the fictional fan of color 'Carl Brandon, Jr.' created by in the mid-1950s by Terry Carr and Peter Graham, who used the ruse to explore concepts of race within the pages of the influential INNUENDO fanzine (co-edited by Carr), during a time when the landscape of speculative fiction was decidedly more monotone."1

The "Carl Brandon" mythos continues to be used at present, most recently via "Where's Carl?" buttons worn by fans of color and allies at the 2007 [[Wiscon]] science fiction convention. There are several reasons for Carl's enduring popularity. The first and most obvious is a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the overwhelming [[whiteness]] or perceived whitness of science fiction fan gatherings. Carl serves as a support mechanism for people of color who feel isolated and uncomfortable within these spaces; by joking that there was at least one other, they could feel less alone.

Another reason for Carl's "creation" was a less humorous acknowledgement of the pervasive invisibility of people of color within the SF realm (notably, Carl is male perhaps in reference to the particular invisibility of African-American males, a la [[Ralph Ellison]]'s novel [[Invisible Man]]). Despite the fact that nonwhites represent the vast majority of the human population globally, science fiction literature, TV, film, and gaming has persistently depicted futures in which the human population is predominantly or entirely white, or at best [[default white]].

This occurs in [[fantasy]] and [[horror]] as well -- though these genres contain many examples of people of color depicted as stereotypes, caricatures, "evil", or nonhuman. For example, [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Lord of the Rings]] trilogy describes "Easterlings" and "Southrons" as the decadent allies of the evil Sauron, and does not count them among the heroic "Men" (sic, humans) of [[Middle Earth]].

In reaction to these inaccurate and offensive depictions of people of color, an elaborate mythology developed around Carl to establish his utter normalcy.

1. Source: Mary Anne Mohanraj's website: [http://www.mamohanraj.com/journal/show-entry.php?Entry_ID=3176]

2. The Carl Brandon Society's official website: [http://carlbrandon.org]

[[category:Antiracism]]