Blog Posts

Blog Posts

Holy Shit! Representation Matters! Or, How SFF Helped Me Realize I’m Nonbinary

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I can’t really tell you why I’m here saying I’m non-binary instead of saying I’m redefining cishet masculinity. One just feels more true to me than the other, and I say that with huge amounts of love and respect to everyone of all genders. —Jonathan Alexandratos, “How Geek Culture Made Me Realize I Am Non-Binary” I’m trans/nonbinary. I use nonbinary pronouns such as they/them, and I came to this bit of self-knowledge through the science fiction and fantasy (SFF) community. Somewhat surprisingly, I didn’t come to this realization about myself while in college while I minored in women’s & gender studies. I minored in gender studies because I liked thinking and talking about feminism, racial justice, art, culture, politics, and activism. I also really liked talking about gender. I thought that was just because I hated sexism, the patriarchy, and toxic masculinity. In college, I didn’t begin to think: maybe I like talking about gender because I’m trans/nonbinary. And why would I? I knew trans and nonbinary people existed, but they weren’t on my radar. Back in college, I had heard of nonbinary people, but that was about it. I rarely encountered anyone who was nonbinary or genderqueer. As far as I was aware, I didn’t personally know any trans people. I knew the definitions of transgender and cisgender, but I didn’t know all that much about trans or nonbinary people.  I had never really been asked to make space for trans people, and I hardly ever saw others make space for trans people. I rarely came across media representation of trans or nonbinary people, much less good representation, much less consistent good representation.

Podcast Updates

The Next Movie: A Wrinkle in Time

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We’re continuing this new #AudienceAssemble tradition by letting y’all know what we’re up to! Our next episode will be a film discussion of A Wrinkle in Time (2018) directed by Ava DuVernay! If you’ve seen the film and want to share your thoughts or ask us a question, you can do so in all these fancy ways: Twitter Facebook Email:  skiffyandfanty@gmail We’ll share some of these on the podcast! And if you haven’t seen the film, it is currently streaming on Disney+ and available for rent on most of the major streaming services! Watch it and share your thoughts with us! So go on. Let us know what you think!

Podcast Updates

The Next Book: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste!

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As part of our #AudienceAssemble initiative, we’re going to try to be more active on our Patreon page and social media accounts. With that in mind, we’re announcing that our next book discussion will be on Tracey Baptiste’s fantastic middle grade novel, The Jumbies. And we’re inviting you to share your thoughts about it via our Twitter, Patreon page (and its related Discord server), and Facebook! Think of it as a kind of makeshift Skiffy and Fanty book club! You can get the book directly from Scholastic or where fine books are sold. It’s a quick read, so if you want to read along with us and share your thoughts, get started! We intend to record our podcast discussion on the 8th of July. In the future, we’d like to give a lot more lead time on our discussions, so stay tuned for some shifts in communications. Enjoy!

Announcements and Errata

Announcement: Our 2020 (and Beyond) Focus and an Open Call to Publishers and Creators

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For the past few weeks, the United States and much of the world has been in the grips of a massive movement of protest and resistance against police brutality and systemic racism, all under the familiar and power banner of Black Lives Matter. To say that 2020 has been a difficult year is an understatement, but while there was very little we, as an SF/F/H podcast, could do about the COVID-19 pandemic, there is something, however small, we can do to support black communities in the world. And so we’re going to do it in the most forceful way we know how. With that in mind, we have three announcements to make:

Blog Posts

Book Review: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

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We Ride the Storm has author Devin Madson introduce us to the start of a fantasy epic where a tottering Empire’s spin toward disaster is seen through the eyes of a Princess, a warrior, and an assassin with a most unusual gift. Princess Miko of the Kisian Empire  is an untenable position. Descended from the Otako family, she has an uneasy relationship with Emperor Kin Ts’ai, who usurped the throne and is attempting to cement his power. Formally she and her brother are of the Emperor’s family, but the Emperor is surely aware that there are many, even years later, who would flock to an Otako banner. Keeping her autonomy, keeping the chances for her brother alive, and avoiding a purge runs through Miko’s days. When a promise of marriage to try and cement a peace with the dangerous Chiltaens to the north might end Miko’s freedom forever, Or help destroy the empire should the marriage contract fail. In the meantime, Rah e’Torin, a Levanti exile from the steppe and grasslands his horse riders are from, has a problem, too. His exile, with a group of loyal men and women, have led them into  a desolate land to the south, with few signs of Chiltae, their destination. There are stories of former Swords of the steppe coming south to act as mercenaries and riders for the Chiltae, but as the food and water dwindles, Rah and his followers might think they are making a mistake. And when they do meet the Chiltae, their status and role, and the fate of those who migrated before them becomes dangerously, painfully clear.

Announcements and Errata

The Skiffy and Fanty Livestream Event: Podcasting Q&A — April 17th, 3 PM EST

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In an effort to join all the lovely folks offering additional entertainment during this pandemic, The Skiffy and Fanty Show has created a special livestream event:  Podcasting Q&A! The event will offer an opportunity for fans, podcast hopefuls, and authors and other creatives to discuss the world of podcasting with Shaun, one of our producers and hosts. For an hour, Shaun will field your questions, offer his perspectives on geek podcasts, and interviewing, and otherwise try to entertain you! So, if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to run an award-nominated podcast, what the podcasting world is like, or even what you need to know to participate as a podcast interview guest, then this is event is for you. And if you can’t make the time, you can send us your questions to skiffyandfanty[at]gmail[dot]com OR direct to our Twitter:  @skiffyandfanty. We’ll answer as many questions a we can and make the video available for viewing after its conclusion! The stream will begin at 3 PM EST on our YouTube channel (see below). No purchase is necessary (i.e., it’s totes free). Please spread the word. We hope to see you there!

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