There has been a lot of negativity lately, in the world in general and in the geek realm more specifically. The hate, the sexism, the racism, the homophobia… you can’t avoid seeing it or hearing about it. But in most cases (thankfully) it’s a vocal minority creating these issues. The majority of the geek world is rather accepting, open-minded and inclusive. And the best place to experience that is at cons when you’re surrounded by your tribe.
As listeners and followers of Geek Watch One know, Con on the Cob was this past weekend. Due to recent events, it was dubbed a “politics free zone” because, obviously, we were there to have a good time. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some serious moments. One of the panels was about diversity and inclusion in geekdom. Instead of a couple panelists addressing the audience, it morphed into a roundtable discussion involving anyone who wished to participate. There was talk of race, gender, orientation and lifestyle diversity (and lack thereof) in the geek world, stories of acceptance and lack of inclusion, and discussion on what can be done to improve things.
Later in the day, we had the closing ceremonies of the con. One individual who had been part of the panel discussion was singled out (willingly and happily) as it was the first time they* had publicly worn a dress and wig and come out as the person they wanted to be. Not surprisingly (considering how accepting our tribe is), there was an enthusiastic round of applause. An hour or so later, as we were doing final tear down, we saw this person getting ready to leave. They told us that for that moment, when everyone was applauding, they truly felt like a woman and it was the best feeling ever.
That’s what it’s all about. Accepting people for who they are, who they choose to be, the individual skin they are most comfortable in. That’s how you know you’ve found your tribe. No judgment about your life choices – just open minds, honest discussions and acceptance.
*I used “they” out of respect as I am not aware of whether this person, though born male, would prefer the male or female pronoun.