Things I am enjoying about #osb2014, a partial list

[kaberett]

1. The toilets labelled "Men or those who identify" and "Women or those who identify": not perfect by quite a ways (I would prefer and rather than or...); and the very visible notice next to the lift detailing where in the building to find gender-neutral bathrooms (with the assurance that gender diversity is celebrated in the community), which are in turn labelled "all gender bathroom".

2. The dedicated quiet space with the comfortable chairs and the open windows and the greenery.

3. The incredible catering - which is vegan by default, with vegetarian and gluten-free stuff carefully labelled.

4. The con lanyards for badges, which are colour-coded according to your preferences in terms of being included in photographs ("no", "ask me first", "yes").

5. The con badges themselves, which are little booklets that attach to the lanyard, containing (1) a copy of the schedule, (2) a map and (3) a copy of the awesome code of conduct.

6. Sufficient power points!

7. Lots of super, super friendly people: I have had pleasant discussions on a variety of topics with strangers, and we know what I'm like about People.

8. Enormous visibility of queer + trans people. (And at least 2 of 3 keynotes are being given by queer-identified women!)

9. Getting to actually put faces to a whole lot of names. :-) And concomitantly, the strangers and friends-of-friends I've been talking to looking at the two name tags I'm wearing (one "Alex", one "kaberett") and asking me which - if either - I prefer (and getting it when I say I don't at all mind, and both are my real name!)

10. Lots and lots of making sure that people stay hydrated, know where they're going, and are generally empowered to take care of themselves.

Comments

[tim]

I believe the bathroom signs were chosen and placed by the Unitarian church that owns the building, and not by the OSB organizers. That said, I read the signs as saying that you're either a man, or identify as a man, and that the subtext is "men are cis men, and trans men just 'identify as a man'." (Never mind that I don't know where people who don't identify as either go.)

[kaberett]

Yes, the signs are placed by the building; but OSBridge chose the building, so.

I agree that the signs are problematic as fuck for that reason, but I *also* suspect they're part of the reason I've not had any hassle in the gents' in spite of the flouncy teal scarf and the waist-length hair -- from a cis point of view, I suspect they actually mostly read as "don't give people shit for being in here even if they don't look the way you expect", which I really do think is probably positive.

As I mentioned there's at least four explicitly gender-neutral bathrooms in the building: two on 3A (next to the quiet space) and apparently two in LL (though I haven't checked those out).

[tim]

Ah, I read too quickly and I hadn't noticed the gender-neutral bathrooms. That makes it somewhat better :-)

[kaberett]

(My additional experience is that I know people whose identity includes but is not fully described by "women" - frequently it is a label claimed by folk I know who experience oppression directed at women because of how society treats them, & compex reclamations as a consequence. So... I've got some time from it from that point of view, too; see e.g. the NUS Women's Campaign definition of "woman", and I'd feel worse about linking to student politics apart from the fact that someone I know & trust wrote the def in consultation with many others etc etc.)

[shanaqui]

Just a note, Unitarians tend to be by definition open to discussion and feedback about this kind of thing. It may be worth raising the potential problems with the church, if someone feels comfortable doing so.

[fyreharper]

:D :D

[forestofglory]

Yay! Hope things keep going well.

[milkymoon]

This is brilliant. :3 I'm glad to see an open-source conference that a) is inclusive of all different sorts of gender identities and sexualities b) isn't 100% dominated by cis straight men and c) pays attention to the needs of people with different dietary or communication needs. (This makes me happy especially as I've seen so much fail in the open-source community regarding the inclusion of anyone who's not a cis straight man, which is really dangerous as the open-source community is one of those places where inclusion can fit perfectly into its ethos.)

[shehasathree]

+1

[dreamfracture.insanejournal.com]

4. The con lanyards for badges, which are colour-coded according to your preferences in terms of being included in photographs ("no", "ask me first", "yes").

Oh. Ohh, that's clever. It means if anyone with a nope-coloured lanyard shows up in a photograph, there's no question that the photographer is in trouble. I approve.

[quirkytizzy]

This is so awesome to read. My friends lists have been littered with news about cons that are Horrible and Not Safe spaces, so this is incredibly reassuring. SOMEONE OUT THERE GETS IT. A LOT OF SOMEONES. ENOUGH TO RUN A WHOLE CONVENTION.

[corrvin]

I would think that "men AND those who identify" sounds like you have to bring a friend to use the bathroom?

On my worst "your bladder demands you choose the lesser of two evils" days, I want to swap restroom signs with ones that read "Us" and "Them." Let everyone have a little doubt that they're in the right place.

[highlyeccentric]

What *could* one put on a public bathroom door to indicate 'we expect you to use an inclusive definition'?

Obvs gender-neutral bathrooms evade that question, but given that there are enough people freaked out by the idea of gender-neutral bathrooms that a big building will usually have gender-specific ones as well... I wonder if there's a way to word this?

[kaberett]

Given that it's already written on two lines, i.e.

Men
or those who identify

my preference would be to make the tiny necessary tweak to end up with

Men
those who identify

... to make it clear that the definition of "men" and "women" is fundamentally self-determined.

[quartzpebble]

Or possibly just "Those who identify as women", period. Because cis women also identify as women.

[stormerider]

I think that's the best option of all suggested, yes.

Kab: ISTR that Seattle has either current/pending legislation across the city for non-normative bathrooms. Which is ten kinds of awesome.

[silveradept]

It sounds wonderful, and that other conventions should totally pay attention to what they are doing.

[swaldman]

*deeply impressed*

D'you mind if I link this to the dwcon committee? Probably some useful learning points.

[kaberett]

go for it!