The Women of Transmedia
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 6:24AM
For a long while, I've been concerned about sexism in transmedia, and not just because of the brunette problem. Last year, in the same private discussion that the Transmedia Artists Guild sprang out of, I confessed that I felt like we women who create are generally considered the B-list. We do the work too, but don't get quite the same level of press or attention for it. It's a hard thing to talk about, though, because it's really easy to come off as sort of whiny about it, and nobody wants sort-of-whiny to be their professional face.
And then, yesterday, the StoryWorld conference announced their panel of advisors. And as easy as that, I'm finally moved to address this in a public venue.
It's a list I wouldn't disagree with on other grounds -- in fact, it's a pretty great list. There's certainly a lot of star power represented there. On the other hand... the teams I've been on have been pretty evenly split between men and women. There's no good reason there should be only two women and eleven men on that board. (And indeed, one of the two women, Alison Norrington, is on there by virtue of being the one organizing the conference.)
It might not matter so much; this is, after all, only one conference. But I've seen a number of similar lists in recent months, with a similar gender split, and it won't change if we don't talk about it.
If you're reading this blog at all, it's likely you agree that sexism is bad, mmkay? And I am absolutely not accusing StoryWorld (or anyone else!) of any sort of intentional setting-out-to-exclude-women. But here's the horrible, insidious thing: Sexism isn't always deliberate. And indeed, sometimes the people who have done something a little sexist would be horrified if they thought to look at it in that light.
Because we swim in a sexist society, men more easily fit into our mental category of "important thought leaders." Indeed, if you try to think up a bunch of "important people," I'd be shocked if you didn't come up with, say, Barack Obama and Steve Jobs. I'd be very surprised indeed if your initial list included powerful women like Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. Over time this kind of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy -- it's tremendously harder to become an important person if you don't fit the image. And there we have the perpetuation of sexism in one ugly, totally-not-on-purpose tangle.
Even me, who talks about sexism all the day long? I have to work really hard not to think that way. If you ask me to name the top people in transmedia, I'm going to start off with the same Mike Monello, Jeff Gomez, Henry Jenkins, Ivan Askwith, Elan Lee, Steve Peters, Adrian Hon as everyone else.
The only real remedy is to consciously combat that reflex. And so, for your and my future reference, I'm assembling a list here of smart and talented women in transmedia that you should consider inviting to speak at your event, interviewing in media as transmedia experts, or hiring for consulting work when you need it. Every one of them is or should be a rock star in our field.
Christy Dena - She made it onto the StoryWorld board, and good on her; she's earned it.
Jan Libby - A much-loved indie and commercial creator.
Nina Bargiel - A writer, responsible for Valemont, among other things.
Maureen McHugh - Super-awesome Hugo-award-winning writer, now at Fourth Wall.
Victoria Ha - Savvy businesswoman, producer and partner at Stitch Media.
Haley Moore - Incredibly talented design fiction artist and writer.
Dee Cook, Marie Lamb, Michelle Senderhauf - A seasoned group of creators who started the only woman-owned studio, Dog Tale Media.
Naomi Alderman - Award-winning literary novelist, and lead writer on Perplex City.
Brooke Thompson - A wonderful creator who also put together last year's wildly successful ARGfest.
Caitlin Burns - A producer on the Starlight Runner team, branching out to Jurassic Park Slope.
Sarah Szalavitz - Founder of 7 Robot, a social design agency.
Sara Thacher - A transmedia producer and artist in San Francisco.
Aina Abiodun - A multiplatform creator who founded the NYC Transmedia Meetup.
Krystyn Wells - A game designer and smart cookie who has worked with 42E and No Mimes.
This is a partial list, and I just know I'm going to be leaving off somebody I love and admire in the space. I may be editing to add a few; otherwise, if you're a woman working in transmedia, please comment and let us know you're out there.
Reader Comments (36)
1) demonstrates the disparity between the conversations/activities taking place and what's being reported/acknowledged2) speaks somewhat to how the playing field is somewhat leveled in certain forums i.e. twitter; and how we could possibly use these to point out the glaring disparities
I'm also really glad you brought up (in twitter) about the conversation needs to acknowledge the same disparities for non-white producers. Was going to mention it, but then saw the tweet. :D
I daresay, Jane McGonigal is quite a miss. But then, she might have turned it down due to time constraints or other factors.
Patricia Pizer is a miss, too. She's legendary in her own right as a game designer, but she created and ran Last Call Poker for 42. Also, she recently designed and ran a transmedia event here in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum.
Maria: Jane is doing pretty well for herself and doesn't need any help from *me.* ^_^ I've not heard of Patricia Pizer, though. It's been my understanding that Elan Lee was the creator of Last Call Poker.
While I hear you on many of these points (and to expand a bit on my friend Lina's comment), I think we have a much bigger challenge in transmedia which is to look past sex, clout, title, group, rank or otherwise and align ourselves around what transmedia can really mean to business, media and culture at large. In fact, I would even argue that making claims around sexism in transmedia, whether it is deliberate or not, can be divisive in and of itself.
Again, I don't think we devote enough time or effort in allowing transmedia to become a true mindset that helps liberate our thinking and passions for different art forms. It also seems that various camps (gamers, agencies, production houses, etc.) expend a lot of effort trying to claim ownership over the discipline rather than offering up more perspectives that everyone can benefit from.
Having recently been invited to participate and speak at StoryWorld by Alison Norrington, I know that this is/was her intention.
I hope to meet you when I'm there, as I am a fan of work and your intent.
Best,
Gunther
I have a question though - and it is a genuine one so please don't all shoot me down if I have this wrong too ;( - but is this about 'sexism' in transmedia or 'representation of women' in transmedia? Because I thought that sexism is about discrimination/exclusion BECAUSE of being male/female. This surely isn't THAT, is it?? It might be under-representation or an unbalance, but is it really sexism? Even with no malice or discrimination intended???
I approached the selection of StoryWorld Advisory Council extremely strategically - and yes Christy (and I, through virtue......) are the only two women. My approaches were grounded in the ethos of drawing experts that I hugely respect and have learned massively from over the last 6 years. I also wanted a mix that spanned a global reach (not just west coast USA, despite the San Francisco venue) and a council that came to the transmedia/multi-platform space from a host of different perspectives - education, film, television, gaming, publishing, advertising, etc. I never once considered the m/f demographic as I don't SEE people that way. In the same way that I don't 'see' or consider black/white, old/young, large/small.. but that's just me.
I hugely apologise if I've offended or upset anybody with my choices - I had approached additional Advisory Council members to add to the 12, some of whom declined due to work commitments or a clashing of dates... (both women and men).
I'd like to reinforce that we have accrued a stunning/stellar line up of speakers and presenters for StoryWorld, with the help of the amazing Advisory Council - and, having just taken a quick look at it to check the m/f ratio (!) I can see that it mirrors my strategy for the Advisory Council - a robust mix of writers, producers, consultants, professionals and geniuses - a team that really 'get' the space and are well known and respected.
So I do apologise for my oversight. I connect with and respect people because of who they are and not 'what' they are - I obviously didn't join these dots.Genuine apologies, seriously!
But I do have a few other great ladies to add to the list. Perhaps not all 'transmedia' centric, but certainly smart women who get the multi-platform, interactive, engagement optimisation space....
Nicoletta IacobacciKate PullingerConstance FleuriotHope HutmanBlerime TopalliInga Von StadenRebecca DentonMel Exon - BBH LabsJoanne EvansKatie StretenJess LacettiRachel MordecaiLiz RosenthalClaire Tavernier
My intentions for StoryWorld are 100% pure and genuine and completely rooted in my passion and belief in storyworld, organic storytelling and the bringing together of fabulous writers, content providers, platforms, networks, publishers, directors and producers in a cohesive and unanimous bid to propel the power of storytelling into, and beyond, the 21st Century.
Apologies for any offence caused.
Alison Norrington@storycentral
Note that I'm not accusing *you personally* of setting out to do a sexist thing. I know you haven't, and I am not accusing you of such. My concern is more with the forces at work that result in this: When you try to come up with a list of thought leaders in transmedia, it's almost all male, and almost all white. I could name several other lists over the past year that look stunningly similar to this one in make-up, and it simply isn't a fair representation of the actual people working in the field.
I know you haven't set out to do anything nefarious -- this is what's called "passive sexism." It's a lot harder to fight than the I'm-not-hiring-you-because-you're-a-woman kind, but it's still a problem, because it makes it just that much harder to build a reputation and a career.
When one is preparing a list like this, it's good practice to consider the mix of people you're assembling in several lights. Race and gender are just as important as which industry they've come from.
Note that I feel the same way about story, too -- it's important to make sure the stories you're telling aren't about only white dudes. Nothing against white dudes, I have several close friends who are white dudes, but they aren't the only people who matter.
I am shocked that there aren't more women-led transmedia businesses. Why is that? Are there more women who freelance? Why is that? Do women gravitate more toward non-profit ventures?
(I don't have answers to any of these questions.)
You are asking interesting questions, and I don't know the answers, either. I feel like somebody should do a research paper and find out.
Complain all you want, but know that there are a good number of us - MEN, WOMEN, "MINORITIES", whomever - who are collaborating on providing solutions to the problems that "the industry" perpetuates.
Have a wonderful day.
As an aside, over the past few days, there's been a very long, occasionally fraught, often illuminating conversation on a writer's forum I subscribe to over whether or not a short-story protagonist calling a character a "fat bitch" is reason enough to reject the manuscript. One of the points brought up in the discussion is that too often, when a female character is introduced, she is described in terms of her "sexy bits," without reference to her personality or other characteristics. (Related, of course, to your brunette problem.)
Back to the topic at hand, I'd like to add Evonne Heyning to the list, who co-presented a recent talk at the LA Transmedia Meetup with Nedra on transmedia for non-profits. She's on Twitter as Amoration.
I've been working on building a Twitter list of transmedia types, mostly by combining other peoples' existing lists with Formulists; I'd be happy to put together a list of Women in Transmedia to add to it. I'll see how many of the women noted above I can track down, but if anyone wants to shoot me their suggestions on Twitter (I'm ChiaLynn), feel free.
There are two thoughts that come to mind here. One is to Gunther's point any of us who are theorists, practitioners or producers in transmedia have the opportunity to shape this nascent industry in a positive direction. For that reason, I'm glad Andrea brought up the topic-- and I think a list of influencers in transmedia (men *and* women, for that matter) is a great idea @CHiaLynn. But the question is "now what?" To cite Alison's distinction between sexism and under-representation, I find myself aware of lack of representation of women in a number of fields -- from social innovation to mobile technology to transmedia -- where you see the usual suspects creating a self-referential body of speakers who talk about the same things. (On an unrelated point, , it's very hard to balance working with "conferencing" and speaking -- and this also creates an imbalance in favor of the same people speaking over and over again.) I've been trying to work out with a few colleagues how we break this down-- and I'd be really happy to brainstorm with people about ways to solve this. The one thing that shouldn't happen is to create silos -- which I think was Gunther's and, to some extent, Alison's point -- especially in such a new field. (Beyond the question of women, I've noticed a conflation of transmedia with ARGs and games-- and there's so much more to transmedia than that. Transmedia, also, can be used for so much more, like cultural shift and modes of communication with a number of under-represented communities.) We have the chance to do this right.
(And by the way, to whomever commented that women don't run transmedia companies and go to nonprofits instead-- maybe I misread your comment, so forgive me-- but having run three nonprofits and contributed to building a number of others, I can tell you running a nonprofit *is* running a business.)
Lksriv, part of the point I'm trying to make is that women are NOT under-represented in transmedia. Far from it: I know just as many female creators, and maybe more. Women aren't under-represented in the field at all. Just on advisory boards and lists of thought-leaders or most influential people... like this one.
I choose to freelance in transmedia as well. I've worked mostly in serious ARGs (Ruby's Bequest and EVOKE). http://ineffabelle.com
In fact, at Mind Candy, half the 'story team' were women (including the lead writer), and at Six to Start we've had at least one third of the staff being women. So I don't know what the reason for the imbalance is but I do know that it's not representative of the talent out there, and it's a shame.
Lksriv: Ah, your under-represented comment read as broader in scope than that to me. To unpack my statement a little: The reason I am making a list of women in transmedia, and soliciting more names, is to demonstrate that there is no shortage of qualified industry representatives available for speaking/interviewing/advising. There is under-representation at the conference and mainstream media level, yes, but not at the people-doing-the-work level.
And for moving forward toward change: The first step is identifying the problem, right? The squeaky wheel... So calling attention to the StoryWorld advisory board and suggesting women who might be added to similar rosters in the future is at least a start. Obviously there's a lot more to it.
I would hope that this conversation moves out of the tiny circle of my blog here -- and that it would affect hearts and minds of those soliciting speakers, panelists, interviewees. Ideally this would spur a knock-on effect where everyone consciously examines who they are considering for these roles and branches out to include new and differing voices.
But hey, I'm an idealist.
If anyone has a more concrete suggestion for a way to address it beyond "talking about it very loudly," than I'd be pretty darn gung-ho. I'm not personally in a position to organize conferences. What resources should exist to help conference organizers and journalists build more diverse lists of resources to draw on?
Alison, you may not remember me - we met at an event in Norwich a couple of years ago. I know you're a lovely and thoughtful person. I just have to say - I think "I never once considered the m/f demographic" is the whole problem. That and the fact that it's really not just you, it's a lot of people. Probably most people.
The thing is, as Andrea so eloquently said, there's a status quo already in our brains about what kind of person is a 'thought leader' - a white man. And it's fine, and definitely not our fault, that's the world we grew up in, if we're older than 30 we probably rarely saw a black or Asian person or a woman being a thought leader on TV or in newspapers when we were in our formative years.
But the thing is, I think, it's really crucial to realise that that is our default setting. Just so we can recalibrate for that. I do it all the time in my writing - I create a character who's a scientist, for example. My default image of that is a white middle-aged man in a lab coat, very probably an image formed in early childhood. So when I take an early step back from my skeleton story I try to turn some of those characters around. How about if this scientist guy were from Pakistan? Or how about if it were a scientist gal instead? This is the work of trying to make sure that we don't perpetuate the stereotypes we grew up with.
I don't always get it right. No one does. But I think it's really vital to *consider* the demographics, in all the work we do. Otherwise we're always going with defaults, and nothing ever changes.
For what it's worth, I spoke to one conference organiser who told me "to get equal numbers of men and women on my panels, I have to invite twice as many women, because the women are typically juggling so many different family and career commitments. That's fine. I just invite twice as many women." So this is another reason that 'not thinking about it' is the same as 'not dealing with it'.
"I would even argue that making claims around sexism in transmedia, whether it is deliberate or not, can be divisive in and of itself"
I genuinely can't find another way to read this other than "don't have this conversation, it's bad for the industry." If I squint a lot I guess I can go... maybe you meant "divisive" in a *good way*? Like, encouraging plurality?
But that's not the way the word is usually used, I think. Reading this in an ordinary way, it really sounds like you're saying "claiming that there is sexism is damaging to the industry, even if there is sexism, so don't do it." So maybe you can clarify? If that's not what you meant?