gynaecon organising person here. I think you are exactly right about it being difficult to walk into a session, that it seems cliquey -probably because it is! Of course, this was never our intention but has happened. The toilet door advertising started for 2 reasons: to honour the women who had gone before us and because we weren't sure that our advertising wouldn't be torn down. We always try to put the posters up on the male doors, too, but I don't know many men see them. Generally, the person whose idea it was for an event makes up a poster, grabs a few friends ad puts them up wherever they can find space - some people used the lifts to advertise last year. It's hard to advertise beforehand because people don't usually decide when to hold the items until they see the programme at the con, so that they don't miss out on something they want to see/attend.
Men are more than welcome to any panels; we have had one where they weren't - it was a women's health session and many women said they'd feel awkward with men there. That said, I am sure some men may find it intimidating to walk into a room full of women and not be sure they are welcome (just like many women I know used to feel about walking into panels full of men, but no-one worried about that).
We are trying to become more 'mainstream' with asking for space on the main programme as well. Hopefully,this will make people feel happier to take part.
As for whether gynaecon is past its use by date, I think the answer is 'No'. I honestly believe that without it, discussions of social justice issues would not appear on the programme or the impetus for them to appear would be quickly lost. I also know that many people feel very vulnerable speaking about the issues that affect them personally - they have seen how other people have been shot down and attacked when discussing race; sexuality and gender identity gynaecon has given these people a safe space to speak.
In the end, though, gynaecon is just a bunch of people with ideas who want talk about a few things that interest them. There is nothing official or formal about it. It is a very ad hoc group and process. I know that I'd love to see more people take up their own banners and fly them: we were and are nothing special. All we did was have an idea and follow it through - and what we found was a lot of women who had subjects they wanted to discuss that had been rejected by programmers or that they didn't feel belonged on the main programme, for whatever reason.
gynaecon is specifically feminist in nature - but there are many different versions of feminism in it. I'd hate to see it lose that because I honestly believe that the fight has NOT been won.
There is no committee or membership of gynaecon; there's just generally a group of women who talk about things and then make it all up at the last moment. I know my litmus test for its success was for the day when I'd see a session being run by someone I didn't know about something that interested them - that they'd taken the idea and used it for their interests. I'd hate the name to be appropriated for something that would damage people, though.
As there is no formal 'gynaecon' group, it's hard for me to say whether anyone would not wlecome trans people and discussion of their issues, but I believe I can say that everyone I know that is involved would welcome trans people and discussion of their ideas, issues and experiences with enthusiasm and open arms. I also would hope that no-one who was trans would feel as though they were expected to 'represent' those issues. One of the ideas of gynaecon is that it's okay to sit and listen - no-one should be forced to do anything they don't want to.
Next Swancon is gynaecon's 10th anniversary and I think those of us who were there at the start are probably amazed that its still going; many of the 'original' group have stepped back and much to our delight others have stepped in. I suppose my 'message'is this - if you think you aren't afforded a space at Swancon, then take it upon yourself to grab some; try to get others involved because there's safety and courage in numbers and GO FOR IT. If you want to be associated with gynaecon then just ask. If you think gynaecon has gaps that you'd like to fill then please offer; you'll probably find some one who is also interested or who will at the least hold you hand when you take that scary step of putting yourself on the line. We all love admitting we know nothing about a subject and learning anew.
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Men are more than welcome to any panels; we have had one where they weren't - it was a women's health session and many women said they'd feel awkward with men there.
That said, I am sure some men may find it intimidating to walk into a room full of women and not be sure they are welcome (just like many women I know used to feel about walking into panels full of men, but no-one worried about that).
We are trying to become more 'mainstream' with asking for space on the main programme as well. Hopefully,this will make people feel happier to take part.
As for whether gynaecon is past its use by date, I think the answer is 'No'. I honestly believe that without it, discussions of social justice issues would not appear on the programme or the impetus for them to appear would be quickly lost. I also know that many people feel very vulnerable speaking about the issues that affect them personally - they have seen how other people have been shot down and attacked when discussing race; sexuality and gender identity gynaecon has given these people a safe space to speak.
In the end, though, gynaecon is just a bunch of people with ideas who want talk about a few things that interest them. There is nothing official or formal about it. It is a very ad hoc group and process. I know that I'd love to see more people take up their own banners and fly them: we were and are nothing special. All we did was have an idea and follow it through - and what we found was a lot of women who had subjects they wanted to discuss that had been rejected by programmers or that they didn't feel belonged on the main programme, for whatever reason.
gynaecon is specifically feminist in nature - but there are many different versions of feminism in it. I'd hate to see it lose that because I honestly believe that the fight has NOT been won.
There is no committee or membership of gynaecon; there's just generally a group of women who talk about things and then make it all up at the last moment. I know my litmus test for its success was for the day when I'd see a session being run by someone I didn't know about something that interested them - that they'd taken the idea and used it for their interests. I'd hate the name to be appropriated for something that would damage people, though.
As there is no formal 'gynaecon' group, it's hard for me to say whether anyone would not wlecome trans people and discussion of their issues, but I believe I can say that everyone I know that is involved would welcome trans people and discussion of their ideas, issues and experiences with enthusiasm and open arms. I also would hope that no-one who was trans would feel as though they were expected to 'represent' those issues. One of the ideas of gynaecon is that it's okay to sit and listen - no-one should be forced to do anything they don't want to.
Next Swancon is gynaecon's 10th anniversary and I think those of us who were there at the start are probably amazed that its still going; many of the 'original' group have stepped back and much to our delight others have stepped in. I suppose my 'message'is this - if you think you aren't afforded a space at Swancon, then take it upon yourself to grab some; try to get others involved because there's safety and courage in numbers and GO FOR IT. If you want to be associated with gynaecon then just ask. If you think gynaecon has gaps that you'd like to fill then please offer; you'll probably find some one who is also interested or who will at the least hold you hand when you take that scary step of putting yourself on the line. We all love admitting we know nothing about a subject and learning anew.
gynaecon has an lj http://community.livejournal.com/gynaecon/profile
contact us there if you would like.