Just over a week after C2E2 and here we are – the full video of our “Glass Ceilings, Missing Stairs & Gatekeepers: Geeks Still Deal With Sexism” panel from Saturday, April 26, 2014.* The video is broken into five parts, so it’s been uploaded as a playlist on Geek Melange’s YouTube channel:
I’m still stunned, and happily so, by all the support and positive reception our panel generated. The line snaked around the corner, down to the escalators and had to be broken into two in order to accommodate everyone. The rooms were considerably larger than last year, and there still wasn’t room enough for everyone who wanted to attend!
The energy and enthusiasm we felt this year only makes us that much more determined and excited for next year, and we can’t wait for C2E2 2015. In fact, sixty minutes is far too short a time to tackle all the things that we’d originally planned, so if we’re lucky, perhaps we’ll be able to continue the discussion at another con, such as Wizard World Chicago, later this year.
I’m extraordinarily proud of the kind of discussion we’ve been able to bring to C2E2 for three years running now, and that every year we’re able to improve and progress our panel topics and ability to talk about geeks, sexism, representation and diversity. I’m beyond lucky to have met and become friends with these amazing women, without whom these panels would not have been possible. I loved everything about this panel, but a favorite moment would definitely have to be Isabel’s opening address, which in my humble opinion, was essential to setting the right tone for the discussion and is now the gold standard for our future panels.
So a heartfelt thanks to Sooshe Bot, Laura Koroski, Carlye Frank, Kate Lansky, Dawn Xiana Moon, Isabel Schecther, and Erin Tipton for another round of stellar work. I’m so honored to have the pleasure of working with you all and I can’t wait to see what we’ll do next! And thanks to my husband, Jesse Lex, for running the video camera (courtesy of Thomas Glen of Valor Con), which turned out to be rather perilous since the tripod decided to attack him when the panel was over.
And last but not least, thank you to everyone who made the time in their C2E2 schedules to come to our panel – if you weren’t able to make it in, we still thank you, and hope you enjoy the video. It means more than I can say to see how many people are interested in being a part of these discussions and promoting them at conventions like C2E2. I hope that we were able to give you useful information and tools to take back to your own spaces and apply in your own communities.
Stay tuned – footage from our other panel, “Opening the Clubhouse Doors: Creating More Inclusive Geek Communities” will be up in a few days as well. Once both panel videos are posted, I’ll have my final thoughts on C2E2 post up shortly thereafter.
*Content note: I fully intend to update this post with a full transcript as soon as possible. I apologize for not having one immediately available and appreciate your patience.
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