June… happened hard.

To be entirely honest here, June was probably the busiest I’ve been aside from the first two weeks of January where I was documenting the racism Rey/Kylo fans were slinging John Boyega’s way. June was ALSO (I mean, like January) a very racist month. I mean, my god, I basically didn’t get to do what I wanted to do with my site content because I had to deal with the fact that racists in fandom haven’t figured out that they can just ignore me instead of shit talking and slandering me endlessly.

And I’m trying to work as much as I can because again, I’m basically my family’s breadwinner and that is… a lot, so my hierarchy of writing (and reading) goes a little something like Day Job > (Freelance if I Can Get It >) Patreon > Website.

July is already looking like it’ll be busy, but I’ve whipped out my Happy Planner for the first time in about two months and I plan to get shit done – barring a hurricane or a massive terrible political moment, of course.

But I’m trying, y’all.

June is going to be a Catch-Up month for my website at the very least. Dealing with the racism I described in “Antiblackness in (Service of) the Archive: A Statement” took way more out of me than I expected. So much of my energy went to dealing with the fact that people, when faced with the fact that I can and have provided proof of years of fandom’s racism, decide that they’re going to be incredibly cruel and downright racist towards me.

Because that’s how you’re supposed to handle that, I guess.

But as Toni Morrison said:

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.”

I spent too much of June explaining why I did what I did and why the reaction to it from folks invested in whiteness (and frankly, white supremacy) in fandom was fucked up. I already write about racism in fandom. I didn’t need to let those distractions – the lies, the “I don’t know Stitch, but here’s what I know about Stitch” weirdos, the tweets and quotes taken out of context on purpose – derail my actual work. They make it harder for y’all to follow what I’m writing and working on.

I’m going to do my best to keep these folks’ derailing from launching me off the tracks.

Wish me luck!

So far, here’s what I’ve got planned for July:

Website:

• Fandom Racism 101:  The Widening Empathy Gap – We were supposed to do “Size Matters” and I will return to my perpetual pet peeve about how racist size difference is used in so many fandoms, but I think right now it’s important to talk about the empathy gap in fandom when it comes to Black characters, performers, and fans because we’re seeing it play out in real time once more.
• Room for Criticism In Fandom, Or Nah – I’ve been stalled on researching for this, but the second I can I will be diving back into this because the refusal to make room for criticism of fandom from people in fandom is actually quite timely.
• WFRLL (K-Pop) Authenticity Essay: Video Vixens, Mommae and Male Rappers’ Misogyny   – I’ve got a lot to write for this series still (somehow, I’m so sorry) but I’ve been watching a lot of Korean hip hop and I have thoughts about how one of the issues of authenticity across everyone trying to be a “real” rapper is… all the damn misogyny. And y’all know I can’t go for long without roasting Jay Park for something so…
• Dominion ARC Review – Reading for fun is hard but y’all, I’m so excited to get back into the swing of things. So Expect this… soon.
• Savage Legion Review (and possible giveaway!) for June 16th  – Speaking of reading for fun, I’m ready to wow y’all with a review Matt Wallace’s Savage Legion as part of the launch tour! And if I can swing it, I’ll be doing a giveaway for y’all!
• LIVE! Boozy Movie Watch-along w/ Stitch (Stitch’s Media Mix) on June 11th  7:00 PM EST – Before we get the book review though, we’re going to be doing some live movie watching with Matt!  Think public domain (ish) horror at its best… or worst, depending on your threshold for Nonsense)
• Maybe a YouTube video? Who knows?? – Please make some suggestions if you’ve got something you want to see!

Patreon:

• Repost Hire The Stitch
• WIP Post – Aching for Authenticity (KPOP Project)
• Audio Backlog –  Fannish Entitlement and Rey/Kylo Fans
• Photo Essay/Image Post: BLM, Idols, and Personal Responsibility
• Finished Draft: Either Part 6 of The Hollows Reread or What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Not Your Pick Me POC
• Unexclusive Audio: Stormtroopers, Sith and The Empathy Gap
• Exclusive Audio: “Black American Privilege” (Narrated)
• Fiction/Poetry: A Walk At 12:03 AM – I promised myself queer horror on Patreon and well… it’s happening

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I’ll also be trying to answer emails and comments more (I know that we’re already into the first weekend of July and I have done NONE OF THAT, but I promise it’s on my agenda). Everything’s tough but I’m trying my best. I’ll try even harder than that, really!

Thank you for another month of support and for sticking with me as I try to figure out what the heck is going on in my life and in this world!

❤