Recently TV comedienne and late-night host Samantha Bee
conducted a special retrospective on the #MeToo movement
on her August 22 Full Frontal show on TBS. She allowed as how some think the movement seems
to be dying down, as evidenced by the failure to hold those exposed for sexual
misconduct and/or workplace harassment accountable (for example, CBS CEO Les
Moonves), or even rehiring them (for example, Chris Hardwick on NBC).
When I started blogging as The Well-Rounded Geek around
2009, I wrote a series on how to mentor women and minorities in the sciences
and technology, even suggesting that they should be given a place at the table
at meetings and encouraged to contribute their ideas without constant
interruptions. I thought perhaps one day I'd turn that into a book. Those old blogs are still there (viz. "I Am Woman, Hear Me Geek").
But then I retired from the dog-eat-dog world of software
engineering and became a science fiction short story anthologist, starting my
company, Third Flatiron Publishing. I've been at that for over six years now.
It's still dog-eat-dog, but in a different way.
In case you're worried about where this is heading, no, I'm
not quitting yet. But I am discouraged by the news about women in the
workplace. Haven't we been through this in the 70s, and again in the 90s with
Anita Hill? Wasn't Hillary Clinton the best qualified candidate in the 2016
presidential election?
On a few occasions, Third Flatiron's anthologies have been
praised by reviewers for avoiding politics. For the fall/winter book, we will
be running a story that's definitely "political," entitled, "Me
Too, Medusa," by Canadian author and academic Evelyn Deshane. Though
clothed in the trappings of mythology, the story points out admirably that
"Me Too" isn't a new problem. They've been talking about it for
millennia.
The new anthology, Terra! Tara! Terror! is available for pre-order on Amazon, with official release date on September 30.
The new anthology, Terra! Tara! Terror! is available for pre-order on Amazon, with official release date on September 30.
Ladies (and gentlemen too): Don't let them tell you to shut
up, or that it's all over with. Get out there and vote--tell 'em what you want.
Signed,
Gorgon in Chief
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