I work for a couple cons as a disability access coordinator – that’s the first thing you need to know. I’m not willing to engage in a dialogue about “what are YOU willing to do about it?” Because I’m already there. I’m already digging into these trenches – I just can’t be the only one. This post, in addition to calling out a gatekeeping tactic, is a request for HELP.
Over the weekend, while I was at Metatopia serving my community, Mary Robinette Kawal posted about accessibility. She said something about ADA compliance that really resonated with me, and I want to push a step further. Mary said:
ADA compliance isn’t about not getting sued, folks.
This is about fans.
And the step I want to take further here is this: It’s not just about fans. It’s about the professionals who work in gaming, who tell SFF stories, and who are just as important and valuable to listen to as their able bodied co-workers in these nerd spheres.
Every con I attend needs to get better – but when a panelist who uses a wheelchair is on the ground while the rest of the panelists are up on a stage? That’s not okay. It changes who can be seen, who can be heard, and who can hear the people they’re speaking with.
But let’s even go a little further – by only seeing ADA accessibility as necessary to not get sued, you’re gatekeeping.
You’re saying that the experiences, and the participation of disabled gamers, storytellers and participants in an industry don’t matter.
Creating spaces where I, and many other creators can’t be is an effective way to make sure that we won’t be heard. Our words don’t matter because we can’t even get in the door.
There are privileges within disability, of course, and one experience differs from another, but there’s one disability that I see cut out of the experience almost every single convention – Hearing privilege.
We don’t have interpreters at most conventions, which means that if a Deaf fan attends a con, they can’t experience the words being shared with an audience. I am hearing impaired, but because of my hearing aid, I have the privilege of being able to communicate (most of the time) with my peers and co-workers. That’s not good enough, though. There are (I’m sure) Deaf horror writers out there, whose thoughts I’d love to get to experience. There are wheelchair using game designers who can’t get up to the top of the stage.
These are gatekeeping tactics, and they have to stop. It’s not as though everyone is saying “Ooh, we don’t want those disabled people here” but it’s a little more insidious than that. It’s “We have to be compliant with ADA, but why bother with anything more than that because they won’t be here.” The ‘they’ meaning disabled people. “We have to be compliant so ‘they’ don’t sue us” is equally problematic.
Stop thinking about the ADA as a thing that makes your life harder and start thinking about it as a way to facilitate new voices, new stories, and new bodies being a part of your community.
We’re noticing that we’re not wanted purely because of the way that we interact with a convention structure. Now I ask the question “is the convention I want to attend disability access friendly” and if it’s not, I choose not to attend or participate. I could force my way in, but why bother going somewhere I’m not wanted? Why bother fighting to be in a place where my entry is barred because there are no elevators? Where I am not seen as an equal panelist because my wheelchair can’t go up stairs? I have the privilege of being able to get in and out of my wheelchair, but not everyone does.
We have to do better by disabled fans, yes. But even more? We need to do better by the people with disabilities who work in our industries, we have to make professional events accessible so that we can be equal participants in our career tracks. We have to do better so that someday, a wheelchair using fantasy writer can wheel up to the stage to get the World Fantasy Award.
I want a future where disability access isn’t seen as a chore, where it’s not something we HAVE to do because we’ll get SUED but as a way to bring more thoughts, experiences, and opinions to the table of our creative endeavours.
Let’s make that future happen sooner or later.
If you want to make your con more inclusive, you can reach out to me. I ask for a badge (and sometimes travel compensation) to hep out. But I also know there are probably people IN YOUR COMMUNITY who are willing and wanting to do that work. I can help you find them.
Inclusivity and accessibility starts by acknowledging that there’s a barrier and then tearing the barrier down.
Next week I will talk about resources like ASL interpreters, and some cost stuff, but let’s start here.
Well written and thought provoking. Thank you for writing this. As an Autistic crip access issues are very important to me.
Would you be interested in writing about access for neurodivergent people? I’m following replies, so just do that if got want to get in contact.
By the way, minor typo near the end – I’m guessing “hep out” was meant to be “help out”.
I am absolutely interested in writing about access for neurodivergent people. I’ll be covering that somewhat in this week’s article.
I don’t know your background or resources, but if you want/need input from me feel free to contact me via my site or through Facebook. My public page is http://www.facebook.com/thecreativelymaladjusted 🙂
I do similar things at the conventions that I volunteer for. I’m usually “Security”, but I do a lot of staff training, as well as helping to ensure that spacing for lines/events/concerts are usable by wheelchairs/service animals/other mobility issues.
One of the things that I’ve noticed is that ASL interpretors are usually provided by the convention center itself, not by the individual conventions. There’s a lot of digging, and it could be made a lot easier to access, but the services are usually available if notice is given that they will be required.
This is something that I have discussed with several of the conventions that I work with, but no satisfactory conclusion has ever been reached; which is incredibly sad/frustrating.
My experience is that interpreters are _expensive_, enough to be a problem for a small and / or start-up event, especially one that doesn’t know if anyone who would use it will be attending.
Do you know of any resources that would make that service – or CART, or something else – easier to provide? Right now, sometimes all we know we can do is reserve some front row seats.
The hotel conventions may have those issues (although even -that- can be handled if advance notice of actual attendance is given), but convention centers are required to provide interpretors to events. Although, again, the requirement must be known in advance. I’ve advised friends to contact the convention directly,to inquire about what steps need to be taken to assure accessibility.
Howdy! I’ve worked on access provision for my local 900-person volunteer-run SF convention, and I knew that we couldn’t pay for interpreters or CART for the first few years. (As a former interpreter myself, I believe it’s important to hire qualified workers.) As we continued to provide access, more and more disabled fans contacted us. Our positive experiences with access—which made the con work better for all members—made budgeting for our department more popular among the coordinating committee. That’s an internal source of funds.
Externally, there may be state or local city/county funds for “supporting the arts” or “Deaf access to the arts.” Sadly arts funding has been slashed, so there may no longer be a contact person. We obtained a grant from our state department for hearing-impaired services in the third year, when we introduced CART, and had 6 hours of interpreter time available. We reserved the CART for the ballroom-size speeches, and everyone liked it a lot, especially the folks who have hearing loss but don’t think of themselves as “disabled.”
The Facebook group Fans for Accessible Conventions includes many interpreters, and they may be able to point you to more resources.
I’m a member of the Fans for Accessible Conventions group!
I am not disabled, not am I a con-goer. None-the-less I found this blog to be very informative because as I read it, my thoughts were about how everything said can be applied to my work as an AV tech for live events. Case in point, the last show I did was a medical conference with NO ADA ramp to the stage, despite the final event being an awards presentation. While there are events I work that do meet or exceed all ADA requirements, they are the exception rather than the norm. Most of the time I have no input or control over how access issues are addressed, but from this point forward I will be much more conscious of what’s being done — or not done.
In 1980 I asked someone how long they had been confined to a wheelchair. His response has stayed with me as poignant reminder that my perception of the world isn’t the only one, or even a correct one.
“I’m not confined to a wheelchair. If I didn’t have the wheelchair, I WOULD be confined to bed.”
Terry
Medical conferences are often the most ableist of them all, given that (many) doctors see disabiities as things to fix, not things to work with. There’s a reason why we term two views of disability as the “medicalized” view and the “socialized” view. It’s not perfect, but it does go a long way to explain how disability is viewed.
The person writing this comment actually *would* like her mental and developmental issues fixed, not “worked with.” The social model doesn’t work for everyone, and I’m tired of the loudest voices against “ableism” claiming that it does.
I think that you should be able to feel how you want to about your body and your disabilities – and I respect how you personally feel about the issues you live with.
That being said, it’s a holiday and I’ve got family here. I’m planning to write a post about this topic in the very near future, and hope you’ll comment if you want to have a discussion.