Thread by @grierja

Long thread coming, but I'd really appreciate a read!
Careers, Conferences, Diversity, Disability, Names, and I Could Really Go On and On ...

Thread

#lpsc2021 @LPItoday @AAS_Office @planetarysci @AGUPlanetary @DPSCommittee

LPSC folx - So as noted, there has been an ongoing issue with names and how they are appearing in spaces such as the iposter, vfair, program, etc. I’d like to offer insight here - for people who can’t figure out why this is such a big deal - as to why this is such a big deal.

Things like having your name messed up fall into the range from mistake-to-negligence-to-discrimination, or maybe all three. For those who experience this seldom, they chalk it up to a mistake and forget it, even if it really is rooted in discrimination of some kind.

But for others, it happens constantly, and it is a distinct marker for how they as people are viewed as out-of-the-norm, different, inconvenient and “causing problems.” Our systems in STEM are designed around norms for white abled cis-men.

Others will encounter issues of varying degrees, reflecting how much the system does not want them. With the addition of every way you do not match the “ideal” for which the system was built, your pain and material damage from even small issues is exponentially magnified.

As for the names - the LPI database was clearly not originally designed to handle anything but anglo-cis-normative names. It also appears that the means to use it, or backups of it, have not been vetted. So old names are appearing and re-appearing after being fixed.

These issues are not just and LPI issue; this happens everywhere, all the time. This is why I've tagged a bunch of orgs in the first tweet. So don't just look at them while reading, look at your org and yourself.

So first of all this can affect people who have changed their names due to marital status changes, almost always women. But at least the system does *accept* their names as valid. It’s another issue entirely for people who do not have ‘normative’ English or anglo names.

In these names the structure (spaces, etc.) or the letters (accents, diacriticals, etc.) are being rejected by the database entirely. Some people’s names have been chopped in half.

We are an increasingly international field, as more and more countries become adept at exploration technology. There are multiple missions in space right now by nations that do not use the English alphabet.

All of these people experience pain and material damage from having to deal with ‘little’ issues like this over and over. Time taken away from doing the science/papers which are improperly viewed as our only means of demonstrating success to get tenure, grants, promotion etc.

This is part of the “diversity tax.” If you are different, it is harder to reach the benchmarks. How far you differ from the ideal white-abled-cis-man increases your burdens non-linearly.

The issue with names falls disproportionately on trans people. Here is why, and note that trans folx are not a monolith any more than any other group.

For trans people, their previous name is not an ‘old’ name - it is their ‘deadname.'

Trans people die younger than other demographics (black trans women have a life expectancy of 35 years). They often live lives being shunned or unaccepted by family. Family that hover like vultures, just waiting for a chance to dive in and re-write history.

Not hyperbole.

Knowing they will likely die first, many trans people rightly dread that their gravestone will bear their old name, a name that symbolizes what society wants, not what they want. Society does not want THEM as people, as humans, and their lives are subject to utter erasure.

Even when people have legally changed their names, family have tremendous control over what ends up on a gravestone, and how a name is referenced in media reports. We as trans people will not be there to stop it.

It is adding the ultimate insult to the ultimate injury.

“Deadname” isn’t ‘hey that’s my old name’ - “Deadname” is “You are just waiting for me to turn away for one moment, even to die, so you can write me invisible for all time.”

So when deadnames appear they are not a nuisance to trans people, they are anguish. We cannot do science or write papers while in anguish. Diversity tax. An issue with names serves to promote abled-white-cis-men, even if those men do not want it to.

I cannot compete with that demographic at the same level, I must either expend much, much more of myself to seem equivalent, probably damaging my health, or I choose to back off, sacrificing promotions, h-number, grants, and you name it. Watching my dreams go down the crapper.

And also, I am DISABLED. So multiply everything above by an order of magnitude. And yet here I am, doing science, education, outreach, diversity facilitation, and much more. The cost is impossible to convey or describe. And I am WHITE.

THIS is why we cannot retain racial diversity in STEM. Every ‘little’ thing that happens shows them how the whole thing is not structured for them. DOES NOT WANT THEM. It never ends. Massive struggle on a daily basis.

It continues because the ‘ideal demographic’ reaps the benefits they designed into the system for that purpose. And complexities abound - being white, I also do benefit in some ways from this system, myself. How else could I take the risk of even writing a thread like this?

These thoughts are not at all new. Black, Indigenous, disabled, lgbt, etc. have said it all before.

There are three ways to respond, depending on your moral compass.

These responses are for those who benefit from these systems, and are reductive - this is Twitter after all and wow my pontifications are mighty long ...

#1 You are already an informed ally trying to the right thing. This is awesome, but we see how you(and I) haven't succeeded in change. Go to your peers, other white-abled-cis-men, and hold them accountable. I can't fix this myself alone, but I know where to look for solutions.

#2 You had no idea, and are either understanding now with this thread, or have just been approached by someone from group #1 etc. Resist the urge to be defensive, to insist that you are a good person. Get on board with group #1 and you'll demonstrate that through action.

Fortunately a small group, but very powerful is

#3 Evil bastards. These people only read this thread to learn how to be better predators. They collect allies, especially a few marginalized folx, just as they collect victims. They are profiting, they know it, and they love it.

Again, this is not hyperbole. And do note that EVIL IS NOT A MENTAL ILLNESS. Ahem.

We cannot change these people. Put your energy in with either group #1 or moving people from group #2 to group #1.

It is our job to remove group #3 from our spaces.

How we do that is another thread for another time. If you are a marginalized person, or in #1 or #2 or any combination thereof, I'd be happy to engage with you about this. If you are #3 here to make trouble, well, you'll make that clear soon enough ...

Thank you so much for reading. So much. If you are an ally and have the spoons/feel safe, please retweet the thread. Also I myself being along a marginalized axis or three would appreciate some moral support :)

#diversity #STEM #disability