The Power of Stories in Local Politics (They're Stronger Than You Think)

[renay]

I debated writing about this here because although I don't shy away from talking about politics on Lady Business, it's more for the politics as they relate to books, TV, film, other media, and culture. But given the rise of transphobia and the ongoing harassment of marginalized authors/fans in the book community/fandom, the ongoing attacks against the trans community by newspaper critics, government bodies, and fascists, I thought: this is relevant because media is created in this environment. This is the society in which art is made and consumed. This is the world where people will build stories about marginalized communities that can lead to us gaining more rights, being understood and treated with compassion, or being targeted with bigoted laws.

Let me introduce a very hyper local controversy in rural northeast Arkansas. ( Read more... )