My thoughts on the marginalization issue

[Taking off from this discussion, which is mostly based on the talk at the Taboan: The Philippine International Writers Festival 2009. Charles has made recordings of some of the discussions and linked to them here.]

I am grateful – immeasurably grateful – to the local speculative fiction movement because it gives more avenues for speculative fiction in the country, and promotes local talent more than they have ever been promoted in the past. Hell, our realist fiction never had this much air time on the Web, even the most deserving ones!

But there are some things the speculative fiction movement is saying that I don’t find myself fully subscribing to.

As someone who loves science fiction and fantasy, who has seen her English-language speculative work published in local magazines, I have no problem with speculative fiction being billed as “off the mainstream.” I DO have a problem with agreeing that it’s being “marginalized,” because there seems to be a confusion of terms.

Does being “off the mainstream” already mean you’re marginalized? Not in my book because hey, speculative fiction has been published in the country. You have the freedom to independently publish whatever you want and set your own standards for the genre. You can even join our major literary contests and win, if you happen to meet the judges’ criteria!

(Guys, Greg Brillantes is an awesome writer, but he wasn’t the ancestor of written spec fic in the country; we’ve had it since forever in mainstream non-English publications like pulp collections and local-language magazines, mostly in the form of horror and fantasy. Also, there are no grounds to say his work was “marginalized” – “The Distance to Andromeda” received awards and has been recognized as one of the finest literary works in the nation’s history. [Edit: Some other works have received a similar distinction, e.g. Rosario Cruz-Lucero’s “The Oracle of the One-Eyed Coconut”, which won the Free Press literary award in 2003, as shared by kristel in this post.] The way our literary contests and publication trends are carrying on, it’s definitely not impossible for another work of speculative fiction to attain this status, as long as it meets our literary judges’ criteria for good literature.)

In my book, “marginalized” means exclusion. It means never having a shot. It means being shunned, discriminated against and relegated to a level that makes it impossible to catch up with the Joneses. It’s definitely NOT a term I would apply to local speculative fiction, and to be quite honest the way it’s being thrown around sometimes, it sounds like a catchphrase meant to gain sympathy when none is deserved.

Simply put, “off the margin” =/= “marginalized”.

Here’s what I’m presenting. By calling yourselves “marginalized,” your movement appears dead set on billing “realist fiction” and the literary standards of the country as anti-speculative fiction. I don’t subscribe to this, and I don’t believe it’s a healthy, productive image to promote. It feels a lot like destroying something just to build yourselves up. And frankly, as Philippine fiction has mostly been cloistered (read: unknown to international publishers) it’s an easy target. You can say anything you want about it and international readers will take your word for it.

We’re struggling to get published and recognized, locally and internationally. All of us, no matter the genre. We’re all struggling to get read. So if you aim to step on other people’s efforts (yes, this includes realism – it counts even if it’s “mainstream”) just to get noticed, please don’t be surprised if you get attacked.

I listened to Charles’ recording of the third day of the Taboan discussions (thanks for that BTW. You do us all a great service) and I felt like I understood what Dean meant when he said something like he was on the fence about whether or not they want to be accepted. Filipinos are world-class writers: I have always believed this. And as an editor, you receive all these awesome stories and get frustrated because they aren’t read, they aren’t granted any awards, and they don’t even get noticed on the shelves!

But you don’t need to be mainstream or to be celebrated by the literary elite just to be widely read. Or even to change the world. So why demand it? Why force things just to make room for yourself, if it’s not necessary?

Here’s my take on that. Spec fic in the west started off as “off the margin.” It was published for and by sexist white dudes who liked wanking off to stories about exotic alien chicks or princesses locked in dungeons or girls who needed rescuing from mad scientists. The genre evolved over the years into works worthy of true literary merit, and how the world thinks and feels about genre fiction and the future has been shaped by these works. Classics like the Lord of the Rings, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The War of the Worlds, and Harry Potter changed the world even without clamoring to be “legitimate.” They simply existed, they were simply read.

They did not deny their roots, though in this era of political correctness and open-mindedness, most of it would fall under “dirty laundry.” Stories that included 50-foot women and amazons from Mars and at the same time ignored intellectual heroines and characters of color are part of their traditions. Such stories were not brushed aside as “mainstream” or even “lowbrow” even when better alternatives existed – they are part of their literary traditions, after all.

Moreover, these revolutionary works coexisted quite peacefully with fiction that would be called “realist,” like The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Godfather, which were also massively important in the big scheme of things.

So to Mr. Dean Alfar and the rest – please don’t stop writing. Just write, just get read, just keep publishing, and help our ailing literature grow, give it room to breathe.

You are all awesome people and magnificent writers. But for God’s sake, don’t build yourselves up to be something you’re not. And if there’s anything you’re not, it’s oppressed, especially not now.