In the hands of the biggest media corporations, the term 'diversity' has become a poison pill. A way to silo and minimize the contributions of the historically marginalized. There are *real* books and 'diverse' books, which you can safely ignore. At conferences, real panels and 'diverse' panels. Etc
Scholastic asks, "Do you want to opt out of 'diverse' books at your school's next book fair?" Your participation in white supremacy has never been easier, just uncheck the 'diverse' books box– poof, no problems. 🙄
Scholastic has been accused of bending to right-wing pressure, making having diverse books optional for school book fairs.
I was absolutely reassured by my editorial team at Scholastic that this was NOT happening - clearly something I have to revisit with them asap
Instead of tackling the lack of diversity as a system-wide issue, they've tacked it on as an additional, expendable category. Science, math, the arts, and diversity. Poetry, prose, graphic arts, and diversity.
YES! this is one of the reasons why, years ago, I started refusing to do on "women in [whatever]" panels.
Which also means artists traditionally not defined as "diverse" need to be thoughtful and deliberate in including diverse elements into their work. Thwart the definition.
This is awful. Yet another way to marginalize already marginalized authors
If these allegations are true, non-racist school districts should immediately cancel all Scholastic book fairs, and the DOJ should investigate.
I suspect that media corps will only chase inclusion and engaging a varied audiences once it’s clearly in their interest to do so. The more localized their target audience, the more cynical they can be. Whereas if you’re trying to hit big in the Philippines (say), you need more authenticity.
Do we have any idea who is defining "diverse"?
It's INFURIATING.