Some concerns about hc_bingo

[sasha_feather]

Or, Why I'm not participating in hc_bingo / hc_bingo

Here is a list of the h/c (hurt/comfort) cliches used for the cards. Warning: many of these are upsetting and offensive.

Here is the fanlore wiki page for hurt/comfort for anyone unfamiliar with this fan fiction genre.



1. Ableism

Many of these "cliches" listed are real disabilities and problems that affect real people. Many of them are triggering. Many of them are lifelong, difficult issues and many of them are wrapped up in people's identities. The potential for problematic portrayals of disability in this challenge seems especially high. If you are participating, please do your research, and please be respectful. Consider writing from the point of view of the person with the disability, rather than the caretaker. Consider what it's like to have that disability; maybe read some blog posts.

Disabilities, in my experience, are most often not cured but instead lived with. Hurt/comfort stories seem to rely on a trope that love and/or sex can "fix" or greatly resolve the problems created by the disability or traumatic event. I get that this is romantic, but it is not realistic. People live with disabilities on a long-term basis and are people are not magically fixed by relationships. Even "comfort" as is it thought of (physical affection, food, sex, etc) may be unwanted in these situations. People may want to be alone or may not want to be touched.

I also think it's weird to use a disabling event as a catalyst to bring to characters together. What I think might be more interesting? Take two or more characters who are already disabled, give them interesting well-rounded lives and relationships, and have them talk to each other about what their respective disabilities mean to them. Have them care for each other in the same ways that able-bodied people do.

2. Format

The "bingo" format, taken from kink_bingo, levels and equalizes the squares, so that if you are participating, you may find yourself writing stories or making art for the challenge in ways that surprise you. In this case, a bingo card serves to equalize such things as "brain damage", "wings (always there)", "body hatred", and "zombie apocalypse".

Unlike kink_bingo, I cannot find a wiki or other education materials meant to elucidate what the squares mean. These are difficult subjects, and it's a long list of cliches. Making information available about each category doesn't seem to be a priority.

3. Triggers and Warnings

From the FAQ:
"I am triggered by sexual trauma prompts and don't want them on my card. What do I do?
The mods recognize that the nature of a hurt/comfort challenge has potentially triggering content. If you would like a card without sexual trauma based situations, please note that when you sign up so we could give you a card avoiding this area altogether.

"I am triggered by another prompt that isn't listed as sexual trauma. What do I do?
Please either note this in your sign up comment or email the mods. We want to make sure everyone has a good time so we will work with you to make sure any triggering prompts are not on your card.
Besides that, given the specific nature of the prompts, you can look the list of cliches the cards are made from before signing up and veto from one to three cliches that would be triggery/uncomfortable for you to write about, without penalty." (emphasis mine)

Why one to three? You know, maybe the bingo format, or the chosen prompts, just doesn't work that well for this challenge.

From the rules post:
"14. Even if it is in the prompt you are still required to warn for rape/non-con, dub-con, incest, character death/suicide, or graphic self-harm. The other warnings are left to your discretion, though we do encourage you to warn as fully as it's possible."

I understand that there is not currently a fandom-wide warnings policy, but this rather light warnings policy, especially given the nature of the prompt, leaves a lot of readers in the cold.

---

Comments not needed in my blog:
"You shouldn't be offended"
"Stop harshing our squee"



Important ETAs

The hc_mods are revising their trigger and warnings policies and have said they will be hosting an open discussion about prompts for their next round.

Please also see damned_colonial's post on this subject.

Comments

[were_duck]

This makes me want to get onto that disability ficathon we were talking about way back when. Hopping in to say, yes, I was thinking the same thing! We should get on that this summer if possible.

<3

[jackandahat]

Now I'm trying to think of characters with canon disabilities that I could pull into fic (I have done RPS involving someone who was a cane-user at the time, though that was semi-short-term)

*ponders* *Cogs turning*

[kaz]

It's surprisingly difficult, isn't it? at least for me, that is. I think one of the problems is that there simply aren't that many canon chars with disabilities and I can't really identify/am terrified I'll screw up when it comes to newly acquired ones (being a since-birth/learning to talk disabled girl myself and therefore not being able to empathise that much with acquiring a new disability). Although thankfully my current canon (X-men) has some disabled chars. And I've been playing with blind!Scott fics and aus in my head for ages.

Maybe there's room for something like what people are doing wrt race over on dark_agenda - writing a CND char as always having had a some disability and seeing how it would affect canon.

*brainstorms*

[jackandahat]

I'm sort-of both ways - my hearing issue isn't from birth but I was five, so I don't really remember having full hearing, but my mobility issue is a teen-onwards thing. But I know what you mean, I keep thinking about other disabilities and going "What if I screw it up?"

The character I wrote had a badly damaged knee and a few surgeries, so there were crutches for a few months, then cane-using for several more, and he was trying to navigate kink (as a sub) without being able to kneel or use that leg. It was interesting to look at what challenges he faced in that role, with that. The main focus was the sex, but obviously, he had to deal in order to get to the sex.

But yeah. I keep joking/complaining that as a cane-using man, the sole person who looks like me on TV... is House. And I don't want to write him, I want to smack him with a kipper! (Then we temporarily had Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. He was cool and I coveted his cane.)

[cantarina]

Maybe there's room for something like what people are doing wrt race over on dark_agenda - writing a CND char as always having had a some disability and seeing how it would affect canon.
Can I throw my support and enthusiasm behind this idea? I signed up for hc_bingo because I create better with structure with the intent of writing as ethically as possible, despite reservations about the whole affair. I'd sign-up for something like this in a heartbeat.

[kaz]

I shall be awayish for pretty much all of August (am using a conference halfway across the world as an excuse to stay there on holiday) but will probably be online irregularly even then and anytime else is okay with me