I wasn't aware I was affirming their guidelines by existingWe seek to bring under-represented voices and narratives into the public eye by focusing on authors and poets who do not embody the majority of the publishing industry. ... The Polychrome Ink Literary Magazine will feature a collection of (works) from writers whose work—or they themselves—affirm our guidelines.
This creeps me out for some reason. Multiple minority? We know your marginalised status means you'll automatically be really sensitive and accurate about writing all sorts of diverse stories, even if those involve identities you don't actually have! Privileged human? You'd better be good.Note: We do accept submissions by white, cisgender, heterosexual, neurotypical, able-bodied individuals that portray exemplary displays of diversity.
This is fetishising and tokenistic and weirdBased on trigger warnings, diversity markers, and genre, each piece will be passed on to the most suitable editor(s).
I am none of those things (other than abled) and this creeps me out. Are they publishing a literary magazine or a political blog?We live in a largely phobic world; where the basis of decisions are chosen, in part, by people whose beliefs belong to a series of -ists and phobias ... We end up with the main perspective belonging to White-Cis-Neurotypical-Abled-Heterosexual America
Also their staff bios actually have a field for "diversity points". POINTS. It looks like a list of all their mental illnesses, including things like social anxiety, depression and OCD that suck and need to be gone, not 'affirmed' as part of one's identity and self-acceptance, which is incredibly offensive. Look at this guy:
Aaron
Age: 24
Cultural Identity: White Canadian • French & Jewish
Gender Identity: Demiboy • DMAB • He/Him
Sexual Orientation: Gay
Other Diversity Points: ADHD • Dysthymia
I'm generally in favour of affirmative action, but I keep encountering things like these which make me question my stance. I recently made a sale to such a magazine and I was initially elated because it's a prestigious magazine and I thought it meant I was finally good enough as a writer to be published within its hallowed pages among famous names I actually recognised. Then I found a tweet from its then-editor that said she was specifically looking to feature writers of marginalised populations, and my ego deflated. my name and address were a giveaway that I'm neither white nor American; the actual piece had LGBT themes, and I don't know how much actual talent factored in the final decision. it makes me angry that I can no longer use this sale as an accurate gauge of my skill. or that editors are going to see my name and judge me on a different standard, either stricter or looser, when all I want is to be held to the same standards as any white guy who tries to get published. instead it's discrimination and affirmative action repeatedly cancelling each other out, and I'll rarely get a chance at a fair appraisal. it sucks. I wish more of them did blind judging.
...at least I get $40.