Steampunk Community and Gender Roles

I recently read the article "How Steampunk Screws with Victorian Gender Norms" by Molly Westerman published on the Bitch website.  And I have a response.

The article is well-written and covers a lot of ground.  Although the title and ultimate conclusion of the article is that

 "steampunk can create feminist imaginative spaces by putting curiosity where assumptions used to be. With all its flaws and all the possibilities for racism, sexism, and other isms inherent in steampunk’s embrace of a reimagined nineteenth century, this trip back to what never was can be an illuminating and progressive one—as well as a rollicking good time."

The article itself, however, spends a lot of time dissecting all the ways steampunk can be sexist and touches on the issue of colonialism.  I don't particularly disagree with anything in the article, but it doesn't really reflect my feelings on the steampunk community.

For one thing, I think there is a big difference between steampunk as a literary genre and steampunk as a subculture.  Outsider's articles about steampunk often equate the two things because it's much easier to read a novel than to do an anthropological observation of the culture.   In addition to looking at gender roles in steampunk literature, the author draws on internet sources.  Which, again, can give an incomplete picture of what lived steampunk is actually like.  Internet forums tend to be dominated by the loudest and most talkative participants, who are often objectionable and limited in their views of complicated issues.  (In other words, they can be jerks.)

As always, I can only speak to my own experience in steampunk, based on my interactions with people in my local area.  There are always regional differences in these things, and definitely steampunk styles vary by region.

In asking myself whether steampunk enforces traditional gender roles or not, I have to decide what are the most important aspects of gender roles.  Is it the clothing, the corsets, the long skirts?  If we only look at style and fashion, yes male and female clothing tends to be pretty different in steampunk.

Women tend to wear dresses and skirts and corsets, men tend to wear pants and vests.  But that's hardly a rule.  Lots of steampunk women dress in pants, work clothes, bloomers, vests, and top hats (traditionally a male only style).  The men, as always, have less variation to their style, but many steampunk men enjoy the sumptuous fabrics, lace, rich colors, and other aspects of steampunk clothing that aren't found in modern "masculine" attire because they are considered too effeminate.  It's common for steampunk men to wear kilts and corsets.  (Don't kill me, kilt, people, I know kilts aren't women's clothing, but it's also a deviation from "normal".)

Moreover, steampunk brings out an enthusiasm for fashion in men that I suspect they don't often get to express in their daily lives.  Men in steampunk are generally excited about their outfits and get to wear a much broader range of prints, colors, and styles than they normally would.

But beyond fashion I'm more interested in how gender roles function within steampunk society itself. Do men and women fulfill separate and distinct roles within the community?  Is one gender privileged over another?  I think it's difficult to answer those questions when looking at the steampunk community in a void.  What are we comparing steampunk to?  Society in general?  I think it's better to compare it to other similar subcultures and costuming communities.

First of all, one of the best things about steampunk, in my experience, is that the community tends to be very equal in numbers of men and women.  This is NOT the case in all other costuming communities.  Historical costuming gatherings are almost completely dominated by women.  Any men present are usually husbands, with the occasional male costumer.   It seems that "mainstream" cosplay is also tilted in favor of female participants, at least among the more passionate makers.

Steampunk may resemble Renaissance communities more in its gender numbers, then.  But I feel that steampunk engages a higher percentage of its followers in active making.  And there does tend to be something of a gender divide in what kind of making steampunks undertake.  Women are more likely to sew and men are more likely to make guns or do leather working.  But it's hardly a cut and dry divide. A ton of exceptions to that rule immediately spring to mind.  I know a lot of men in steampunk who sew, or are learning to sew BECAUSE of steampunk.  And I know some very skilled female leather workers.  Not to mention that most steampunks try many different types of crafts, although we all tend to find one or two things we enjoy most.

And what I'm getting to is this: over and over I have talked to male/female couples who love steampunk because it's something they BOTH can get excited about.  It's a style and a community with something for everyone.  There are a lot of married couples in steampunk.  And my favorite thing is that it's not a situation where one half of a partnership drags the other one along, but something they share.  Finding a hobby that a husband and wife can both be excited about and involved in is unfortunately rare in our culture.

Ultimately it doesn't really bother me that in steampunk there are lots of women in pretty dresses and lots of men in armor.  Because there's no problem with women being in armor, with men wearing lace and velvet.  Women are airship captains, ships mechanics, and armorers within the community and no one cares.

Steampunk isn't perfect, by any means.  Steampunk communities reflect the larger community in their prejudices, biases, and privileges.  There are sexist steampunks, and racist steampunks, and homophobic steampunks, certainly.  But when I look at this community and how it functions around the issue of gender roles, I'm actually pretty proud.  I'm happy that steampunk has let me meet married couples who finally have something to do together, discuss sewing techniques with men in their 60s, and help a trans woman feel more comfortable in a costume.

 I really feel that the steampunk community has a place for everyone, regardless of who you are.  And that not even the roles of female characters in steampunk novels reflects the diversity of all the awesome steampunk women I've met.  Steampunk is a big, messy community, with room for lots of complicated women, and that's awesome.

On the Subject of "Gluing a Gear On It"

I spent this past weekend sewing (and gluing) decorative brass gears onto my Steampunk Cleopatra costume.  And this morning I ran across yet another opinion piece that derides anyone who attaches non-functional gears onto their steampunk pieces.  I've known that I needed to address this aspect of my costume, so let's do it.

Pretty, pretty non-functional gears.  These may give an
ILLUSION of functioning,
but that's all it is. (From this store.)

I really, really hate when people bash the use of decorative gears.  The attitude assumed by the basher is always one of superiority: they are preserving steampunk's purity from the untalented who can't use any tool but a glue gun.  They almost always throw in a derisive comment about steampunk going "mainstream" or being co-opted by corporations or people just out to make a buck.

This attitude just really pisses me off.  It's elitist and actively discourages newbies from trying their hand at steampunk crafting.  Look, I am in awe of makers who have metalworking skills who make these functional works of steampunk art.  But I also know that I cannot do what they do, and have no desire to learn the skills they have.  That's not my thing.  That's their thing.

Here's the big thing that gets me about this attitude: it is seeking to define and limit what's "real steampunk."  Real steampunk crafting, by their estimation, involves a workshop and heavy machinery. It involves skills that take years of training to achieve.  It's also, by the way, an attitude that elevates traditionally masculine skills above traditionally feminine skills.  When it comes down to it, I don't want to be part of any conversation that seeks to define "real steampunk" over "poseur steampunk."

I adore the embroidered gear designs on this outfit.

Moreover, the people who express these opinions are often incredibly hypocritical.  They will snark about people who "glue a gear on it" one minute, and the next they admire some steampunk object with non-functional gears the next.  Many highly admired steampunk projects feature TONS of non-functional components; they just are better at giving the impression of functioning than some others.  Gears, gauges, turn keys, locks, vacuum tubes, keys...these are all items frequently used in steampunk design and they are very rarely functional.

But I also want to be clear that I have chosen to attach decorative gears to my steampunk creations not because I wish I could do more with them, but because I really, really like the look of decorative gears.  Gears are PRETTY.  I like them as objects in and of themselves, not just for their utility.

The Victorian period was the height of decoration for decoration's sake.  Every object was OVER decorated.  They used sometimes strange motifs in their decorative arts, like the plethora of pineapples they put everywhere.  So I believe that in an alternative Victorian period, where technology is elevated to a higher level within the estimation of society, that the Victorians might very well have started embroidering gears along the borders of their clothing.  In my mind, the fictional steampunk world that we all have created is a world in which people wear goggles as a fashion accessory and use gears to decorate things.

My Steampunk Cleopatra is a partial recreation of a historical fancy dress costume.  In a steampunk world, I think that this costume may have very well been made with decorative brass gears in addition to Ancient Egyptian style jewelry.  And finally, I just like the way it looks, and I don't have time for anyone who wants to take an elitist attitude about it.

Is a community organized into Airships a good idea?

NOTE: I realize this may be a controversial post.  I want to make clear that this is my own opinion, based on my own experiences and observations.  Certainly your experience may differ.  Let's discuss it, but please remain civil.  Any non-civil comments or attacks on specific individuals will be deleted.  (Also I promise my next post is a craft tutorial.)


All communities have strife.  The steampunk community is no exception.  But I'm starting to wonder if there isn't something about the steampunk community that is prone to having greater conflict than it should.  Specifically, I'm wondering if a community organized into airships is really a good idea.

Art by Brian Giberson

First of all, what is an airship?  People new to steampunk may not know or understand the concept.  The truth is that all airships are different and they all define themselves in their own way.  But loosely, an airship is a group of steampunks.  Some airships are businesses, some are performance groups, some are simply a group of friends who like hanging out together.   The structure of airships also varies from ship to ship.  Some are very hierarchical with strongly defined roles for every member.  Some are much more loose.  But most airships have a Captain or defined leader.

Of course, some airships aren't actually airships.  They are steam trains, or sailing ships, or submarines.  Maybe they are something totally different like an army or collective.  But for the purposes of this discussion, all of these things are "airships" since that is the most common term.

Why are there airships?  Why do people form them and join them?  As mentioned above, some airships are very defined entities.  They are businesses or performance troupes.  They have chosen to call themselves an airship and roleplay airship positions.  But probably most airships are simple groups of friends.  The reason we form these groups is probably simply that human beings are social animals.  We like to belong.  We like to feel we have a place.  Saying you are a member of X airship is comforting.  It assures that you have a place, a crew, a community.  You're not just a hanger-on if you're in an airship.  It means you're really a steampunk.  (FYI, I'm not saying this is really true.  But I think it is how it feels.)

Airships are also important to the roleplaying aspect of steampunk.  Steampunks usually have a persona, a character they portray, whether or not they actively participate in roleplaying.  Your character being a member of an airship crew gives your character a background, a raison d'etre.  I originally never imagined my character to have anything to do with airships. I'm an widowed aristocrat after all.  But my husband created a character that was a member of an airship crew.  So we had to work out a backstory that would fit both our characters and so the Airship Octavia was born.  It's this kind of compromise that can lead to the most interesting character traits.

So the reasons that airships exist are fairly clear.  But what is the effect of airships on the greater steampunk community?  And the follow-up question: is the net effect of airships positive or negative?

Socializing Steampunks: Thoughts for Those New and Not-so-new

Steampunk is a lot of things.  For many of us, it's a reason to dress up and an excuse to make cool things.  But steampunk isn't just an art style or an aesthetic.  It's also a community, a subculture, a collection of like-minded people.

It's not enough to sit in our homes making cool things; we want to go out, show them off, meet other people with cool stuff to show off.   And sometimes this is where we run into trouble.  Some of us aren't very good at social interaction, at being in new settings.  Some of us have run into trouble with our fellow steampunks, or grown tired or bitter over certain behaviors.  So these are some thoughts that have been going on in my mind.

Part I: Tips for Those New to Steampunk

The first thing to remember is that everyone, or ALMOST everyone, gets nervous when going into a new social environment where they don't know anyone.  You're not alone in feeling that way.  I've suffered from social anxiety a lot over the years, but I have overcome it to a certain extent.  I have a tendency to want to back out of going to a social event at the last minute, because I get too nervous.   For the most part I avoid that by making it impossible to do.  I commit money to events, I arrange to go with friends, I make plans to see people somewhere, I do a bunch of things that mean that backing out would probably end up being more embarrassing than going.  (I mean, if you tell everyone you know that you're going to an awesome convention and then you end up not going, it's going to be weird to explain to people, right?)

Some people, upon encountering the steampunk community en masse, feel left out of the loop.  This is a really common reaction of newbies, I think.  But it's not unique to steampunk.  Any time you show up to an event without knowing anyone, and the majority of the people there know each other, chances are you're going to feel left out.  It's honestly not that steampunks aren't welcoming.  They aren't snubbing you, I promise.  It's just that they are excited to be around each other and are busy greeting and catching up with their friends.  This tends to work out worst in very short gatherings, like a one night event or couple hour long meetup.  Established steampunks spend all their time with people they already know and don't have time to get to know newbies.  So weekend long events are really best if you're looking to make friends.

One thing to keep in mind if you encounter a situation like this: yes, all these people seem to be part of an "in-crowd."  But I guarantee that ALL of them were once in your own shoes.  At some point they showed up at a steampunk event not knowing anyone, or knowing very few people.  And they may have felt just as awkward as you do, but somehow they got past it and eventually became part of this community.

My first encounter with the steampunk community wasn't a positive one.  I'm going to be vague about the event and location of it to avoid calling anyone out, but it wouldn't be hard to figure it out.  Anyway, my husband and I decided to put together steampunk costumes for a large convention.  It was my first con of any kind, and I really was only going for an excuse to dress steampunk.  We put together our costumes mostly from thrift stores.  I didn't know how to sew at all then.  But despite the honestly rudimentary level of our costumes (at least mine) I was proud of them.  We showed up to the con and got dressed up and headed to the "Steampunk Social."  It was a meeting room with some chairs, some music playing, and a bunch of people.  It was pretty obvious, after some time, that the people standing in groups in the middle of the room knew each other.  They also had the nicest costumes.  The people sitting on the outskirts in chairs weren't talking to anyone and had more thrift store looking costumes.  After sitting on the outskirts myself, I gathered my courage and went to stand close to the chatting steampunks.  No one approached us.  I walked up to two girls who were talking and complementing one of them on her hat.  She looked at me, didn't say anything, and went back to her conversation.  I felt like I had broken some kind of rule by commenting on her hat.  I became more dismayed as I studied what people were wearing and started feeling like though some of the outfits were gorgeous, they were BOUGHT that way.  I was proud of our hand-made costumes and didn't like seeing what I put down as ready-made steampunk outfits.

Now, I was definitely right about SOME of these people's outfits.  But the assumption I made that just because something was elaborate and impressive it wasn't made by the wearer: that was a totally incorrect assumption.  (I know because I get incredulity from newbies when they find out I made my outfits and corsets.)  My husband and I left soon after, probably having stayed for only about 20 minutes and not talking to anyone.  I've heard similar stories from others in the community.

What did I do right and wrong in that example?  First of all, I think it was a difficult venue to try to break into steampunk.  Like I said, a brief gathering during a very busy con isn't really the ideal environment to meet people.  Really involved steampunks are probably busy with con events, presenting panels, vending, or just catching up with friends.  I probably would have done better to approach people in steampunk dress separately over the con weekend, especially if I saw anyone sitting, smoking, or otherwise just hanging out.  However, I did do right by approaching that girl and trying to start a conversation about her hat.  She just was apparently a bitch, or otherwise distracted.

Cause here's the awesome thing about steampunk: people want to talk about their creations!  All you have to do to start a conversation with a steampunk is to walk up and compliment them on some part of their outfit.  Pick something specific.  You can say, "I love your outfit," but follow it with, "especially that arm bracer, that's so cool."  If that doesn't immediately start a conversation follow it with, "Did you make that?"  Chances are that they did, or they know the person who did.  If they made it, you're set.  Show genuine interest in how something is made and it's almost impossible to resist getting into a long conversation about the creation  process.  If you express further interest in wanting to learn to do similar things yourself, chances are they will tell you how to do it, or give you tips on where to find out.  (If it's me, I'll then hand you a card pointing you to this blog.)  This is actually the best thing about making friends through steampunk: the built in topics of conversation.  And don't worry about bothering someone.  Even when we're busy, we always genuinely appreciate compliments on our outfits.  Although if we ARE really busy, we might run away quickly, but it's not personal.

Another tip for newbies: don't be afraid to look ignorant.  You don't have to pretend you know everything about steampunk.  If you don't understand something, or don't know something, or just want to know how to get more information about something, ASK.  Maybe you don't have much of a costume but you WANT to put one together.  Ask people for tips on how to do that.  Of course, most cons have panels to teach just these kinds of things, but we're looking for ways to meet people, and again, steampunks generally LOVE talking about these things.  We're always talking about where to find things and how to make things with each other anyway.  If you want to know about steampunk books, movies, RPGs, whatever, ask around.   Don't be ashamed of being new, but respect that people sometimes ARE busy or otherwise occupied, so don't FORCE yourself on someone else's time, either. Chances are if you talk to someone at one point in a con for a brief time, you will run into them again, at which point you can say hi and try to talk some more.

Another good place to meet people is the dealer's room.  As a dealer, I notice that I spend much more time talking to newbies than other more established steampunks.  But really, somebody behind a dealer table is probably bored and willing to talk, especially if you want to talk about what they're selling.  Make sure you're not blocking traffic to their table if you're not actively shopping, but if things aren't busy, chances are the dealers would welcome some questions. It's also totally fine to say, "I don't have any money right now, but I really like your stuff," and then talk about it.  Unless the dealer happens to be a total jerk, which, let's face it occasionally happens.  But not that often.

Finally, don't expect to find a new best friend at a con.  Though, of course you <i>might</i>, but chances are it will take a longer acquaintance than just a few conversations to really make friends.  Here's where the internet comes in.  When you meet people and really hit it off, try to get their name and maybe an email or Facebook address.  Write down names in a book if you have to.  Often people have a real name and a steampunk name.  It's ok to ask which name they use on facebook, or if they are on Insert-Your-Favorite-Social-Network-Here.  In my experience most steampunk interaction happens on facebook.  It's certainly true in the Texas community.  There's also the Steampunk Empire, which is meant to be facebook for steampunks, but in practice, I don't think many people really use it.  I find the interface too confusing.  If you want to keep your steampunk persona separate from your RL accounts, make yourself a facebook account under a steampunk name and start friending people.  Make sure you're looking at photo galleries after a con, and finding the people tagged in the photos.  This is a great way to become friends with people you met at a con.   Post your pictures and tag anyone you can, let others tag people, too.  Then keep in touch with people online.  This is how a lot of  steampunks really get to know each other.  They post pictures of their projects and ask for advice and post links, and soon you have a bunch of steampunk friends.  So the next event you attend, hopefully you know some people by name and they know you by name, too.

Part Two: Thoughts for Established Steampunks

It's not only the newbies that need to think about how to best go about social interaction.  There are some things oldies need to take into consideration, too.