Post

Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

Margaret Atwood quote-tweeted me about this back in the day, encouraging her considerable following to brigade me during several Canadian unis Creative Writing scandals. Former professors of mine piled on. That entire experience happened right after Gamergate, I was having a great time on Twitter.

This post is unavailable.
Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

I don't want to make light of it. This shit destroyed my attempts at going to grad school. It ruined several relationships with my old Creative Writing department which (as of this past summer) are still affecting me professionally. Arguably, this shit exacerbated my complex trauma.

Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

Meanwhile, dozens of survivors of sexual harassment, rape, and psychological abuse in Creative Writing departments wrote me thanking me for my courage speaking publicly on my little Twitter account. The fact that Atwood saw fit to QT me to millions was proof I was very Dérangeant'e.

Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

I do wish more of the people who were in my DMs thanking me had supported me publicly then, or convinced their friends with more clout to do so. I felt extremely isolated and abandoned.

Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

Anyways, it's ancient history now. (Except I'm told I can't go to certain literary events to take photos because a certain professor will be there and she asked the organizers to take me off the invite list, lmfao.)

2 reposts8 likes

Gersande La Flèche
@gersande.com

One last point and then I have to get back to work: I'd really, really loved Atwood's writing as a teenager, to the point I wrote fanfic of two of her books for friends. Having her take out her righteous white neoliberal rage on me broke something in me. A very nasty "never meet your heroes" indeed.