Towards a Future Where Pride Is Everyday
A fireside chat with Professor Carron Shankland
By Dr Adriana Wilde, ACM-W Communications co-chair
We’re coming to the end of Pride month, and I’m chatting here with Carron Shankland. Professor Carron Shankland was one of the first holders of a Suffrage Science award in Computing, and Scottish Woman of the Year for services to science and technology in 2017. She retired as a Professor of Computing Science at the University of Stirling, and she is now an honorary senior research fellow at the University of Glasgow. We reflect on what Pride Month means to us, starting our conversation by exploring the meaning of one’s identity.
Carron: I can use a lot of different words to describe who I am. I’m a computing science academic; well, I’m retired now, but I suspect being an academic never really leaves you. I’m a musician and an artist. I’m a mental health advocate. I’m a daughter and a sister. I’m a gardener. I’m a gay autistic woman. To be honest, the words that came most easily for most of my life were the ones describing things I did. It took me quite a long time (years!) to realise that I’m gay and autistic; I went through half of my life not realising I’m gay, and three-quarters of it not realising I’m autistic.
Adriana: This is very relatable! What you say about articulating one’s identity is somehow easier when in relation to things we do and love: our passions and interests, but our significant people too. For example, for years I have been to many (and continue to be) my daughter’s mother, or my husband’s wife. But defining one’s identity is much more complex as it has many more facets (dare I say intersectionalities?) that can sometimes be hidden, especially if any of these can lead to “othering”, as perhaps many of our readers have experienced too. During Pride Month, it is particularly important to talk about this, don’t you think?
Carron: To be honest, when you first asked me about Pride Month, my heart sank. Why do we need an entire month dedicated to Pride? Why do we need special days to celebrate who we are? But then I thought about that question a bit more. I’m lucky to have lived a life where I wasn’t discriminated against for my identity, nor did I face pressure to be someone else.
Adriana: I believe it is important to be appreciative of own privilege, if this makes us more sensitive and supportive of those who have other experiences, especially in these times. Some recent developments suggest that we may, in some respects, be moving backwards. These actually highlight the urgent need to celebrate Pride more visibly and vocally than ever.
Carron: Yes, we take it for granted that progress is linear. It’s clearly not! We all need to be working actively towards inclusivity, but not just one month a year.
Adriana: Your response reminds me of my mum not wanting to be fussed around on mother’s day when she’s there all year round. And fair point! (very much like you earlier, “why do we need special days?”). Pride does give us the opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and what we can do to actually make lasting change. So what more we can do?
Carron: There is a problem here around fatigue. I attended an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion committee meeting earlier this week, and one of the items on the agenda was the events calendar and what we’re doing to celebrate various events. I can see that it’s tiring for the committee, but that really comes down to somehow making celebrating diversity the responsibility of a small group of people. No wonder they’re tired. Instead, we need a step change so the majority of people in society see it as their duty to appreciate and celebrate difference, to create a society of kindness and respect.
Adriana: I have seen that phenomenon too in many places. The most committed members of diversity and inclusion committees are often those who have personally experienced exclusion or marginalisation as a result of their identities. Being in the minority, we are acutely aware of the need for cultural change within our organisations and societies. Others may not fully recognise this need, or may be unaware of how exclusion continues to manifest in subtle yet structural ways. But surely this means we need to increase awareness!
Carron: Yes, I think that one of the important functions of special events like Pride Month is to make role models visible. Maybe if I’d been more exposed to gay role models as a youngster, I might have realised I was gay earlier. Of course, I’d like a wide variety of role models to be visible all year. I think I present a fairly unremarkable role model for gay women. I’m showing that I live a ‘normal’ life: my partner and I have a nice house in the suburbs, we garden, we play music, we go to coffee shops. We just live our lives. We need a bit more of that: visibility of average, straightforward lives.
Adriana: Yes, we need that! Pride offers a vital safe space and a sense of community for those who may not feel as accepted or protected as they deserve, but also for us, as allies, the opportunity to sit shoulder to shoulder with them in the knowledge that we belong together. We can amplify their voices, celebrate their achievements, and definitely be inspired by them.
Carron: Ultimately, I’d like to live in a world in which special days for under-represented groups aren’t really needed. We are all special in our many diverse and characteristic ways. Let’s celebrate that.
Adriana: Let’s indeed! I, for one, and on behalf of ACM-W, am immensely grateful for your time to talk with us and share your wisdom, as well as for being the very remarkable role model (in your “unremarkable’ ways) and advocate for women in computing that you are and have been for years. Happy Pride!