Safe travels: What to pack when Zooming to new spaces

Planning a trip used to make me tingle. But for the past year and a half, many of us have only dreamed of travel.

However, thanks to the internet, you might have had the pleasure of "going" to a concert live streamed from Ireland, attending a Russian ballet, or sharing a drone's-eye view of the Canadian North. You may even have loved the fact you didn't need a suitcase or a plane ride to do it! But my preferred mode of online travel is Zoom, hands down.

Why Zoom?

Video conferencing platforms such as Zoom give us the chance to connect face to face across thousands of kilometres with real live people — colleagues, family and friends, and strangers as far away as the internet can take us. And thanks to Facebook event listings, I've found virtual writing workshops, spiritual gatherings, town halls and especially poetry events across the country and beyond to Zoom to.

But in order to ensure you Zoom in comfort and safety, you'd be wise to plan ahead and "pack" a few things for the journey.

Pack your passport

I love to meet the locals, and poetry is my passport when it comes to poetry open mic. However, I'm a Mad person —meaning I identify as having a psychiatric history and I'm mostly open ands positive about it. A lot of my poetry talks about my experience with this history and identity, so my "passport" reveals things about me that might leave me vulnerable to being dismissed, ignored or attacked.

Sharing about yourself in a Zoom space that is unfamiliar or foreign can feel risky, even if you don't consider yourself part of a marginalized or oppressed group. You might experience the kind of shyness and awkwardness that comes from being a stranger in a new group. You might be concerned with making a good impression and with not violating any cultural norms.

In Anna Quon's poem, Cliff, she tells people she's mad

6 years ago

Duration 0:52

Halifax artist and writer Anna Quon's poem Cliff explores what happens when she reveals she has a mental illness or has spent time in a mental hospital.

When I Zoom, I worry about being welcomed as I am.

A passport can also offer certain protections. Yours might be a love of and knowledge about wine, sports or architecture. Although there are fascinating cultural differences to be found in every Zoom space, shared passion for your subject is a quality that may offer you safe passage and help you connect with new people.

Research and make a plan

If I'm going to a poetry open mic where an invitation has been extended to any and all poets, I anticipate enjoying a certain modicum of respect and safety. But my mentor on a one-woman show I wrote about Zooming across borders to poetry open mics said something that stuck with me: "There are no safe spaces. There are only safer spaces."

A little research might help determine whether a Zoom space is safer for you or not. Messaging the organizers of the group and talking to others who have visited the space can give you a sense of what you're getting into.

If someone claims a space is safe, you might want to ask about the format of the event and whether participants are required to submit a full name and have their video turned on. Does the group have anti-oppressive participation guidelines? What would they do about racist, sexist or ableist language and behaviours?

Chances are, my mentor said, if someone claims their space is safe, they haven't done the work to learn how to create safety.

Bring a map

I always map out which poems to read in what order when I'm testing the waters of a new group. If Nazis at Home meets with a lukewarm reception, then I don't plan on reading more political or Mad-themed poetry next. I'm more likely to read something less charged, and to not return again.

You might want to map out the things you want to reveal about yourself — and the things you do not — ahead of time, as well as identify the kind of red flags that would cause you to change direction.

Wear layers of sheddable armour over an open mind

Of course you can't plan for everything and probably wouldn't want to; being a bit vulnerable and open to the unexpected is part of the excitement of travel. So is encountering new communities with all their fascinating quirks and norms. I have felt the familiar letdown when someone uses language that is stigmatizing of people with psychiatric histories, but that is not different than any of the communities I'm a part of in real life. Some are just more self-aware, sensitive and quick-correcting than others.

As a Zoom tourist, I don't expect a perfect reception in the spaces I visit, but I haven't yet found one where I feel quite at home. And when I start to form a bond with a community, that's when I am most vulnerable to disappointment.

So plan ahead and wear sheddable layers of psychological armour if you want, but remember the spaces you travel to are only as safe as the people in them and the norms they accept, whether spoken or unspoken, conscious or not. Be respectful, but know what you need.

Thankfully the "leave meeting" button doesn't require paying for another plane ticket!

More from writer and artist Anna Quon: