This week, I read some criticism of a story published in Strange Horizons. Here are the two posts I read:

http://tablesaw.dreamwidth.org/480301.html

http://moniquill.dreamwidth.org/350055.html

The author has responded here: http://csecooney.livejournal.com/322752.html

The points have already been well made and well answered, but as the editor who worked on this story, I wanted to publicly respond to the critiques too. Because they really handed us our asses... and they're right. We fell down on our mission statement here. Along with the author, I am sincerely sorry for failing to recognize some pervasive and harmful tropes which are painfully obvious to the people who have been hurt by them. I also regret that the beauty in the story gets overshadowed by its problems, because I believe "Household Spirits" set out to do other things which it accomplished very well, but that doesn't change the fact that the problems pointed out in these critiques are real and substantial.

We at Strange Horizons do our very best do publish work that is awesome and diverse and inclusive and thought-provoking and breaking new ground. However, we are fallible; while we as editors strive toward these goals, we are as subject to the workings of our privilege as anyone else. Therefore, we are profoundly grateful when such criticisms arise to show us what we have failed to see, or been unable to see. We are listening, and learning, and we will endeavor to do better.