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Apr. 25th, 2008 11:43 amMost of you have probably run across this, but one of the best reactions to the whole Boobgate thing is ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
synecdochic's post "sex-positive". what a loaded term, in which she manages to articulate a lot of thoughts that I, and other people, have about the whole affair and the larger context that was completely missed in the proposal - bystander consent, being sex-positive vs. being getting-laid-positive, and so on. (ETA: A quote from one of the comments, by marblespire: 'There's a line between saying, "I'm comfortable with my sexuality," and someone else giving you a creepy grin and replying, "I'm comfortable with it too."')
And in similar news, I,rachelmanija, and _fx are collaborating to produce a set of small 1" buttons reading "BACK UP" inspired by the Open Source Women Back Each Other Up Program to give out free, with small flyers explaining it, at A-Kon. Where there's tons of underage and college-age women enjoying freedom from parents and conventional social strictures and exploring their own boundaries and, all too often, getting unwanted or inappropriate attention* or being pressured to go to a physical or metaphorical place they're not really wanting to go. We'll be asking for small donations soon, as my funds are all tapped out after buying supplies for this year. XD Anyone going to A-Kon who's willing to have some of these on their table and/or pass them out: welcome to it!
I think I had a third thing to post, but I don't remember it.
* Three stories of varying degree of severity:
1) One A-Kon, I spotted a dealer's worker carrying a cane with a mirror affixed to the bottom. I told Security who made him tape it over (I think they should have told him to leave it in his room or confiscated it, actually). You can bet I checked to see that mirror was still taped every time I saw him.
2) Another A-Kon where my table was directly in front of the DDR machines, I saw a girl cosplaying as some sort of schoolgirl with a miniskirt playing DDR. And over the course of the track she was dancing to, all the male spectators in the chairs developed an amazing degree of slump and they slowly sank lower and lower trying to grab a peek under her skirt. And there was a sudden increase in the number of guys walking by, yawning and stretching ostentatiously, and deciding that near that DDR machine was a good place to recline on the floor and grab a nap. Minor, as far as levels of skeevy behavior go, but just because someone is wearing a short skirt does not mean she wants you to look up it or to be creepy at her.
3) I overheard two staff heads at AnimeFest on year discussing three guys they'd thrown out of the con for cornering a young cosplayer in the elevator and harassing her, and how they were going to ensure they didn't get back on premises. Yes, she was wearing a skimpy costume. No, that does not mean that their behavior was in any way acceptable or excusable. Predictable, perhaps, but not in any way shape or form the fault of the victim.
synecdochic's post "sex-positive". what a loaded term, in which she manages to articulate a lot of thoughts that I, and other people, have about the whole affair and the larger context that was completely missed in the proposal - bystander consent, being sex-positive vs. being getting-laid-positive, and so on. (ETA: A quote from one of the comments, by marblespire: 'There's a line between saying, "I'm comfortable with my sexuality," and someone else giving you a creepy grin and replying, "I'm comfortable with it too."')And in similar news, I,
rachelmanija, and _fx are collaborating to produce a set of small 1" buttons reading "BACK UP" inspired by the Open Source Women Back Each Other Up Program to give out free, with small flyers explaining it, at A-Kon. Where there's tons of underage and college-age women enjoying freedom from parents and conventional social strictures and exploring their own boundaries and, all too often, getting unwanted or inappropriate attention* or being pressured to go to a physical or metaphorical place they're not really wanting to go. We'll be asking for small donations soon, as my funds are all tapped out after buying supplies for this year. XD Anyone going to A-Kon who's willing to have some of these on their table and/or pass them out: welcome to it!I think I had a third thing to post, but I don't remember it.
* Three stories of varying degree of severity:
1) One A-Kon, I spotted a dealer's worker carrying a cane with a mirror affixed to the bottom. I told Security who made him tape it over (I think they should have told him to leave it in his room or confiscated it, actually). You can bet I checked to see that mirror was still taped every time I saw him.
2) Another A-Kon where my table was directly in front of the DDR machines, I saw a girl cosplaying as some sort of schoolgirl with a miniskirt playing DDR. And over the course of the track she was dancing to, all the male spectators in the chairs developed an amazing degree of slump and they slowly sank lower and lower trying to grab a peek under her skirt. And there was a sudden increase in the number of guys walking by, yawning and stretching ostentatiously, and deciding that near that DDR machine was a good place to recline on the floor and grab a nap. Minor, as far as levels of skeevy behavior go, but just because someone is wearing a short skirt does not mean she wants you to look up it or to be creepy at her.
3) I overheard two staff heads at AnimeFest on year discussing three guys they'd thrown out of the con for cornering a young cosplayer in the elevator and harassing her, and how they were going to ensure they didn't get back on premises. Yes, she was wearing a skimpy costume. No, that does not mean that their behavior was in any way acceptable or excusable. Predictable, perhaps, but not in any way shape or form the fault of the victim.
