So, it's summer, and the Sci Fi/Fantasy and Comic conventions are in full swing around the country. Every summer, I hold my breath and wait for the inevitable news about a woman being harassed or groped or publicly disrespected at some convention or another. It always happens at least once. The particulars may be different from incident to incident, but you can practically set your watch to some insecure or predatory asshole reminding us all, through a chosen woman, that those spaces, that the assorted geek fandoms, don't belong to us. We're just visitors. Ornamentation. A punchline. An object of both desire and then, of course, ridicule.
Cons have been complicit, for a long time, of letting it happen. Or worse, of covering it up. Of apologizing or making excuses when the harassers have had more power than the women they were denigrating, which is almost always. Whether that cover-up took the form of "Well, that's just how Harlan ACTS" or "I'm sure that he's just social awkward" it's all bullshit.
This summer, safe spaces at cons have a champion, in the form of Sci Fi luminary John Scalzi. Scalzi recently posted the account of his friend Elise Matthesen, about her experience being sexually harassed by a prominent (in the genre, at least) man at WisCon.* She did not include the name of her harasser in her account, fearing that he would retaliate against her legally. The lawyer in me thinks that's wise, even as my inner reader really wants to know who it was so that I can refrain from ever lining his pocket with my own book money again.
And into this cesspool of constant disappointment comes John Scalzi. He announced on his blog that he would no longer accept invitations to attend/be the Guest of Honor at conventions unless those conventions met three conditions:
1. That the convention has a harassment policy, and that the harassment policy is clear on what is unacceptable behavior, as well as to whom those who feel harassed, or see others engaging in harassing behavior, can go for help and action.
2. That the convention make this policy obvious by at least one and preferably more than one of the following: posting the policy on their Website, placing it in their written and electronic programs, putting up flyers in the common areas, discussing the policy at opening ceremonies or at other well-attended common events.
3. In cases when I am invited as a Guest of Honor, personal affirmation from the convention chair that a harassment policy exists, that it will be adequately publicized to conventiongoers, and that all harassment complaints will be dealt with promptly and fairly, with no excuses or rationalizations for delaying action when such becomes necessary.
Scalzi has consistently used his fame and his power as SFWA president for the side of Good, and this is just another example that makes me glad he has the power and the voice in the genre that he does. His weight can only improve con-going for everyone but the creepers, and they've had a free ride at most cons for far too long. He's also added a thread for all parties--congoers, artists, editors, writers, etc--to co-sign his policy and claim it as their own. The chorus of "Amens" might just make a difference at cons with wishy-washy or unenforced sexual harassment policies.
I've been to fancons, but none recently. On the whole, they were not positive, welcoming experiences. My experiences at Gen Con were often extremely unpleasant as an apparently single woman, and I stopped going to the convention floor to look at merchandise booths by myself because doing so meant subjecting myself to repeated groping. I waited until my partner or his friends were available to come along, and when they were with me, I was safe from creepers. For the record, I wasn't particularly provocatively dressed, nor did I make any indication that I wanted anonymous strangers to grab my ass when my back was turned, whatever would invite said behavior.
In the end, this culture persists at cons because for too long, it was excused or ignored. It's an extension of the privilege and entitlement that is extended to men in our culture as a whole, but at conventions dedicated to creating worlds that mirror our own without precisely replicating it, we would seem to have a unique opportunity to do better.
This might just be a singular first step in that endeavor. You can find lots of really good stuff out there on how to be an ally, if this subject gets your back up like it does mine.
*Naively, I opined on my last blog that WisCon was a convention where one is likely to be "safe" from the kind of harassment that seems to be endemic at other conventions. Guess not.
No comments:
Post a Comment