So I’m going to be that humorless feminist, but I found this a completely jarring and misogynistic thing to witness. I had no context for what was happening here. I saw only a woman (who I understand consented to this) and people behind her smiling, chanting “Shame,” and drinking. The thing is, I was given no chance to consent to whether I wanted to see this, neither did anyone else, or the teens or children they walked past. We have enough in society where this behavior against women is condoned and then learned as something that is “normal.” After talking to a friend, she explained the context and that this was from “Game of Thrones.” Having the context only made it worse. Why is it acceptable to recreate a scene from a TV show where a woman is treated this way? I live every day of my life with enough BS where I am shamed for simply being a woman, for being a certain size, for being a certain level of attractive, etc. Now I have to attend a convention where I am supposed to “lighten up” and bear witness to a recreation of a scene where a woman is stripped naked and slut-shamed? No thank you. We need more than a “Costumes are not consent” policy at COnvergence. We need some “Code of Conduct” like Wheaton’s Law: don’t be a dick. 

110% what xanatenshi says. And this was allowed to go on at a convention that purports to have set the bar for creating a safe space for congoers. This scene, with or without context, is hugely triggering. It’s misogynist. It’s slut shaming. It’s playing an incredibly traumatic event for laughs. It doesn’t matter that it’s a fictional one.

And make no mistake, this went on for some time and very much in public/visible spaces. The first time I saw this group I was too stunned to say anything. The second time I was ignored as I yelled at every single person trailing behind them that it was in no way cool or funny. The third time, I actually reported it to the Bridge, who seemed to be hearing about it for the first time but did say they would send someone out to look for them and ask them to stop. Of course by that time they had been seen by hundreds of people. There’s no way they weren’t seen by multiple members of staff. I recognize people in that video who I know are friendly with staff.

And after all that, now an official social media channel for the convention is not only allowing it to happen, but celebrating it like it’s something to be proud of.

Respect to the con staffers who I know are fighting to create a better space, but your work is far from done. It needs to seep down to every member and level of the organization.

Do better, convergencecon. “Costumes are not consent” means fuck all in the face of this garbage.

This is bullshit and makes me seriously consider not returning