Guest Post: Hollaback! Ottawa and #YesAllWomen

#YESALLWOMEN

by Julie S. Lalonde

2014 has proven to be a really important year for folks dedicated to ending violence against women in Ottawa. Unfortunately, it’s taken a series of tragedies for much needed conversations to happen. From the threats of rape thrown at the University of Ottawa student president  to the arrest of a much-sought-after “serial rapist” haunting women across the city, residents have had to face the facts that Ottawa’s reputation of being a safe city really depends on who you ask.

 The reality of gender based violence came to a head with a recent horrific shooting in California. When it became clear that the shooter was motivated, in large part, by his misogyny, feminists took to social media to remind folks that #NotAllMen commit violence against women but #YesAllWomen are affected by it.

As an organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence in public space, we were moved by the amount of stories on the #YesAllWomen hashtag that related specifically to street harassment.  For many women and queer-folks, street harassment is a rite of passage; a daily reminder of their gender and gender presentation.

Yet the most common negative response we get to our work is the idea that we should just relax because it’s not harassment; it’s a compliment! Those men who are making you feel uncomfortable in public space are just trying to brighten your day, honey! 

Street harassment isn’t about “flattery”. We know that because we’ve read far too many stories of women who’ve refused someone’s “compliment” only to be told “Fine, bitch. You weren’t that hot anyway”.  

Not to mention the amount of street harassers who skip trying to be play nice and head straight for the insults, the homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, etc. 

Street harassment is about maintaining the status quo. It’s a reminder to women and queer folks that public space doesn’t belong to them and that by leaving the house, they’re “asking” for scrutiny. 

Sadly, the reminder that “This space is not for you” isn’t unique to streets. 

This past May, we attended our first ever ComicCon where we hosted two panels on the issue of harassment at Cons and in particular, the notion that Cosplay =/= Consent.

Both our panels were well attended and more importantly, generated lots of important conversations about the reality of harassment in Geek spaces and the fallacy that all geeks are in this thing together. We wish Geek spaces were this amazing kumbaya environment but our presence at the Con and the very existence of the Capital Geek Girls is proof that sadly, that isn’t the case. 

As #YesAllWomen trended around the world, people got a tiny glimpse into the ugliness of misogyny. It was an important, albeit rare, opportunity to shed light in dark places. But unless we insist on continuing the dialogue in every space of our lives, these conversations will be relegated to the occasional headline. We can’t let that happen. There’s too much at stake. 

Julie S. Lalonde is the director of Hollaback! Ottawa, the local chapter of an international movement dedicated to ending street harassment. 

Hollaback! Ottawa: Cosplay =/= Consent

COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT- HOLLABACK! OTTAWA AT OTTAWA COMICCON 2014

By Marla Desat

Source: Marla Desat

"Just because we're wearing a costume doesn't mean we're not people," Courtney, CGG’s assistant editor, was one of the four panellists at the Hollaback! Ottawa "Cosplay =/= Consent" panel at Ottawa ComicCon 2014. Hollaback! Ottawa director Julie Lalonde, and cosplayers ÁLI and Rogue joined her, to talk about harassment at conventions. 

The Hollaback! Movement is dedicated to ending street harassment. Lalonde explained that harassment on the street or on the bus is no different from harassment at a convention. Hollaback! interviewed cosplayers who have had photos taken without permission, been groped, or had upskirt photos taken, but many cosplayers don't immediately identify these actions as harassment. "Because we don't name it that, people don't identify it as harassment.”

L-R: Julie, ÁLI, Rogue, Courtney- Source: Hollaback! Ottawa

Harassment isn't limited to uninvited sexual touching, leering, or inappropriate photos. Cosplayers are often harassed for having a different gender, race, or weight than the character they are portraying. ÁLI, a musician, discovered cosplay in 2012. She has used cosplay to help overcome bullying she faces in her career. Unfortunately, cosplay has opened her to other avenues of harassment. ÁLI spoke of a fan whose constant messages online were supportive, but unsettling. Despite getting no response from her, the fan continues to contact her daily. Recently, ÁLI faced bullying from the press over preferring to use ÁLI, her cosplay and artistic pseudonym, to her legal name. 

CGG's Jordan and MJ- Source: Hollaback! Ottawa

Rogue shared stories about online harassment. "Ninety percent of the harassment that has affected me has been online, not at conventions," says Rogue. As a writer for GeekxGirls, Rogue has received death threats and worse for her work. "Stand up for yourself," she says, but also cautions, "There's no tone online. We all read our own tone into comments." Sometimes responding to a cruel comment with overwhelming kindness can yield a better result than anger. 

Harassment doesn't just come from other con-goers or from online comments. Courtney talked about how hard it can be to identify as a geek at all. "I had what I like to call the Kardashian/Cardassian complex. I was really into both mainstream stuff and geeky stuff," She said. "My mainstream friends would give me flack for the geeky stuff and my geeky friends would give me flack for liking mainstream stuff." 

Hollaback provides support and education about harassment, encouraging its three step model for stopping street harassment: direct, distract, delegate. Directly intervene if you can, distract to indirectly stop the harassment, or tell a convention representative about what's happening. In online spaces, you can intervene directly by sharing your views.  Rogue suggests writing your concerns somewhere, even if it's as simple as a Facebook post. "Without a dialogue, we can't move forward," says Rogue, whose first published article was born from a letter to the editor over an article that misrepresented cosplayers.

As ÁLI says, "It's really about a community. We're all connected, so if you see something, say something, do something. This is supposed to be our safe space."

Marla Desat is a recent University of Waterloo grad living and working in Ottawa. When she isn't playing the latest video games, she's geeking out over comic books, board games, tabletop roleplaying games and science. Marla also writes for The Escapist as a freelance news writer. You can follow her on Twitter @mrdesat. 

Cosplay Wisdom and Tips For Comic Con Season

by Thea Nikolic aka Critical Miss

COSPLAY CONFIDENTIAL: TIPS FOR COSPLAY

Thea, aka 'Critical Miss', as Rockabilly Harley

So Cosplay season is upon us, and that means getting your costumes ready for the masses. Are you going just to Cosplay or are you entering the Masquerade? Are you going straight from a source or is your costume a concept that you have come up with? Whatever the costume and whatever the reason, there are so many tips and tricks one can give to bring your costume to life, however I am going to concentrate on 5.

1. Drafting and sewing your costume - If you are talented enough to be able to draft your own patterns or adjust already existing patterns, you are well ahead of the game. If you are not one of those people, you need to find a seamstress or a costumer who takes commissions. But before you jump ahead and hire the first person you see who makes beautiful costumes, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Make sure you get recommendations from multiple people you trust. Make sure the person you hire can make the deadlines you set, take correct measurements and give you proper fittings to make sure things are going well with your costume. And please, get a receipt or a contract stating how much money you've given as a deposit, what the deadlines are and when the rest of the money is to be paid out. You will be better off for it.

2. Finding the perfect wig - This step can be time consuming, but a good wig can make all the difference for your costume. Through the multiple sites you can find a wig that is not expensive and still looks good. And the other point that you need to consider is whether you can use this wig for another character, and if that is the case, then your 60$ wig then becomes a 30$. Also if you invest in a heat resistant one, that gives you even more versatility to a wig that might have just served for a single character but because you can curl it or straighten it, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few links, but there are tons of cosplay wig websites out there.

                - http://www.ebay.com/

                - http://arda-wigs.com/

                - http://www.cosplayhouse.com/

                - http://www.epiccosplay.com/

3. The 5 foot Rule - Of course the details are important. Especially the exact replica buttons you ordered from England for your spot on Andromeda uniform. However, sometimes it is just impossible to get the exact item to complete your costume. You also may not have the funds to order a screen replica. So you may want to consider the "5 foot Rule". What this rule means is that when you step away from the costume from 5 feet, and it looks great, then you are good to go. Most of the time, people in conventions see you for a split second, take a picture and they are gone. Most people will not spend half an hour looking at the screen used sword you ordered for a pretty penny. If you can afford it, that is amazing. And if you plan on always entering the Masquerade where they do look at the fine details up close, then go for what you can afford (please don't ever break the bank for a hobby that for but a few exceptions, does not pay you back what you spent), but for the rest, the 5 foot Rule is a good way to judge what your costume looks like.

 

by Dana Harper

4. The Great Fabric Hunt - This can sometimes be the most frustrating part of building a new costume. First off, give yourself enough time to search for the right material. Deciding the weekend before a convention to build a new costume might not be the best way to finding the right fabric. Second, shop the sales. Fabricland is one of our local companies that has sales on a regular basis. Another avenue to think about is that it is only a short drive to the fabric district in Montreal. However, online fabric stores are worth checking out as well. Many of them will send you swatches of the fabric so you know exactly what you are ordering. Or, if you are fortunate to live close to the border, take a drive down to the states and shop around there. You are sure to find some deals.

5. Background Check - Here is a way to make your costume shine without spending a dime. Whatever medium your character is from, you have material to source from. Do some research by watching episodes or movies and read the comics. These will help you immensely by giving you dynamic poses that you can use for photos, catch phrases that will make convention goers love you even more and if you have the ability to do it, impersonating your character will seal the deal.

It is my hope that these 5 tips have given you some guidance in how to start, and upgrade and just have fun with your cosplay. Because that is the most important thing, to have fun. Sure, winning the ribbons can be amazing, to get the recognition for all your hard work, but nothing compares to the young child whose favourite character is you, the fan who flips out because of your cosplay, the mother who asks you to pose with her and her baby. These are the moments that make it worth it.

Thea Nikolic aka Critical Miss has been cosplaying for several years and has just recently started hosting panels at various conventions about cosplay. She is also an actor, so she loves to play and act like her various characters that she loves. You can follow her cosplay shenanigans with her costuming husband at their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/criticalmissandretrojoad. You can also follow her on Twitter @HarleyQuinnBabe as well as on Instagram harleyquinnbabe.

Photographer: Dana Harper  http://www.geekxgirls.com/showgeek.php?ID=2

Consent in Costume: A Geek Girl's Perspective

by Emily Towsley

My first experience cosplaying I didn’t even know that was what it was called. I wore a Joan of Arc costume that I had made myself from thrift store finds, and a handmade sword – I was a freshman in high school, and had to present on my own personal hero.

Though my costume was not revealing, apparently the leggings and hand stitched imitation jerkin were so different from my school’s normal uniform that the boys in the class thought it was their role to make comments about my legs from the back of the classroom as I was presenting. Sadly, after that day, I avoided wearing my own costumes.

My experience was only a sliver of the harassment female cosplayers endure at cons around the globe. From San Francisco to Australia, women have suffered harassment from their fellow geeks. Whether unwanted touching, comments, or both, none of these women were “asking for it”.

WHAT IS COSPLAY?

Cosplay is the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game. As I discussed in my Hawkeye article previously, many of these female figures are dressed in quite sexy clothing. Some girls wish to dress like their superheroes, and there should be nothing to stop them from doing so.

The idea that cosplay does not equal consent came from the women, and their supportive men folk, who were sick of feeling unsafe at places where they had gathered to celebrate their love of all things geek. And so, at various cons and events, many cosplayers began to pose in their costume, with signs reminding the viewer: “cosplay=/=consent.”

SUPERWOMEN AREN'T SEX OBJECTS

No matter how revealing, or how sexy a female cosplayer may be, it does NOT give permission for someone to touch you, speak to you demeaningly, or act in any other way that degrades you as a human being.

Cons are places where people gather to meet others with their same interests, collect merch, attend celebrity panels…and the list goes on. But never does one put on the costume of their favourite character, in the hopes that they will be harassed.

Thankfully, some cons are taking steps in the right direction.

Anime LA and Equestria LA are two of many conventions recently commended for their inclusion of anti-harassment policies in their programmes.

It is a shame that such policies have to be outlined in the first place. The schoolyard rule of  "keep your hands to yourself "apparently has to be reinforced in the new micro-societies that conventions have become.

But at least it’s a step in the right direction. Many authors and artists, sci-fi author Jon Scalzi included, are also enacting their own anti-harassment policies. He will not attend, either as a guest or an attendee, any con that does not have an enforced anti-harassment policy. No policy, no attendance. And over 1117 people have cosigned hispledge. Will you?

Emily Towsley, can be found either teasing her cat, or philosophizing with a customer over coffee in her second-life as a barista. Messages of support regarding her addiction to Netflix, and news of vintage teacup sales can be left on her twitter.(https://twitter.com/emtowsley) Her spare time is spent reading copious amounts of books, (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7246432-milie) or working on her latest blog. (http://spineonline.ca/emily-towsley/)

The Geek Girl Message Spreads: Operation Batgirl

This post was originally shared on our sister site, GirlCrafted.com
by Jordan Danger

Recently, Capital Geek Girls (our pet project here, the fanclub for geeky girls) was featured in Geek Inked Magazine.  But it gets even cooler.

Resident roving reporter "Rob" was inspired by our chat, and wrote a killer article called "Operation Truth", where he interviewed about a hundred different people (of all genders) about their experiences with and around sexual harassment and sexism at geeky conventions. He was in attendance at FanExpo in Toronto, and did his research there. Rob's article is fantastic, interesting, and makes me feel like the word of the Capital Geek Girls has been spread a little further with this great continuation and evolution of the geek girl movement. Hurray for cool geeky boys who support geeky girls!

Enjoy the article. Seriously, it's a good read.