Cosplay Harassment at NYCC: What Happened and What to Do About It

It was Sunday at New York Comic Con and I was up in the press room, resting my feet. I overhead someone telling her friend about her partner's harassment on the floor of the con. Considering that I was on my way to the anti-bullying panel I was on, I had to say something.

This is how I met Diana Pho, the woman in question. I just want to say this about what you're about to read. This sort of thing happens all the time and it's absolutely, positively unacceptable. That said, it's going to continue to happen the same way taxes, bad pizza outside of NY and traffic in LA happen. Unfortunately, you can't prevent harassment completely.

So ... I wanted to write this piece to focus on awareness and prevention instead of saying "bullying and harassment=bad," because we already know that. I also wanted to get you all the info about this incident. The only way to change this sort of thing is to make people aware of what's going on and why cosplay does not equal consent and what to do it if happens to you. I spoke to Diana and Lance Fensterman, Global Vice Presiden of ReedPop, which runs NYCC to talk about the issue. Here is what they had to say.

DIANA (who wrote about the incident on her blog here) tells us what happened:

I was at Artist Alley of New York Comic Con with a friend on Saturday when a film crew approached me about doing a quick interview. I had just completed one with a very polite and professional group earlier, so I didn't think this interview would be an issue. A warning bell went off, however, when they were reluctant to give the name of their show, and as soon as the host started asking questions, I was on my guard. The interviewer (which I later found out was Mike Babchik of the show Man Banter), asked me several sexual and racially fetishizing questions -- like whether he could pay me to stand next to him with my parasol if it rained (because he wanted "to buy an umbrella with an Asian girl"), whether I was a geisha (which immediately implied that I was submissive stereotype of an Asian woman), and finally, he made a disgusting comment that girls who stood next to him got a cream pie.  


I could feel the immediate anger boiling inside of me ready to unleash as the conversation went on, and only when I threatened to slap him did he and his crew flee the scene. I am usually a very sunny and cheerful person, and rarely get angry, but the objectifying way he treated me was too much. It also reminded me of all the other women and girls I know who had been creeped on at conventions (or worse) over the years, so I didn't want to let his crew get away thinking they were cool and macho to do something like that. 

 LANCE tells us when he learned about the incident: 

I am very aware of the situation since it was first reported. Since that time I’ve been working directly with the two victims that have spoken up directly.  I was alerted to the issue by our security team Saturday evening and our PR manager got immediately involved as it included members of the press. 

 DIANA talks about the response to her blog post about the incident.

It had been uproariously positive. Part of me was a bit afraid of backlash -- but a larger part of me was so very angry -- and not for me, but for all of those other young women that were probably also creeped upon by those guys. I didn't even realize that it would go viral so quickly. I wrote the initial tumblr post half-sleep at 1 AM Sunday, and when I woke up a few hours later, the post had already had hundreds of notes, and even more piled on once I had identified Man Banter. Because people tweeted at NYCC and then Lance Fensterman, I was able to connect with Lance quickly and he addressed my concerns within 10 hours of the post; and I was fielding responses all Sunday morning before leaving for the convention for the last day. There, of course, I had the pleasure of sitting on the anti-bullying panel and met you and the rest of the talented, dedicated advocates, which was especially inspiring, and to talk to Lance face-to-face.

I was totally taken back, however, to find major websites like Boing Boing, the Daily Dot and Mediabistro covering the story when I came into work on Monday. On Tuesday, the Asian-American activist group 18 Million Rising also contacted me saying that they wanted to hold a petition campaign against Babchik to hold Sirius XM Radio accountable in investigating him and his actions at NYCC. I never thought that one post could attract so much attention, but I think it sparked another fire in the on-going conversation about treatment of women in geekdom. 

 DIANA tells us about the response from NYCC:

Immediately after the incident, I tried looking for the group to take their photo, but they were no where to be found. I didn't want to go to on-site con security because I didn't have a picture ID to use to track them down, and at the time, I didn't even know the group's name. On top of that, I had my panel moderating duties to think of, and the panel I was able to moderate -- Geeks of Color Assemble: Minorities in Fandom -- was too important for me not to miss. (I greatly appreciate my panelists to being the first ones to listen and support me as I vented right before we went on stage!)

After I wrote the tumblr post and had a secure ID on the culprits on Sunday, I then went to the NYCC website's contact page to see who I could talk too. Unlike the rest of the senior staff, Lance's title as show manager and his description "ask me anything," seemed the most appropriate choice. I wrote him a letter explaining the situation and asking for his assistance in stopping Man Banter from continuing their actions at NYCC. I also tweeted to both him and the NYCC twitter. By then, my tumblr post had gained serious traction, and others were tweeting at NYCC as well, until Lance responded around 11 AM. I hadn't expected something to come so quickly, and he really did a great reply to my letter, which I posted.
 

However, I was concerned about a couple more things: 1) how did Man Banter get in? and 2) making sure that security policies were clear enough for other cosplayers to get the help they needed if they were in the same situation I was. By then, I had read Bethany Maddock's account online and how she had been harassed by Man Banter before me, tried to get con security to get rid of them, only to see them still on the floor hours later. So a greater concern of mine was to ask Lance what measures would be taken to be sure attendee complaints about harassment don't slip through the cracks. I got to talk to Lance briefly after the feedback session, and I hoped I had made those point across. Just because my experience had a happy ending doesn't let NYCC off the hook from preventing this from happening again at future cons.

LANCE tells us what to do if it happens to us:

Report the issue to the nearest staffer or security agent.  We take the safety of all attendees of any ReedPOP event as our first and highest priority.  Once alerted the reaction varies based on the incident.  If we witness something as it happens we will immediately intervene.  If it is presorted to us after the fact we then attempt to find the perpetrators and ascertain precisely what transpired.  But no matter the issue, when it comes to harassment, we react, investigate and take action, this issue is of the utmost importance to us as the event organizer.

In terms of raising awareness of the issue, LANCE says:

I think the responsibility of the cos player is to make the issue known to any representative of the event organizer immediately.  From that point it is really the responsibility of the event organizer to take immediate and appropriate action.  I would also suggest the cos players research prior to the event if the event the intend to attend has a clear and actionable anti harassment policy.  We do.  That indicates a commitment to creating a safe environment for all.  It is not a guarantee, but it does clearly show that the organizers care and commit to taking action on the behalf of victims.

DIANA says:

I think keeping the conversation alive is key. There have been fan-driven anti-harassment groups out there like Cosplay is Not Consent, the Backup Project, the Order of the White Feather, SFFEquality. There are also proactive solutions people are proposing to check in on convention policies; before NYCC, I had signed John Scalzi's pledge concerning convention harassment policies -- that I would not attend a convention that didn't have one in place. Over 1,000 professional writers, artists, creators and fans in the SF/F community also signed that pledge, and it's been a good way for people to be mindful of maintaining safe spaces. I hope to see other fandoms and geek communities do that more: help protect each other mutually in the spaces we share.

If I can give a piece of advice to people who have suffered from abuse and harassment, I say this: it is not your fault this happened to you. It is never your fault. And the most important part is for that person to feel safe again, and there are many ways of doing so. You can speak out, you can find support, you can leave a space if you need to heal yourself. I shall also emphasize that you don't need to speak out if you feel that it would be too unsafe. 

I understand that in my case, I spoke out and took a big risk, and I was very, very lucky not to get any major blowback. But I know that all victims of harassment and bullying may not be in a position where they feel like they can take that risk, whether it is because they are already marginalized (as in the case of transgender people) and risk suffering even further violence, or even if they know that they do not feel comfortable with all of the possible negative flack they would get (because victim-blaming is still a big part of our culture).  If a victim needs to protect themselves first after harassment happens, that's OK too.

And there are two things I'll tell people who witness harassment: one, don't be compliant. And two: always believe someone if they tell you they had gone through harassment. Don't blame them or force them to do anything they feel unsafe doing. Support, listen, and respect them - those are the key things are absolutely necessary. 

Finally, let me add the statement from LANCE about the NYCC policy:

We regret that this happened at New York Comic Con and want the community to know that we have always been and will continue to be extremely dedicated to making our events safe for everyone.  If anything, these incidents have only strengthen our resolve to do more to create a safe, fun, supportive, bullying and harassment free environment for all.  Enough cannot be done to insure this.

Well, guys, there you have it. 

Perhaps it's time to get these groups together. How about a panel about what to do if this happens? Perhaps a page on the official site. Maybe we can get groups like Cosplay is Not Consent and NYCC together to talk about things like getting fraudulent press passes, making the no tolerance policy very clear and what to do if it happens to you. 

So, sound off below. I want to hear what you guys have to say.