There are a couple of people in UK fandom who persistently take the line that any woman dressed in a low cut top/short skirt/corset/form fitting outfit -- anything but loose baggy old clothes, pretty much -- is harassing men. 'Men,' one of these individuals once said, 'are *genetically programmed* to look at breasts!' My friend major_clanger, who may be the Crown Prince of Sane, responded, 'Even if that's true, you're not programmed to go on staring.' This has led to the attitude from some that any attempt at an harassment policy must be resisted because it will be used by these characters as a novel way of harassing women. Fortunately most people don't think this -- and most con committees can tell the difference between this kind of 'complaint' and genuine ones. SO far, moreover, no such complaint has been made at any con that I know of. (There was one incident where a male complainant complained about another man erroneously in order to get at a 3rd man, who was on the con com, but it was resolved without major trauma.) I believe in codes of conduct. They work.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 08:46 am (UTC)This has led to the attitude from some that any attempt at an harassment policy must be resisted because it will be used by these characters as a novel way of harassing women. Fortunately most people don't think this -- and most con committees can tell the difference between this kind of 'complaint' and genuine ones. SO far, moreover, no such complaint has been made at any con that I know of. (There was one incident where a male complainant complained about another man erroneously in order to get at a 3rd man, who was on the con com, but it was resolved without major trauma.)
I believe in codes of conduct. They work.