I must warn you, my lovelies, that I am once again in college. Given that I do advocate responsibility and personal accountability, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't at least try to put school first. I ended up crashing at something like 7 PM last night after my first full day of classes. I only have one class today, so it looks like Magical Girl Power may now update predominantly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends.
All right! That bit of business out of the way, and now I have something to say on the subject of respecting people of both genders at conventions. With my first con of the year, MomoCon in Atlanta, Ga., coming up, I feel this needs bringing up. I know cons are a great place to see people and stuff that you never thought you'd see in your life. It's so easy to just whip out a phone and snap a few pictures, but put the brakes on! For the sake of everyone's personal comfort - and possible safety issues - please ask before you take a picture of any person!
Believe it or not, some people at cons are actually really shy. I don't care if she's the most perfect Sailor Moon or he's the best Spike Spiegel you've ever seen. It's the respectful and polite thing to do to just walk up and ask before you start snapping. And, again, please be prepared to take 'no' for an answer. They may be in a hurry, or not comfortable with someone they don't know taking a picture of them. And no, you don't get to say "Well, it's just part of going to a con, getting your picture taken!" That's putting you, not them, in control of their body and personal space, and that's not okay. Yes, it also counts if there are still twenty people standing around taking pictures. Before you snap, ask.
One exception: If there is a scheduled photoshoot going on. See what's going on at that particular con for details on photoshoots and whatnot. You may want to just check with whoever's heading things up or a few of the cosplayers - it's polite to introduce yourself regardless, particularly if you want to post your pictures. If you frequently take pictures at a con, it may be worth your while to print up little bits of paper (doesn't have to be formal business cards) identifying you and giving your link. People are normally more okay with getting their pictures taken if they know where to go find them. And, please, if the subject of one of your photos expresses discomfort or asks you to take a picture down, it's the right thing to do to respect their wishes.
This stuff is probably common sense to most of us, I realize. I'm only posting it as 1. a reminder, and 2. so we can continue to watch after each other and make cons better places. I've heard so many people over the last few years talk about how cons are going downhill. In some cases, I agree - and a lot of it is because people seem to just be forgetting their manners and when that happens, instead of trying to set things right, people just leave. That's not making things any better. When you love something, really love it, you have to be willing to work to make it better.
Marigold/Hyper-chan, looking forward to Momo-Con already, returning to Criminal Minds!
All right! That bit of business out of the way, and now I have something to say on the subject of respecting people of both genders at conventions. With my first con of the year, MomoCon in Atlanta, Ga., coming up, I feel this needs bringing up. I know cons are a great place to see people and stuff that you never thought you'd see in your life. It's so easy to just whip out a phone and snap a few pictures, but put the brakes on! For the sake of everyone's personal comfort - and possible safety issues - please ask before you take a picture of any person!
Believe it or not, some people at cons are actually really shy. I don't care if she's the most perfect Sailor Moon or he's the best Spike Spiegel you've ever seen. It's the respectful and polite thing to do to just walk up and ask before you start snapping. And, again, please be prepared to take 'no' for an answer. They may be in a hurry, or not comfortable with someone they don't know taking a picture of them. And no, you don't get to say "Well, it's just part of going to a con, getting your picture taken!" That's putting you, not them, in control of their body and personal space, and that's not okay. Yes, it also counts if there are still twenty people standing around taking pictures. Before you snap, ask.
One exception: If there is a scheduled photoshoot going on. See what's going on at that particular con for details on photoshoots and whatnot. You may want to just check with whoever's heading things up or a few of the cosplayers - it's polite to introduce yourself regardless, particularly if you want to post your pictures. If you frequently take pictures at a con, it may be worth your while to print up little bits of paper (doesn't have to be formal business cards) identifying you and giving your link. People are normally more okay with getting their pictures taken if they know where to go find them. And, please, if the subject of one of your photos expresses discomfort or asks you to take a picture down, it's the right thing to do to respect their wishes.
This stuff is probably common sense to most of us, I realize. I'm only posting it as 1. a reminder, and 2. so we can continue to watch after each other and make cons better places. I've heard so many people over the last few years talk about how cons are going downhill. In some cases, I agree - and a lot of it is because people seem to just be forgetting their manners and when that happens, instead of trying to set things right, people just leave. That's not making things any better. When you love something, really love it, you have to be willing to work to make it better.
Marigold/Hyper-chan, looking forward to Momo-Con already, returning to Criminal Minds!
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