I'm sorry, but I cannot buy into this "Protect the women" deal. I know I may get a lot of hate for this, but before browbeating me, read on:
Women are not some delicate little flowers that need to be protected at all times by us hulking, domineering men.
Women are capable, self sufficient people who don't NEED our protection.
I refuse to be so sexist as to assume any woman will ever need to hide behind me.
You want to help women in the FGC? The answer is about honesty and encouragement;
So here's honesty.
I've been to events many times. I've seen women cos-play in next to nothing, and those same women wind up in a pro player's hotel room. Then, I've seen the same cos-player wind up in a DIFFERENT pro player's hotel room the next event. Later, she complained that too many guys hit on her event after event. Her actions dictated what others perceived. 2 events, 2 scantily clad cos-play costumes, 2 different guys. She is a totally self sufficient individual with the right to make her own decisions, which she did. I respect that, and respect that she stuck to her guns and continued to cos-play at future events. She doesn't need some guy's protection.
We DO, however, live in a world where a promiscuous woman gets called a slut and a promiscuous man gets respect or called a player. Completely unfair, but that's our reality today. To change this, you have to change the culture. I don't have the answer on how to do this, I wish I did.
It's also HONEST to say that when people dress up, be it as a cos-player or just dressing up to look nice, you're hoping that people notice. Here's the truth about that; THEY DO. Our demographic is primarily late teen males to mid/upper 20's and some later than that. The majority fit in that late teen/mid-twenties group though. Guess what? Their brains are NOT fully developed!!! The human brain does not fully develop until 25 years old, in particular the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for complex planning, DECISION MAKING, logical and organized thinking, risk management, & IMPULSE CONTROL!!!
So what does this mean? This means that you're dealing with boys becoming men who have an impaired ability to assess risk, make good decisions and control their impulses. YOU WANT TO DRESS IN SEXY CLOTHING AND THROW YOURSELF INTO A GROUP OF THESE? Likewise, if you're in that late teens to mid-20's range and you're a woman, it's important to understand that you too have an impaired ability to assess risk, make good decisions and control your impulses. Remember, know your audience. It's not fair, but sometimes safety over fairness is a better decision.
Lets talk ENCOURAGEMENT;
Do you know someone who was sexually assaulted? ENCOURAGE her to come forward, name names and be specific. If she won't come forward and give names, ENCOURAGE her to explain why. What is she afraid of? If she's simply afraid of going to another event and seeing that person, ENCOURAGE her to NAME NAMES because the only way to go to that next event and not see him, is if she ACTIVELY helps remove him from the event. There is no other way.
I'm sure there's more I can add, but I need to get back to work.
