Comic- Con grapples with #MeToo era
Comic-Con — the annual gathering of 130,000-plus fans, artists, collectors and geek culture savants — has already been changed by the #MeToo and Time’s Up era, with at least one notable figure stepping aside because of sexual-misconduct allegations.
But questions remain about its atmosphere and whether convention organizers will take any extra steps to address long-standing allegations of harassment issues during the event, which kicked off Wednesday night in San Diego and runs through Sunday.
The convention has always been a home for comic-book and genre enthusiasts, but it also has been a place rife with harassment of women and others, whether it’s cosplayers (people who dress up in costumes), general attendees or even those hawking merchandise (sometimes called “booth babes”).
“I don’t think any convention has historically been a safe or inviting space for women,” said Cher Martinetti, managing editor of SYFY Wire’s Fangrrls site.
Just weeks ago, Nerdist founder Chris Hardwick, a mainstay at Comic-Con and moderator of many panels, stepped aside from moderating AMC and BBC America panels amid allegations from an ex-girlfriend , which Hardwick has denied. And since last fall, some other familiar Comic-Con faces have also been accused of misconduct, including Ain’t The annual Comic-Con International, taking place through Sunday in San Diego, is expected to draw more than 130,000 pop-culture devotees.
It Cool News founder Harry Knowles and Honest Trailers creator Andy Signore.
Comic-Con has a code of conduct, but, as with most big confabs and entertainment festivals, events don’t stop when the convention center closes. Many attendees continue their nights at parties and offsite installations, beyond the reach of convention hall security and staff.
And Comic-Con has the distinction of many attendees dressing in costumes, some of which can be revealing.
In 2014, a group called Geeks for CONsent made waves petitioning for a formal anti-harassment policy at Comic-Con. The group organizers carried signs and passed out
temporary tattoos that year that read, “Cosplay does not equal consent.”
Since #MeToo shook the culture, other largescale gatherings have re-evaluated their own safety protocols. Some have addressed the issue openly and instituted hotlines for attendees to report instances of harassment. The Sundance Film Festival this year updated its code of conduct and partnered with the Utah Attorney General’s Office to implement a 24-hour hotline.
Representatives for Comic-Con International declined to provide specifics about its security measures but said that they work closely with the San Diego Police Department and other law-enforcement entities. They also employ several
private security companies.
Some attendees said they expect the atmosphere to be changed this year because of the social movements and the implicit message sent when Hardwick stepped aside from his panels. Martinetti, who agreed to host a session about women changing the game in sci-fi and genre with panelists like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” creator Rachel Bloom, is one, but with a caveat.
“I think it’ll be a little different because when you see someone who is a bigger name and a known personality be held accountable for their actions and their behavior, it puts everyone else on alert,” Martinetti said. “But I think it’s a temporary thing.”
Still, she has seen some positive changes during the past few years, “not just in the makeup of the panels and the topics that were discussed but also in the verbiage that’s used toward cosplayers and being more accommodating toward not just women but anyone who isn’t a straight, white, ablebodied cisgender male.”
There are several femalecentric panels this year, including Entertainment Weekly’s annual Women Who Kick Ass panel, ones on body positivity, women in publishing, women of color in comics, the women of “Star Wars” and the “fake geek girl fallacy.”
The convention is also hosting panels on intersectional Afrofuturism, queer comics for queer kids (and another about being queer and black) and general diversity in comics. There’s even one titled “#METOO to #TIMESUP: An Action Summit for Comics.”
Like many of the more inclusive panels, however, the #METOO panel is programmed in a smaller room directly against a presentation from a major Hollywood studio — in this case, Sony Pictures.
As an eight-year ComicCon veteran, Fandango correspondent and TCM host Alicia Malone, who returned to host a panel called “The Future of Film Is Female,” hopes that things are evolving.
“There is so much focus on it that the #MeToo and Time’s Up movement can’t be ignored,” she said. “I’m so optimistic, more than ever, that things are going to change from now on.”