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As we talk about creepy pros and harassers who abuse their power, I want to note that not every harasser has power. Some of them use that lack of power as a shield.
"Oh, did he say that to you? Well, that's just Bob, he's been with the club for thirty years, we're ALL HE HAS, do you REALLY need to file a complaint?"
"Oh, did he touch your boob? Well, Dan doesn't always have great spatial awareness, he didn't MEAN anything by it."
"Oh, did he touch your boob? Well, Dan doesn't always have great spatial awareness, he didn't MEAN anything by it."
Especially if you're a younger female or AFAB non-binary creator, these guys can be creepy fuckers and then it gets flipped around on you as "how dare you take this safe space away from HIM, when he needs it, and you don't?"
(And it gets worse when you're talking about a small fandom or local group. Because YOU aren't family, but Dave, Dan, Alex, Carl, Bill, he IS family. You're the wicked witchy bitchy interloper, here to TAKE AWAY his family.)
The fact that HE made choices, that HE chose to be a creepy harasser, somehow doesn't exempt you from the censure for daring to have an enforce boundaries, and the perceived power imbalance of SEANAN MCGUIRE, NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR vs. LOCAL FAN JOE.
And this is part of why we need to stop pretending that the choice is "report harassment or don't." The choice is "harass or don't."
Once they choose, we react. We're not the ones in the wrong.
Once they choose, we react. We're not the ones in the wrong.
