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novapsycheAt a private room party at this year's PenguiCon, I overheard someone talking in very general terms about the Open Source Boob Project, and I exclaimed that I would totally do something like that. The woman who had been talking brought out the "YES, you may" pin and the "I participated, for Science" ribbon, which pleased me because I'd only garnered three ribbons by then. Before she turned back to her group of folks, she asked if she could touch my breasts, and considering that I'd just said I would and had donned the pin, I said yes. She did, complimented me, and that was that.
No one else felt me up. This was a bit to be expected, as I didn't get the pin until around 3 a.m. Saturday night, and my ride and I packed up and left just after noon Sunday.
I do have to say, however, that if I'd read![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theferrett's post about OSBP before someone offered me the pin, I would have turned it down, and perhaps gone into feminist reasons why I was declining. His post was extremely heterosexist, and I was dismayed that he got defensive to the point of not listening to others who pointed this out to him. I have to say that I didn't feel honored to be part of the group once my body had been reduced to "gropes". Sorry, but word choice matters.
And for him and a few others to proclaim, without qualifier, that "no one felt any peer pressure to participate" is disingenuous at best. I can say that even I felt a bit of peer pressure to do it once I had "opted in" (intheferrett's terminology)--no one explained to me that I had the option to turn away those who'd requested. Besides, how would it look if I let one person do it and then, when their friends asked, to climb up on my high horse and reject them? I mean, really, the whole thing smacks of social peer pressure, and I say that again as someone who is not modest about her body.
theferrett's post might have been excusable but for a few choice phrases and paragraphs, which really soured me to the entire enterprise.
So, no more OSBP for me.
Other posts about OSBP: The Ferrett clarifies his earlier post
scalzi writes about OSBP in his blog Whatever
James Nicoll lists his opinion (thanks,supergee)
pleonastic's take
springheel_jack adds commentary, including a very apt description of how privilege turns into -isms
pnkrokhockeymom has something to say
netmouse speaks
ojouchan breaks things down
coffeeandink has quite a bit to say
delux_vivens digs a little deeper
No one else felt me up. This was a bit to be expected, as I didn't get the pin until around 3 a.m. Saturday night, and my ride and I packed up and left just after noon Sunday.
I do have to say, however, that if I'd read
theferrett's post about OSBP before someone offered me the pin, I would have turned it down, and perhaps gone into feminist reasons why I was declining. His post was extremely heterosexist, and I was dismayed that he got defensive to the point of not listening to others who pointed this out to him. I have to say that I didn't feel honored to be part of the group once my body had been reduced to "gropes". Sorry, but word choice matters.And for him and a few others to proclaim, without qualifier, that "no one felt any peer pressure to participate" is disingenuous at best. I can say that even I felt a bit of peer pressure to do it once I had "opted in" (in
theferrett's terminology)--no one explained to me that I had the option to turn away those who'd requested. Besides, how would it look if I let one person do it and then, when their friends asked, to climb up on my high horse and reject them? I mean, really, the whole thing smacks of social peer pressure, and I say that again as someone who is not modest about her body.theferrett's post might have been excusable but for a few choice phrases and paragraphs, which really soured me to the entire enterprise.So, no more OSBP for me.
Other posts about OSBP: The Ferrett clarifies his earlier post
scalzi writes about OSBP in his blog WhateverJames Nicoll lists his opinion (thanks,
supergee)pleonastic's takespringheel_jack adds commentary, including a very apt description of how privilege turns into -ismspnkrokhockeymom has something to saynetmouse speaksojouchan breaks things downcoffeeandink has quite a bit to saydelux_vivens digs a little deeper