Hey, friends. It’s been a rough few weeks already in 2021, in the US and for the Lolita Fashion community. Behind the cute picture we’re using to appease various social media algorithms, here is what we at PPC are doing to be accountable for the safety of our future events.
Alt: a picture of Nif in a brown-tinted Metamorphose gobelin JSK with ivory chiffon blouse, ivory socks, brown shoes, and lace and flower headdress. She is checking her watch. Text to the right of her says “It’s Time For Community Accountability”.
We have made some updates to our website (https://prettyprincess.club). Of note, our “About” section has its own navigation tree. We moved our full Code of Conduct out of the Royal Vegas Retreat event FAQ page and into its own page under the about/ path.
We encourage all of our prospective attendees to read the Code of Conduct in full. In particular, we have new sections about our values, about fascist and alt-right symbols, and about racist and stereotypical portrayals. These are a direct response to so-called “community members” who have seen fit to dress themselves in ways that make light of atrocity and oppression. Thanks to the tireless work of people who care deeply about the Lolita Fashion community and put themselves on the line to out fascist sympathizers, we will make our event safer by adding known fascist sympathizers to our banlist.
We invite you all to come forward, publicly or privately, if you know of anyone else who endangers our community.
Now, it is time for a harder conversation. You may be looking at our new Code of Conduct and wondering about the recent (separate) harm perpetrated by one of our contracted special guests, and how we can possibly stand by our values when we have hired someone who causes harm to marginalized fashion fans.
There are 2 issues at play here:
How do we ensure that PPC only hires guests that reflect the values of our community?
What will we do to hold this guest accountable?
The answer to issue 1 is simple: implement a review process with our staff for all future special guests. In addition, we have proactively reached out to a couple of potential special guests that better reflect the community’s values. As soon as the future of RVR 2021 is clearer, we will determine how best to move forward with new special guests.
The answer to issue 2 is harder. Nif has reached out to the guest in question to offer direct support in becoming accountable. If we do not see long-term changes in behavior, we will remove the guest from our lineup at our own expense.
You have the right to hold us accountable for our decisions. Additionally, we do not expect you to take our declarations at face value - our actions should earn your trust. We cannot stand by and pay lip service to social justice without accounting for our role in the community. The community’s calls for accountability will make Lolita Fashion better, stronger, and safer - especially for marginalized community members. PPC’s job is to listen and take action accordingly. We hope that in doing so, we make it easier for other event organizations to do the same thing.
Thank you for reading. This is the second week in a row that we have struck a rather serious tone in our blog post. While we wait for spring and the promises of vaccination and a return to “normal,” we will continue to keep the lights on, provide transparency, and make improvements and updates across the board in anticipation of a 2021 event.