Dystopia Rising New York encourages body positivity to all, without exception for gender or other characteristics. In order to promote this, and ensure all players feel safe dressing in the costume of their choice, we have the following announcements:
At Dystopia Rising New York, we do not have costuming restrictions that vary between individual players. This means any player who chooses to “go topless” may do so without restriction.
No person should ever make an unwanted comment about another player’s body. This includes (but is not limited to) comments about age, weight, hair, physical ability. If someone makes an unwanted comment, expect at a minimum a written warning to be added to their character sheet. More severe harassment or further instances will result in a suspension or Refusal of Service (ROS).
If a person makes an unwanted sexual comment about another person’s body, they can expect a suspension or ROS without a warning. This includes any comment made towards a topless person about their body.
Remember, these consequences are expectations, and will be exercised at the judgment of the staff. Misunderstandings do occur, as do particularly egregious violations, and the staff of DRNY will use these guidelines to meet our primary goal: that all our players feel comfortable at our events, and can dress as they wish without fear of shaming or other forms of harassment.
Transparency: this policy stems from an incident that occurred at our previous event where unwanted comments were made about an individual while swimming. While we have addressed the matter with the individual(s) involved, we wanted to make a public statement about our values and ensure all individuals know about the consequences of making unwanted comments in regards to another person’s body.