Mephit Fur Meet 2014 has come and gone! All in all, it was a good con.
For those that don’t know, I’m one of the co-directors there. MFM uses a little bit of a different configuration than most cons – we don’t have a Board of Directors, we have five directors, each with equal power. We each have an area to watch over, but we all have the full authority of Mephit Fur Meet when we act. With the right group (like we have right now), it’s a good system. One bad apple could quickly spoil the bunch, however. In a more traditional structure, it’s like we have five co-chairs and I’m one of them? I think. 🙂
I’m not going to write about the con itself. There will be plenty of that later. This is MY LiveJournal, not the convention’s, so I’ll write about things from my world view. 🙂
I passed with darn near 100% accuracy. I think everyone that came into the reg line greeted me as a lady. If anyone didn’t, I certainly didn’t pick up on. The only people that slipped up are people that knew me before, but I don’t interact with constantly. (ie, other staff members) The other directors were perfect all weekend and I love them dearly for that.
I did my part and tried hard to look feminine all weekend. I wore skirts, pretty colors, dangling earrings, etc. I even left my hair down as much as I could because I pass better with it down. (I have some male hairline recession that I need to address one of these days.) I tend to put my hair up when it’s hot, but it was important to me to pass, so I did. 🙂
The days when I had on a skirt I made sure I did not leave the convention grounds alone. I’d drag someone else with me, and that worked. Here in San Francisco it’s a non-issue (I wear skirts to work on a very regular basis), but I just didn’t feel completely safe there.
I had one bad incident at a McDonalds after hours where a mother told her child I was “a boy that takes girl drugs and dresses like a girl,” which was kinda upsetting, but I just let it go. It wasn’t my fault, and at least she was able to tell I’m trans, which is good! (If you’re ever in this situation, the correct response is “She’s just here to get dinner like we are. Leave her alone.”)
On the drive to and from the con I put my safety ahead of my pride and used the men’s restrooms. I didn’t like doing that one bit, but I just wanted to get to and from the con safely. I think I made the right call here. I didn’t change how I present, however.
I had a funny moment on Friday. Alexander Katz, a friend whom I’ve had many years, said “I’ve been trying to figure out who that chick was on the radio. Finally it occurred to me that ‘Oh, it’s Bunny!'” That really made me smile since I’ve been working on that very hard.
All in all, a great con. I can’t wait for next year. Even if it is a whole lotta work. 🙂
BunnyNet 