Group Culture policies for The Art of Showing Up.
This week, we are here to play a lot and be experimental with images of our faces and bodies. We want to create a wide range of options for ourselves, and break out of limitations around our own visibility. This takes a willingness to be “in progress” - to be messy, to not be perfect, polished, or “on brand” for a while, while we apply our creativity to this task. Bringing it back to the brand comes later, informed by this process.
We are also here to support each other, inspire each other, and learn from each other -- and one of the ways we do that is by commenting thoughtfully on each other’s posts.
In order to make this space as safe AND as brave as possible, there is one golden rule that I want everyone to follow to participate in this workshop, and that is this:
In every post with your images in it, include your commenting policy for that post.
This means that each time you post your images, you are responsible for asking specifically what kinds of comments you want, and for stating the kinds you don’t want.
Examples:
“Thanks for looking at my images! Commenting policy: no comments please.”
“Commenting policy: please don't use judgement words like “beautiful” or “good” or “bad” in relation to my body -- but I would love your other reflections on the image.”
“Commenting policy: Please, tell me how beautiful I am. Appreciate everything about me and be specific!”
“Commenting policy: I’d like technical advice and critique only please. How can I make these more technically polished?”
“Commenting policy: brainstorm with me other ways I can approach this idea!”
(Of course, you are welcome to say anything else you would like to about your pictures as well.)
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Once you have stated your policy, it's up to you to make sure people stick to it on your thread. If someone isn’t respecting your boundaries and is not responding to your correction, PM me or Julie Derosa for help!
Obviously, this also means that when you are commenting on other people’s images, that you follow their commenting policy and do NOTHING else. You might be REALLY tempted to say other things ~ take note of that, but HONOR THEIR POLICY anyway.
Your moderators
As the teacher/moderator, I will be making sure the culture of our workshop is as safe, brave and fun as possible. Julie Derosa (the Bureau of Tactical Imagination’s Studio Wizard) will be assisting in moderation throughout the week as well.
My commitment to you:
If any images are posted that are oppressive to people with marginalized identities in any way, I will remove them. We might discuss over PM if necessary.
How will I determine if an image is oppressive to others, especially in the “grey areas’ we are all learning about?
One way: If someone experiences another’s image as oppressively harmful and notifies me about it, that’s enough. I want this to be a safe space for everyone, especially for people who have been made to feel less than safe in group contexts like this. We may not have time to discuss it, and that OK - I can still remove a post or comment if it's questionable to me or someone who comes to me with a concern.
Also, if images are posted that might trigger trauma in others, or are Not Safe for Work in a really obvious way, I will remove it or ask the poster to remove it as well -- not because the original poster doesn’t have the right to make the image (depending) but because in this large public forum part of making this accessible to as many of us as possible is keeping things in the range of PG-13 (or NC-17?).
What about “artful” nudes, you may ask? Well, that's a gray area - I welcome you to use your best judgement there. When and where is crosses over is subjective, and I will determine it. It’s my party!
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I am as excited for us to create a deeply supportive, fun and creative learning community as I am about seeing a flood of new images appearing in the group! Thank you for trusting this space and bringing your adventurous spirit!