Stormtroopers, Sailor Moons and Wicked Witches of the West are common sights at conventions like Fan Expo Canada.

What’s not so common is the sign reminding people to keep their hands off costumed attendees, known as cosplayers, and ask permission before snapping photos.

For the first time in its 21-year history, Toronto’s proudly geeky pop culture convention posted a sign reminding patrons: “Cosplay is not consent.”

“Please keep your hands to yourself,” the sign read. “If you would like to take a picture with or of another fan … always ask first and respect that person’s right to say no.”

Though organizers said Friday they were not aware of any sexual harassment reports made at the convention, it’s a common concern for some convention-goers.

“For sure. I’ve had it happen to me,” Sam Maggs, the Toronto author of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, told the Star.

“I had a guy grab my butt once when I was in costume,” she said. “I turned around to confront him and he tried to be like, ‘Ew, I’m not into you anyways; I wouldn’t do that.’ He can’t even apologize!”

Maggs has cosplayed at conventions across North America, and though she says everyone has a story similar to hers, it’s not what defines the experience.

“The majority of interactions at these conventions are so positive and so great,” she said. “I think it’s equivalent to the real world, where 99.9 per cent of the time things are great, but there’s always that 1 per cent of people that always have to ruin the party.”

Similar signs have cropped up at conventions across North America, including New York Comic Con and Fan Expo Dallas.

Organizers of Toronto’s expo, which wrapped up a four-day run at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Sunday, say it’s a sign of the times, but not a political statement.

“I think it’s a movement within the convention world right now,” said the show’s director, Andrew Moyes. “It’s a heightened environment. People are excited and sometimes boundaries can be blurred,” he said. “It’s helpful just to have a few pieces around the event that … shape expectations and help everyone navigate their experience.”

Discussions about consent and victim-blaming are a movement outside the convention world, too.

Ontario’s new sex-ed curriculum includes lessons on consent in the primary grades.

And the international Slut Walk movement, which started in Toronto in 2011, has spawned marches from Europe to Asia to Latin America with the rallying cry that harassers, not a victim’s clothes, are to blame for sexual harassment.

Professor Susan Knabe, who teaches both women’s and media studies at Western University, says the wider society is picking up on the importance of these issues.

“Many more young women are sensitized and aware of these issues in a much broader way,” she said. “Before, people would find their way to (women’s studies); now they’re coming to seek us out.”

She also credits celebrities such as Emma Watson, a popular figure in the convention world thanks to her role in the Harry Potter movies, for her efforts, including her role as a goodwill ambassador for UN Women.

“A lot of young women identify with her, grew up with her, and she’s standing up and taking a very pro-feminist stance on a whole number of issues. And they see that it’s OK to do that, and they see that there’s a kind of destigmatization around this.”

The young women the Star spoke to were happy to see the no-harassment sign at the Toronto event.

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Dressed as their favourite characters from The Walking Dead, first-time convention-goers Patricia Karageorgos and her friends spotted someone “creepily taking a picture of us,” she said.

“I was like, ‘Don’t do that. I didn’t say you could take my picture,’” Karageorgos added.

Despite the invasion of privacy, Karageorgos and her friends are already planning their costumes for next year.