NEW ORLEANS (RPT) – A self-identified VSCO girl was denied a conference badge at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) registration table earlier today because she had submitted a confusing conference-required diversity statement. According to an official statement from SPSP, VSCO girl wrote in her diversity statement that some of her favorite phrases, including ‘sksksksksk’ and ‘and I opp!’ originated in black and LGBT communities, yet VSCO girl herself is a cis-gendered white female from the Denver suburbs. This raised serious questions about whether she was engaging in cultural appropriation and raised concerns among the leadership of SPSP, which is known to be a particularly progessive conference community.
“When they wouldn’t give me the badge I just straight up dropped my hydroflask. And then I pulled out my registration receipt from my Fjällräven Kånken bag, but they still wouldn’t give me my badge,” said VSCO girl when she was asked to comment. When an RPT correspondent asked her what she wrote in her diversity statement, she put her hair up in a scrunchie and replied, “I was honestly just trying to draw parallels between my own experience and members of the cultures from whom I derive my fashion choices and social media identity. And then I put my best Instagram filter on it.”
When asked why VSCO girl was denied a conference badge, an SPSP representative said, “We welcome VSCO girls, Kathys, Karens, and even a certain number of Kyles at this meeting.” He added, “just as long as they include our ‘Commitment to Diversity Guidelines’ verbatim in their diversity statements. Any other kinds of responses are too confusing for the committee to sort through.”
