Cosplays that you SHOULD NOT wear

Those who know me realize I have long been an advocate of cosplay.  People might be sick of hearing me say "cosplay is about fun" or "cosplay whomever you want."  For many of my friends, I'm preaching to the choir when I state that you can cosplay anyone regardless of your age, gender, body type, skin color or species (yes, I have seen dogs cosplaying).

 

So why am I talking about cosplays you should not wear?

 

Recently there was quite a bit of online buzz about two people who were at DragonCon and cosplayed the twin towers of the World Trade Center.  They depicted the buildings on fire and used dolls to show people jumping to their deaths.  No matter your thoughts on the attack and subsequent collapse of those buildings, thousands of people lost their lives.  It was a tragedy that united a country and highlighted the heroic nature of those who responded to the crisis, sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

 

These "cosplayers" were exercising bad taste and poor judgment. I'm not quite exactly sure if it qualifies as cosplay at all.  Cosplay is a celebration of fandom, showing your enjoyment of a particular show, movie, video game or even a particular person (here I'm referring to those cosplayers who might portray Weird Al or Howard Stern).  Do the costumes worn by these people show them to be fans of a tragic event?  Are they celebrating it?  I would hope not.

 

Yes, you can cosplay whomever or whatever you want.  You don't have to cosplay a person... I've seen people cosplay the TARDIS, automobiles and starships.  These people were within their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States to cosplay these buildings.

 

However, it is also the right of others to respond to such a cosplay and express displeasure with the choice.

 

This does not mean, as I have seen some internet posts suggest, that these people should be physically attacked.  Lots of people said "If I'd been there, I would have done...." and then described whatever physical attack appealed to them the most.  Honestly, I think most of these people are full of it.  Plenty of people at DragonCon saw these people in costume and did not attack them and I think these people posting "what they would have done" would likely have done nothing.

 

It is my understanding (and please, if my information is incorrect, please correct me) that DragonCon sent security to remove these individuals from the con, but by then they had left.  Was DragonCon correct to (attempt to) take such an action?  Would they be violating the rights of these people?  No.  DragonCon is a private event and as such can eject someone from their convention for any or even no reason.  They are very tolerant of cosplay, but if they receive complaints (they did) about certain attendees or decide those attendees are disruptive (I believe they came to that conclusion) to other guests, they can remove that individual.  Rules for attendees can be stricter than legal requirements.

 

Is this censorship?  In a way.  But well within the rights of the con.

 

Getting back to these particular people who decided to portray the twin towers... they absolutely had the right to wear those costumes.  If I had encountered them (which was pretty unlikely, since I had to skip DragonCon this year), I would have... likely told them I felt their costumes were in bad taste and suggested they reconsider them.  Which I am sure many others did.

 

So what's the bottom line?  Just because you can wear a costume... doesn't mean you should.  The majority of cosplayers understand this.  The majority of cosplayers wear costumes that celebrate something they love.

 

For those who aren't sure... there are some things that you can do... but really shouldn't.  These are:

 

• Wear a costume depicting a tragedy such as the fall of the twin towers
• Wear blackface to portray a difference ethnicity.
• Wear the uniform of a group known for hate or atrocities. (Nazi unforms, Klu Klux Klan, etc.)
• Wear a costume that blatantly targets any group with the intent to offend

 

This isn't a comprehensive list.  But when putting together a costume, you should keep these things in mind... even if you might think it's funny or "people will get it."  You should think about whether your costume celebrates a fandom or celebrates a tragedy or hateful behavior.


Do people make mistakes?  Certainly.  There have been some who have used blackface to portray characters of a different ethnicity and caused a lot of outcry.  Some people say the offenders should have known better.  Frankly, there are a lot of people who aren't aware of the historical significance of blackface and were trying to be accurate.  Most of these people, when they make this mistake, apologize and don't do it again.  I respect that.  I would hope they might have friends to advise them against this, but maybe their friends don't know.  Making a mistake is understandable and can be forgiven.


Were the people wearing the offensive costumes at DragonCon just ignorant of their mistake?  Perhaps.  Were they insensitive to a tragedy?  Yes.  Maybe they realized their mistake and removed (and hopefully destroyed) those costumes.  One can hope.  Some feel these people were deliberately wearing the costumes to gain attention.  That's possible too, but I'm not sure that I would want to receive that kind of attention.  I haven't heard anything more about these people or their motivations... and frankly, it doesn't matter.  They are an excellent example of costumes you shouldn't be emulating.


Cosplay is about fun.  Even when you choose to portray a villain from a fandom, it's still about fun.  Let's bring it back to that.  And if you see someone in a costume that is offensive, you can tell them your feelings about the costume and move on.  Or just ignore them.  Don't let their costume choice dictate your enjoyment of the event you're attending.


In other words... have fun and cosplay on.




(NOTE: There are some people who might take telling someone their costume is offensive to mean if you don't think the person looks good in the costume you should tell them this.  That's downright rude and not the intent.  You can tell someone if the costume is offensive... do not take it as license to tell someone they don't have "the body" or "the right look" for the character they are portraying.  Yes, you have the right to say what you will.  Just because you can say something, doesn't mean you should. In other words... don't be an ass.)

Batman (feat. Drew Powell) - Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight S02E01

Just a quick note that Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight Season Two premieres on August 22nd.


Check out the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CLmWKoTg2E

The Ugliest Cosplayers

You've probably seen them at every con.  The Superman who's as thin as a rail who looks like a strong breeze would knock him down.  The girl dressed as  Wonder Woman who doesn't come close to qualifying as model thin.  The short and round Chewbacca.  The super thin Slave Leia with the crooked teeth.  The Batman with his belly sticking out over his utility belt.

These cosplayers are beautiful.

They go out on the con floor with bright smiles, proudly dressed as a character they love.  Some of them spent months getting their costume ready just for this moment.  Or saved every dime to buy that costume because they wanted to, for a short time, become the superhero, the video game character, the villain of their choice.  They practiced the walk, the talk and the attitude.  And you just can't beat the look in their eye when someone asks to take a picture of them.  They are truly beautiful.

I know what you're thinking.  This is supposed to be about the ugliest cosplayers.  Well, they are around as well.

You can't necessarily spot them by their appearance, but these cosplayers are the ones who sit in judgment over others.  They are the ones who say "You shouldn't dress in a costume like that with your body" or "You look nothing like the character " or "You're too ugly to cosplay."

These cosplayers are ugly on the inside.  I hate to even call them cosplayers, because while they may be in a costume, they just don't get it.  Cosplay is not about looking exactly like the character.  Cosplay is not about "dressing for your body type."  It's not about how you look in your costume.  It's about how you feel in your costume.

Cosplay is a celebration of fandom.  It's about showing love for a character.  It's about joining a community of like minded people who also love to cosplay.  It's about sharing tricks and tips, and sharing joys and passion. Cosplay is about fun.  There's no room for hate.

There are cosplayers who look almost exactly like a character.  There are cosplayers who don't.  But one thing they have in common is enjoying this awesome hobby where they can dress like their favorite hero, villain, anti-hero or whatever they like.  When cosplayers gather to share their passion, it's a fantastic experience for all of them.

But just as with any group, there are those who would rather tear down than build up.  Those who would rather tell someone they are too fat, too skinny or too ugly.  Perhaps this makes them feel better about themselves.  Perhaps it gives them a sense of superiority.

For those who understand cosplay, it just makes these people ugly.  And the worst part is… they choose to be ugly.  And that's just sad.

What kind of cosplayer do you choose to be?

Just figured I'd put the trailer to my cosplay series here. Go to www.cosplayspotlight.com for more information and to see full episodes. And yes, I know I was going to do a weekly blog. One day. LOL

CONVENTION CREEPERS… ARE THERE AS MANY AS YOU THINK?

It seems there is a lot of outrage nowadays about creepers at conventions. If you aren't familiar
with what a creeper is, it's usually someone (in most cases a guy) who attempts to grope
someone (in most cases a girl), touch them inappropriately, makes unwelcome comments about
someone's physical attributes or tries to take pictures at angles designed to show more than the
subject of the picture is comfortable showing (like up the skirt shots or closeups of cleavage).
Creepers are a definite problem at conventions, there is no doubt. People who treat others as
objects are a problem everywhere.

I can't help wonder, though, if some of those labeled as creepers are not actually creepers. I'm not
saying in all cases… they are out there. But I do have to wonder if some convention goers…
usually cosplayers… are so worried about creepers that they see them where they don't exist.
There are definite actions that make one a creeper. Unwanted physical contact is definitely one
of them. There can be no debate that creeping has occurred if a butt is grabbed or a breast is
touched.

But consider the following scenario. Let's say we have a nineteen year old female cosplayer. She
is dressed in a costume that reveals a lot of leg and cleavage. She is approached by a couple
different guys. Here's how the interactions go:

A 20 year old guy who would be considered "good looking" by many women, approaches the
cosplayer. He looks her over from head to toe and, since he's a heterosexual male, his gaze
lingers a little longer on the exposed cleavage. He then looks the cosplayer in the eye.
"Nice costume," he says.
"Thank you!" The cosplayer then proceeds to chat with him and pose for a picture.

Now, same scenario, only instead of it being a 20 year old guy, let's put in a 45 year old guy. The
years haven't been that kind, he's losing some hair, has a bit of a paunch. He too approaches and
looks the cosplayer over from head to toe and, since he's a heterosexual male, his gaze lingers a
little longer on the exposed cleavage. He then looks the cosplayer in the eye.
"Nice costume," he says.
"Ugh. Creeper." The cosplayer walks away, feeling violated.

In both situations the actions were the same. However, in the first case the cosplayer enjoyed the
attention from someone she thought might be "cute." In the second… this guy was older and not
good looking (to the cosplayer), so it was creepy.

Sure, there are plenty of subtleties in these interactions. Tone of voice, facial expressions and
more can definitely affect the outcome. But if all things are equal, this scenario results in the
same two different reactions from the cosplayer depending on the person who is approaching
them.

Again, I don't state for a moment that creepers aren't out there and cosplayers don't need to be
aware of them. However, some cosplayers dress in sexy outfits not just for the fun of it… but
because they enjoy the reactions of some of the people they meet. Some don't stop to think that
some of the people they meet might give the desired reaction… but may not be the one they want
the reaction from.

To further delve into this issue, let's take a look at the book and film series Twilight. In the first
book and film, Edward admits to entering Bella's room without her knowledge to watch her
sleep. She doesn't find this creepy… she seems to find it romantic. Because Edward looks like a
very attractive boy of seventeen. But he is over 100 years old. Imagine instead of looking like a
seventeen year old, he looked like a fifty year old. Instead of being slim, tall and attractive, he
has a beer gut, thinning hair, he's short in stature and looking like he hadn't shaved in a week.
Would that be romantic? Or would it be creepy?

The majority of cosplayers enjoy attention when they are at an event. Which is fine. I'm a
cosplayer and I love it when someone tells me I look good and wants a picture with me. I also
realize that I might get enthusiastic attention from some people that I might not consider
attractive. Yes, as a male cosplayer I do not get nearly the same amount of "creepers" that
female cosplayers do (though I do get some). I would just like cosplayers to consider… is the
person you're dealing with doing something that would be acceptable if they were younger or
better looking? Is it really the kind of attention you received that's offensive or is it that you
didn't like the person giving you the attention? Should people who are older or less attractive be
held to a different set of standards than younger, more attractive people?

While legitimate cases of cosplayers or even just convention attendees in general being
victimized by creepers do exist in more numbers than there should be, it is my belief than some
people are so oversensitive to the possibility of being "creeped on" that they see creepers where
they don't exist.

I would love to hear some thoughts… what do you consider being "creeped on" at a convention?
Are some people oversensitive? Where do you draw the line?

Body shaming and the impossible standard...

Just a quick rant... this society has turned into a very polarized, black and white one. For example, I just read an article about reactions to an advertisement asking "Are you beach body ready?" and featuring a picture of an attractive girl in a bikini... a model with just about zero body fat. It was an ad for a weight loss program of some kind. Reactions to it were quite amusing, as people reacted to the body shaming message. And I quite agree that holding women to an impossible standard of beauty is stupid and ridiculous. However, many people say "No matter your weight, you are fine. You are good the way you are." I like that message, but does it always apply? I've been working on losing weight myself, not because I am trying to look like Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy (OK, I would love to be that muscular and defined), but to improve my health. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. You don't have to be a supermodel. But if you are overweight and it's affecting your health, then you do need to do something about it. There are a lot of health problems with being overweight... and sometimes being overweight can be a sign of other health problems. So while I don't think every woman should look like a model, I also think every woman... and man... should try to attain a healthy weight. It's wrong to hold people up to ridiculous standards, but I also think it's wrong to say that some who is extremely overweight or obese shouldn't be looking to improve themselves. (I also think those who do look like "models" and maintain that look in a healthy way shouldn't be shamed either.) This world has so few black and white areas... the best way is usually in the middle somewhere. I wish more people would see that. </end rant>