Yeah. Once again, females are expected to ‘prove’ their worth.
In every sense. Basically the girls in skimpy clothing apparently aren’t hot enough to wear them and must have boring lives that makes them come out and crave this attention. So all the generic female insults in one go.
I won’t even go into the hypocrisy of whining about how these cosplayers only pay attention to nerdy guys at cons, while I see those same nerdy guys ignoring, spurning, and insulting those women constantly.
I like to actually, you know, talk with men and women and kids of all ages. Talk. About subjects they like and that I like.
I don’t actually like to talk with someone actively putting me down to my face or behind my back. Or constantly putting down others for their own self worth.
If you want to start a dialogue with a cosplayer ask question you are interested in the answer to! When you are not listening we know and what follows? You think we are snobs because we can’t engage. I keep my answers pretty short when I know someone is just trying to bait also.
Adding to the above derailment, but there are also a ton of costumes/cosplays that aren’t comic-related. So many other genres: anime, movies, tv, sci-fi, fantasy, books, historical, video games, cartoons, and the list goes on and on.
I am super thankful that Bioware has embraced the scene so much. I would never personally expect anything* in return for spending months and years sculpting and casting to make what is essentially free advertising for them- because I am playing in their sandbox. But it is nice when a company appreciates how much their creation means to so many people that they go to such incredible lengths to connect with their fans.
*Edited: because people seem to assume there is an expectation……
Look I also work at cons. I am a cosplay wrangler and judge- part of that job is face time with potential contestants. I get to see the full gamut of cosplays from the sublime to the closet grab. And I love and appreciate them all.
How do I survive and not go mad or get all Judgey McJudgerson? I listen to the stories each and every cosplayer tells me. I may not remember them all (it’s coming up to several thousand stories here…..) but by making sure I listen to them I can understand each person has their own story.
It is easy to get mad at some nameless faceless mob that is *different from you* no one ever complains about the group they identify with even when there are clearly problems all over the scene. Because it must be Them, not Us, because if it is Us it must then be Me.
I was called a nerd all through high school. It was not a cool thing. I am still not cool. I just make cool shit and like to wear it.
PS, sorry I had to clip a lot of text but all the links are there to the tumblrs who went first so you can read all of their thoughts.