Cosplay – kinda cool or creepy and weird?
I have to admit to being in somewhat of an odd mood just now… Had a couple things I was considering writing about, but in the end, I’m just too uncommitted to any of them to make a compelling argument either way. Cosplay for example… kinda cool or creepy and weird? I’m honestly undecided.
On the kinda cool side we have this:
And this:
Okay, yes… they’re both Rainbow Dash from FiM, but let’s face it. She makes everything at least 20% cooler. 😉
Now, on the creepy and weird side we have this:
And while yes, it may feature Rainbow Dash along side Apple Jack… even the typical coolness factor of RD couldn’t save this. Yep. Just way too creepy and weird.
Now because all three examples were from My Little Pony (ya had to know that if I was going to do a post on cosplay, it would mainly feature the characters from Friendship is Magic), I’ll toss one more out there. Now, prepare yourselves. This last image takes the cake on both the weird and the creepy. No idea what this person was thinking, nor what character she’s attempting to portray from what show, book, or what-have-you… but here she is (and don’t say I didn’t warn you):
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…had to give you one last chance to turn away.
Here it is:
So… while I think cosplay has the potential to be fun and harmless, there are folks like this poor individual who just take it to the creepy and weird level. And it really is a whole NEW level of creepy and weird, thus ruining it for anyone who may be a fence sitter on the whole idea. Because seriously, anyone who thinks THAT is awesome? Well… I think they may need some serious help (and I do hope they have someone in their life qualified to give just that).
Yep. I’m just in that kinda head space. Not committing one way or another. Just trying to get my head around something I stumbled upon and not really sure where it all fits.
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I was only able to track down a credit for one of these four images, so if you know who the others belong to, or you’re willing to own up them being yours, drop me a line and let me know. I’m a firm believer in giving credit where it’s due. In that spirit, the second image (the Rainbow Dash with the longer hair and rainbow arm bands) is Aisu, who does some great MLP inspired artwork which can be found here: http://aisu-isme.deviantart.com/
Posted on January 2, 2012, in Feminism, gender variant, Just a Note, Nuthin' much, People and tagged Cool, cosplay, fim, fim cosplay, Friendship is Magic, mlp, mlp cosplay, my little pony, rainbow dash, weird. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
TD 365 
This is a symptom of a sad, sad society that tells women they’re only valued if and only if they portray themselves as sexualized objects. Anime can be pretty creepy, depicting obviously little girls in their underwear – but there are cool anime that exist too, without being creepy!
This is my feeling. I was thinking it was really cool, and loved how much fun these groups of friends were having just doing something together… but when all these other images kept popping up it changed my perspective a bit. Such creepy and sad images of people being totally devalued, not just by society but by themselves as well. I don’t know. I’m still totally on the fence over the whole thing. I think cosplay has the potential to be both cool and nasty – depending on who is involved and what’s going on, and that’s a dangerous power.
sweet 😉
the chick with red hair is actually cosplaying a character from Naruto Shippudden. to be honest she is portraying the character pretty well. the red circles are actually bite marks because one of her powers are allowing people to bite her in order for them to heal from serious wounds. i suggest that you do a little bit of research on such cosplays before giving them bad crits.
I appreciate your taking the time to write Taz. And I have to admit, my view of cosplay has expanded and changed quite a bit over the last while. I am still against sexualizing children’s characters (which is my problem with some of the full body pony costumes), but I definitely see the value, skill, and talent involved in a well done cosplay. 🙂
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