dotsandlines

Post on the FB group for the local con, by an otherwise fairly cool poster:

So that swimming anime, is there any cheesecake in it? Cuz I don't like boys in swimsuits. Just so everybody knows.

Responses tended toward:
- God forbid there should be ONE series that doesn't cater to you personally. Get over yourself.
- You should try, you know, every other series out there.
- It's fanservice for straight girls (mostly). That's a thing, FYI.

And this is on a general-public anime convention board, not some niche site!! I'm so proud of my fandom right now! Squee.

Of course, that was followed up by some gross GIF meme about how crossplay is inherently hilarious and people who don't make the poster's pants happy aren't allowed to cosplay. Sigh. One step forward, one step back.

I called them out on it, or tried to. One step forward, one step back.

io9 discovers crossplay ...sigh. It's so cute. *pats io9's head* They also claim that crossplay was invented in 2005, which is... wrong. Otherwise, this is a fun read, and some points cross over fandoms as well.

One thing that I noticed was that they chose to post femme versions that weren't your typical femme versions - "same color, an accessory or two, and a microminiskirt. PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!"
I'm not going to slut-shame or say that it's not OK to beg desperately for attention, because it is OK - I wouldn't want to do it, but I'll stand for your right to do so. Thing is, it's also not the only approach to fandom, but you wouldn't know that by tooling through an anime convention. I wish that the fandom were more creative.

I've gotten interested in crossover/re-designed/etc. cosplay in the last couple of years, after several years of despairing over the fact that there are precious few characters in any of my fandoms who look anything like me. For a while I mostly did generic character classes and background characters. And then I decided to throw in the towel and actually have fun with it. I also rather enjoy the slightly trolly aspect of intentionally NOT Looking Exactly Like The Character. It's a bad habit, but sometimes I like trying to shake people up.

All of that said, I haven't planned a femme-Doctor cosplay, partly because I don't have a clear favorite Doctor and haven't seen all of the classic ones yet. Maybe someday. First I'd like to get around to our Scott Pilgrim set - there's a series so gendered that it makes my brain hurt. I liked it, but I can't help but call attention to that. I look forward to making other people's brains hurt.