Live Magazine June Issue 2017 June July Magazine Spiderman | Page 171

While PAX, a popular convention cel-
ebrating all things gamer-related,
has firmly put their foot down against
“booth babes,” and have even asked
cosplayers to cover up when dressed
in a revealing costume. This is fair
enough as PAX is a family-friendly
convention, but where can the sexily-
dressed cosplayers go? Fortunately,
Sexpo has given them a home. Their
notorious Sexy Cosplay competition is
certainly popular and, kudos to Sexpo,
the event is run in a safe, sex-positive
environment where, by definition, cos-
players are definitely welcoming sexu-
alised attention. Sexpo’s event manag-
er Bentleigh Gibson says that Sexpo’s
Sexy Cosplay competition was cre-
ated “to give the Cosplayers who did
want to express a different angle on
their Cosplays a safe home in which to
do so and express their own passion
and creativity.”
And hat’s off to Sexpo, a lot of cos-
players have said they felt very com-
fortable and welcomed at the event.
Melbourne Sexy Cosplay winner and
creator of the self-love project ‘I Am
F*cking Extraordinary,’ Sharne Mcmur-
ray, said “it was well organised, had a
positive and uplifting atmosphere, eve-
ryone was supportive and it was an
overall great experience.”
The Sexy Cosplay Competition has
opened up new doors for cosplayers
and allows for more variety when per-
forming a skit on stage, such as pole
or burlesque dancing, both of which
would not be welcomed at other con-
ventions in Australia.
For many cosplayers, the costumes
they decide to wear are not influenced
by the “sexiness.” Sharne says “how
much skin I show doesn’t come into the
equation. I am completely happy with
myself and If I want to do something
I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter what anyone
else thinks as I am doing it for me and
not them.”
A lot of cosplays are sexy (hey, who
doesn’t love Batman’s abs?) however,
many cosplayers feel unpleasantly
sexualised against their wishes. And,
thanks to the incredible edible internet,
there are precious few places where a
cosplayer who is targeted by this un-
wanted attention can get away from it.
This problem is disproportionately di-
rected towards women because wom-
en’s bodies are still being commodified
like it’s the 1950s. Melinda Tankard Re-
ist is of the opinion that “the sexualisa-
tion of women and girls is one of the
bedrocks of gaming culture and also
of some manga and anime. Until this
changes, I don’t think we can expect to
see an easy solution for problems like
this in the cosplay community.”
Because of this, Australian native (but
well known overseas) cosplayer Vari-
able has experienced so much harass-
ment online she has enough material
to maintain an energetically busy Tum-
blr dedicated solely to screenshots of
her social media’s inbox. Check out
niceguystm.tumblr.com if you want to
scroll through the terrible and random
things strangers say to her online. Sure,
Variable as Powergirl is sexy. Powergirl
is sexy. Hell, the comic character has a
purpose-built boob-window. That’s not
an invitation to talk to Variable about
her own boobs. To suggest that cos-
tumes in any way creates harassment
from perpetrators demonstrates igno-
rance of the real-world issues at play.
The cosplay community is a wonder-
land of creativity but there is an un-
deniable negative impact on the way
both costumes and some cosplayers
are perceived. It’s unfair – so many
cosplayers are just trying to have a
good time and express themselves
and their craftsmanship, only to have
to check themselves for fear of being
thrown under a label they didn’t ask for.
In cases that are more extreme but
not uncommon, just existing publicly in
a costume leads to cosplayers being
made to feel unsafe. It would be cool if
we geeks could be sexy geeks on our
own terms.
“It’s unfair – so many
cosplayers are just
trying to have a good
time and
express
themselves
and their
craftsmanship, only
to have to check
themselves for fear
of being thrown
under a label they
didn’t ask for.”
Sources:
Melinda Tankard Reist – Writer and advocate
for women and girls
Kiara Kirameki – Cosplayer
Sharne Mcmurray (Sirensbelle) – Cosplayer
Sexpo
Dracula’s Cabaret Show and Dinner
Images:
David Love Photography
Rage Kitten – Cosplayer
Feline Paige Cosplay
A.K. Wirru – Cosplayer
Jessica Nigri
Sharne Mcmurray (Sirensbelle) – Cosplayer
SKYline Photography
Danica Rockwood – Cosplayer
Variable Cosplay
Isidro Urena – Photographer
BY BEC FROM COSTUMECOLLECTION.COM.AU
ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: costumecollection.com.au/blog/when-cosplay-is-too-sexual