What happened this week in terms of cosplay that I saw?
- More about the CONsent Movement
- Cosplay Photographers and getting paid
- Jessica Nigri’s lack of permission for selling a photo
But what was more abundant that I saw this week on my personal feed than all of the three above?
- “Getting really sick and tired of this cosplay drama. Cosplay is about having fun.”
I’m sorry if this is a little shocking to everyone, but cosplay isn’t just about having fun. I know, mind blowing, yes? But let us think of a few things about cosplay.
Cosplay is a growing world wide hobby that connects people via conventions and the internet with their hobby. These are people who can be into cosplay for reasons such as: craftsmanship, overcoming personal social boundaries, making friends, showing appreciation for a character, wanting to be socially accepted, omgIjusthavetowearthat, ect. No one person’s story is the same when it comes to why they love cosplay. These people who buy or create their own costumes will also feature themselves in performance or craftsmanship competitions, and out of this be naturally competitive in cosplay. They go to these conventions amongst other con goers and mix with a multitude of fandoms which they may, or may not like. They interact and are photographed by professional photographers, beginner photographers, other cosplayers, staff members, panelists, security, guests, other convention goers, and regular people outside of the convention. They interact with people of the same fandoms at photoshoots or mix and match with other fandom followers in a relaxed place in the convention or possibly backstage at an event like the Masquerade. They trade information with people and connect via the internet, and cosplayers who utilize a fan page connect with hundreds, if not tens of thousands of fans online. We share each others work online while also posting our own. We make friends with other cosplayers, and sometimes the relationship grows deeper or just falls apart.
Cosplaying above all else is a hobby that is run majority on being social with others. The heart of you doing it might be simply to dress up as your favorite character, but in the end you will become this character in order to socialize with others (or attempt to.)
So why is it that cosplay cannot be just about fun? Because people don’t socially interact the same way and do not agree with each other. You have millions of cosplayers who are from different towns, different countries, speak different languages, believe in different religions or philosophies, believe in different political ideals, were all raised differently, have different kin and different family, ect ect. Though you may not think you bring these in with you when you cosplay, these are the fundamental ideals that build you as a person. So when you put several thousand people together in the same location with only ‘cosplay’ as their only similarity, there is going to be friction.
Cosplay is not a perfect hobby. If you expect to interact socially with other people in this hobby you have to come to realize that there is going to be problems and there are going to be disagreements. And that people are going to want to vocalize that there are problems in the community and either be even toned about it or radical off the wall.
When you throw down a cosplay disagreement as ‘cosplay drama’, you spit in the face of the debate that might be rather important to the growth of our community.
- CONsent isn’t just a bunch of girls in sexy outfits complaining that they hate being called ‘fuckable’ at con. It’s a microcosm of a fight against rape culture and other types of harrassment in our own community.
- The fight over paid/free photographers is more than people being cheap. It’s also revealing a lot of issues when it comes to photographers at conventions now having to face the fear of being hit with needing to make licensing issues at conventions in order to have their own light equipment or professional gear with them.
- The issue with Nigri selling a picture isn’t some photographer complaining he’s not getting paid, it’s an actual case of copyright infringement and was trying to spread the word to get her to take down the piece when he wasn’t being taken seriously.
Calling any of these issues ‘cosplay drama’ is attempting to put up a wall between you and the ‘issue’ because you do not want to deal with it. You want to keep this ideal that cosplay is a ‘perfect hobby about fun.’ But the nice thing about cosplay not being perfect is the fact that it keeps it fluid, evolving, and growing more and more every day; it has no founded rules or moderators that need to keep it perfect.
At the same time you cannot cherry pick a topic based on its format. I’ve seen the same people this week share the Wonderwoman cosplayer photo on their facebook page and a day later complain about how CONsent is nothing but drama.
There will always be the radicals that over-blow everything, that’s part of having different people in a hobby. And it is alright to be at the sidelines and just not give a crap about what is going on: that is a logical choice as well. But by summing up any issue growing in the community as a ‘cosplay drama’ simply limits yourself in helping an ever growing community involved because of an innate fear of the hobby changing.
Unless it is someone specifically picking out other people to make a mockery of them, not all social discussions in our community are drama. Its something that people want to talk about to fix (or unfix) so let them discuss. Time to get rid of ‘cosplay drama.’
HEY TUMBLR, DO YOU COSPLAY? DO YOU LIVE IN OR AROUND PORTLAND, OREGON? DO YOU WANT TO COSPLAY IN THE SAME VICINITY AS OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO COSPLAYING AND MAYBE TAKE PICTURES AND TALK ABOUT YOUR FANDOM?
THEN THIS CAPSLOCK IS FOR YOU!
CosPDX is going to be a monthly meet-up in Portland, OR, at decided-upon parks in the Portland area. It will be all-fandom and all-geek friendly, where cosplayers and friends can come together and show off their cosplay, take pictures, and get together! If you’re interested, give us a Like or a Reblog and we will get this party started.
Also, have a gif of a cat.
mythology series → the goddess of the hunt artemis [Ἄρτεμις]
life is ever changing
nothing stays the same
nothing in this whole wide world
can turn us back again
cos where we’re standing now
is the point of no return
looking back on a world
that’s got to learnyou just can’t hide from
slings and arrows
DISCLAIMER: This turned out MUCH longer than I expected. But, please read it. I put a lot of thought into this and I think you’ll find it interesting.Before this Haylor shit I liked Taylor Swift. I enjoyed her music, I thought she was a good role model for my daughter (oh how WRONG I was!), and basically thought she was a sweet kid. But, all this controversy made me start to wonder more about her and I decided to research her a bit and the following is what I’ve found.
So, Taylor Swift is her own manager. Meaning, she makes ALL of her OWN career chocies. ALL OF THEM. She is not controlled by a Mgmt company like the boys are. This is important to keep in mind!
She’s extremely famous, so she has obviously done a good job with herself. (I am not praising her, she disgusts me. Stick with me here, I promise I have a point). She has won over 125 music related awards, with numerous other nominations and pending awards. She also has numerous musical achievements and records. She has sold over 26 million albums and has over 70 million song downloads worldwide. She has over 21 million twitter followers and has been dubbed “America’s Sweetheart”.
Teenage girls, especially, adore her and look up to her as their role model. She is part of many different charities and sports the image of a good girl, who just wants to find love, and stay true to herself (LOL ahahah…oopps sorry. Couldn’t help myself. Ehem…moving on.) She has been linked to many different men in hollywood and has always come out the victim. Then we get hit songs and she gets awards and even more fame and following. A definite pattern here.
She just released a new album “Red”, it has already sold 1.2 millions copies. Her upcoming world tour has many sold out shows, with more to come. This album and world tour is going to be great for her. She is already loved and adored. She’s done a great job. SOOOO…..
Why the hell is she doing this disgusting and obvious publicity stunt with Harry? She doesn’t need the publicity, no one is forcing her to do this, she has agreed to it HERSELF. HER choice.
We all know that Modest! is forcing Harry to do this. Whether it’s to continue his “manwhore” image, to lessen the gay rumors (which honestly aren’t as widespread as people think. Most “everyday” people think he’s straight. Larry supporters are the minority in the fandom.), or to make 1D even more noticeable in the States by linking him to one of the most famous young singers in the US. Honestly, I’m sure it’s a compilation BUT whatever the reason we can be sure that HARRY is NOT doing this by choice.
So, what is Taylor to gain out of this PR stunt? A few new hits maybe? Another “sad story” for America to feed off of? Taylor doesn’t NEED to do this. She has chosen to take one of the sweetest, kindest boys I’ve ever seen in the public eye (An 18 year old boy, btw, who knew nothing about the music industry when he signed on at 16 and has been used and abused by a management company known to treat their clients poorly.) and is using him to further her career. A career that seems to be doing just fine without Harry Styles.
We all know how this is going to end. The articles have already started. “Reese Witherspoon, Taylor’s best friend, seen going into Taylor’s hotel soon after Harry Styles left to talk to her younger friend about her relationship choices”, “Taylor’s friends are worried about her getting involved with known womanizer Harry Styles”.
A girl who claims to not have one night stands, who wants to remain pure, has public pictures of “manwhore” Harry Styles going to and then leaving her hotel on more than one occasion. So, this is where Styles either takes her innocence (lmao, babahahaha…sorry.) or uses and abuses and dumps her. Either way, we all know how this will end. “America’s Sweetheart” will be the victim and Harry will be the disgusting manwhore who did this to her.
But, someone tell me…what will she gain. Why does she need this? Does she not have a heart? Is she THAT much of a publicity whore that she would result to using this sweet boy? (And he IS a sweet boy. Yes, he’s a man but he’s not NEARLY as worldly as she is. He still has a lot to learn.) I still haven’t figured out exactly what Taylor is hoping to gain out of this “relationship” but one thing I’m sure of. She is NO sweetheart and she knows exactly what she is doing. She’s smart, she has a plan, and our Harry is right in the middle of it.
I can only pray that it doesn’t go as badly as we fear it will. We already see the strain it’s making on Harry and Louis (omg poor Louis…I can’t even go into that right now). But, no matter the outcome, I hope that sooner or later people realize what Taylor is. The “Chris Brown” of the female music population. She beats men up with her manipulation, but instead of being publicly called out and ashamed, she is praised for it. Basically, she’s a heartless bitch who only cares about her career and the only teardrops on her fucking guitar are the ones of the men that she has trampled on to get where she is.
Thanks to all of you guys who managed to stick with me through this. It has been weighing on my mind for awhile, and I needed to get it out. This is my first “real” rant on Tumblr and I hope people see it and talk about it. It’s ok if you disagree with me. Send messages to my ask. Tell me I’m wrong, correct me if you wish, or tell me you agree. I just need to tell people how I feel. And please, keep Louis and Harry in your hearts and minds. No matter what part of the fandom you are in…we all love our boys and they don’t deserve this.
OK OK I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I think OP has some very good points but not the whole picture and I wanted to reblog this because the details here are very important not just for One Direction fandom but I believe, the world at at large.
I used to think Taylor Swift was interesting as a pop culture phenomenon, if not necessarily interesting as a musician. She was a young woman very much in control of her own image and the master of twisting that milky image into million dollar single after million dollar single. She built a career on the outsider angst of the ordinary teenage girl and turned that into something people would buy, over and over again, even as the narrative of Taylor-as-outsider or Taylor-as-ordinary became more and more difficult to sell, and even as she has often been criticized for embodying the (white, middle class) teenage feminine.
Then I realized the truth was much more dire.
Taylor Swift is an interstellar organism who has travelled to us from beyond our solar system, crafted by alien geniuses to devour our teen idols and extract hit pop singles from their carcasses of heartbreak. That is her only purpose, and that purpose is, I fear, just the initial phase. It is not true that Taylor Swift is her own manager. Obviously she has fought very hard for control of her own career, but this is not because she wants creative control and authority over her own image. It is because she receives her true commands from grim alien overseers and if she were to have an earthly management company they would surely uncover the truth. And no one can know the truth about Taylor, that her intensely crafted image as “America’s Sweetheart” is, in fact, an image.
What worries me here is the involvement of Resse Witherspoon. Is Witherspoon truly her best friend, counseling Swift on relationship advice? Might Witherspoon be serving as her “general” so to speak, providing Taylor Swift with her orders from another galaxy?
I want to make it clear that I’m not bashing!! I don’t hate Taylor Swift, I merely fear her.
And I fear for Harry Styles. I fear for him, and for all the pop stars she will inevitably devour, unhinging her inhuman jaw and taking their hearts in her fangs. First she will swallow Harry Styles. And then she will swallow the stars.
on top of that you can get a digital sketch as picture in my #thugg draws things tag for 5$
i would really appreciate it if you reblogged my other post or idk this one or pointed people who are looking to commission to me!!!
i could really do with the money :’)
also thank you all of my followers you are wonderful
A small for-the record, which seems to me so obvious I never thought it would actually have to be said, but…
COSplay is its own artform, and its own branch of fandom.
I love it when I see people, of any gender, in well-done or enthusiastic costumes of characters that I made up, whether from…
Disclaimer: I do not actually want to write comic books!! I know that it’s a pretty common goal for over-opinionated fans but I don’t actually think I’d be that great at it. But I do want to write about writing comics more than I want to write my term paper at present, so here’s a post brought to you with the power of procrastination.
