AFK On Air, EP 02 - Cosplay
AFK On Air • KoPoint
This is AFK On Air: Obsessions explored; tropes dissected; geek questions answered. Conversation away from the keyboard, between your ears, in your head. In this episode we talk about cosplay!
- What is it?
- What’s the world of it like?
- What takes costuming into cosplay?
- What have been our experiences?
“A word that has its root in costume play. Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character—usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character… or an idea.” - UrbanDictionary (with a slightly existential addition from us)
We’ve got a great range of experience among our panelists: Michele and Lindsay regularly cosplay as characters like Inara Serra and Daenerys Targaryen at conventions, whereas Stacey and Lauren have embodied geeky characters like Cherry Darling and Mara Jade more for Halloween. In defining cosplay, we discuss the distinctions between holiday parties and cons, plus whether the making of the costume is more rewarding than the final unveiling.
Again and again we return to the point where costuming shifts into cosplay. In fact, there are several aspects of our cosplay discussion that are gray areas. For instance, how much responsibility women should take when they choose to wear a skimpy/sexy costume, versus the men who assume a woman in costume is a touching free-for-all. Or on a lighter note, the difference between gender-bending cosplay outfits and “Rule 63.”
As you’ll see, we just scratch the surface of this world, but we lay some major groundwork. Join us for a discussion—including on Bonfyre!—on the fun and rewards of costuming, in (almost) any situation.
Links referenced during the show:
- Stacey’s Cherry Darling costume
- Lindsay’s website Your Average Nerd
- Michele’s Daenerys costume with the “boob window”
- Recent cosplay controversy: blog posts from Black Cat cosplayer (positive) and Tony Harris (negative)
- Tallest Silver’s genderbent Justice League at SDCC and The Nerdy Bird’s genderbent Injustice League at NYCC
- Close-up of The Mary Sue’s Susana Polo as lady Bane
- The “high fashion X-Men” that Lauren mentioned
This is AFK On Air: Obsessions explored; tropes dissected; geek questions answered.
Hosts: Stacey Brook, Lindsay Johnson, Lauren Panepinto, Michele Reznik, and Natalie Zutter
Lindsay: “There’s the I-made-this people, there’s the I-bought-this people, there’s the this-was-my-Halloween-costume-earlier-this-year people…”
Lauren: “There’s the I’m-naked people.”
Whether you’re embodying a comic-book heroine down to every piece of suggestively-placed spandex or presenting a new, unique take on a traditional character, it takes some ladyballs to cosplay. In AFK On Air’s second episode, we discuss the lure and rewards of creating your own costume for display, from hunting down the right jewelry to dealing with praise, criticism, and sometimes harassment for your final look. Some of our co-hosts regularly cosplay at conventions; others have dressed up only for Halloween. Join the discussion of the different types of cosplay, and learn what “Rule 63” means.
(via kopoint)
