Manga-inspired cosplay is nothing unusual for Japanese otakus or even here in the United States (see, for instance, our post about the Comic Con 2010 costumes)
But in China, cosplay has taken a weird twist:
Japan’s TBS news visits a gathering of otaku in China to report on how there is now a “boom” in the number of male fans who dress up like female anime and manga characters.
The cross-dressers were apparently influenced by television shows about otaku who do the same kind of thing in Japan. The publication of a Chinese cross-dressing cosplay manual is cited as evidence of this being a trend. It is also mentioned that a lot of Chinese netizens have criticized the weird activities of these otaku.
Thanks for the reply. I pointed out in the other thread that nobody replied to it, but it really wasn't a desperate plea for attention, I assure you.
So the issue is simply about the phrasing of the title? I really don't think it is.
Do you really think that someone who dresses up as a cartoon character cares what Alex thinks?
People don't care that Alex posted an article about cosplay. We're all aware of what it is and how it differs from other cross-gender activities (for lack of a better description). People do care that the title he used for that article reflects identically the sentiment and words commonly used to justify all manner of nastiness towards people who do not conform to gender norms, ranging from harassment to murder, and that is not hyperbole.
Again: the cosplay itself isn't the issue. Alex's poor choice of title is. He was not forced to use the words he did, but he chose to -- apparently because it was a phrase that would drag eyeballs to his post.
To do cosplay is more akin to doing drag than it is to cross-dressing. For example, you dress up as IronMan because you want others to see how cool your IronMan outfit is. To equate cross-dressing to this is to say "When I was a child, I always knew I was different. I identified with IronMan. I dress like IronMan now, and I'm getting the surgery next week to be IronMan."
This is why everybody who's pontificating about phobias and the 1950's, should just think for a moment instead of being so reactionary and accusatory.
So if I'm bothered by something and point it out, I'm freaking out and need to grow up? I gotta say, it seems like you're overreacting to what's being said. I just wanted to voice my opinion, but now you're putting words in my mouth, saying I'm trying to find hate or something.