Unpopular Opinion Alert On Girls, Cons, And Those Skimpy Costumes

[lazypadawan]

There was a panel at Comic Con called "Oh You Sexy Geek" about whether or not beauty and prancing about in risqué costumes is empowering for a fangirl or not. I avoided this because I didn't think I could sit in a room with known Star Wars basher Chris Gore.

Anyway, chicks in skimpy costumes at conventions are nothing new. It was one of the best-kept secrets among fanboys until the media picked up on it too (which will get to my point). I read in "The Making Of The Trek Conventions" about the tricky outfits they modeled from the show and the fan-made (and award-winning) costume worn by someone named Angelique that resembled what you'd see in a Brazilian carnival, not so much on Trek. As it turned out, Angelique was the first woman ever to wear a Vampirella costume to a con and that had to have been in the late '60s. Every Comic Con I've attended has had the Booth Babes (the ones at Gentle Giant looked like Hookers For Thor), along with various Playboy playmates and pinups like the Suicide Girls signing autographs for their fans. I didn't see the chick "dressed" like some naked Japanese character but I did hear about Adrienne Curry getting kicked out because her Aeon Flux costume exposed too much of her rear end. Girls with either the figures or the extreme confidence in spite of their figures to pull those off (I'm not one of them) do it because they get attention. It's not really any more mysterious than that.

Which brings me to my unpopular opinion. There was something that happened at this Comic Con that bothered me (not mentioned in my report). As I passed one of the booths, this guy was announcing that he was giving stuff away to anyone with a picture posing with a "hot chick." You see, any girl who's young, attractive, and yes, in a skimpy costume will get photographed A LOT. If you're posing with a woman who may be attractive but just dressed regularly she probably won't be considered hot enough to win a prize.

And I've noticed in a lot of the internet coverage of the con, there are entire galleries dedicated to these girls in of course skimpy outfits. Nobody over drinking age and nobody in regular clothes or cosplay that doesn't do a lot of display.

So while one can academically argue that these fangirls "own" their sexuality and that's empowering, I'm arguing that the downside is that these "hot chicks" are to the media, to male fans, and even to those organizing the cons just pieces of @$$, which isn't so empowering. There's been lurking misogyny in the con scene for years, such as the infamous JournalFen account of a creepy sicko who wanted women attending conventions to wear buttons saying "Yes" or "No" indicating whether or not they were open to letting a guy feel them up. (I would wear the Touch Me And You'll Sing Soprano button).

Now I'm not saying, "Cover up." But if you own yourself, you encourage respect, and you have to be smart enough to know where to draw the line. Female fans need to insist on not being treated as objects or as reasons for some guy to win a prize.

Comments

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

(I would wear the Touch Me And You'll Sing Soprano button).
I want that button for my collection.

Now I'm not saying, "Cover up." But if you own yourself, you encourage respect, and you have to be smart enough to know where to draw the line. Female fans need to insist on not being treated as objects or as reasons for some guy to win a prize.
Preach!

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Thank you :D.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

I don't think female fans are the issue. The real issue is male fans and how they respond to how female fans choose to dress. Some female fans (I'm not one of them as I prefer costumes that are more covered up) choose to express themselves or their sexuality by wearing skimpy costumes. Yay for them.

The problem is when male fans turn that around and treat the female fans as objects and only there for the men to use to exercise their own sexuality. These female fans are not objects, nor are they the property of male fans. So, it is male fans who need to change their behavior. Ogling and touching female fans without their express permission is not, and never will be, okay.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Realistically, a straight man isn't going to ignore an attractive girl in a sexy outfit. But you have a good point about the way they behave. Wolf-whistles, crude comments, etc. are inappropriate. Look but don't touch, fellas.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

Of course they aren't going to ignore them. Heck, I'll take a good look at a sexy man who is shirtless or wearing a sexy costume, so I can't exactly complain about that. There is a difference between looking and ogling, though. Ogling means you keep staring for a long period of time or after they ask you not to, and only stare at specific body parts while ignoring their face. Basically, you want to treat them as attractive human beings rather than attractive objects just there for your own personal pleasure.

[kittandchips.livejournal.com]

Your post reminded me of something.

Check out this news story from a couple of months ago:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/06/01/flashpost-dc-women-to-wear-trousers/

Then check out a comic readers reaction to it

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?578762-%28Comics%29-DC-females-all-getting-pants...

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Less is more for those guys, I guess.

[matril.livejournal.com]

I read an account of the "Oh You Sexy Geek" panel. Turns out prequel bashing may be the least of issues I'd have with Chris Gore (and believe me, prequel bashing makes me pretty irked). Basically, he said a bunch of explicit perverted stuff and seemed to think he was paying the women the highest of compliments. :P

As for whether dressing skimpily is empowering or not....well, I can't speak for each individual woman. But I known of too many accounts of women in....er, professions based on being sexually attractive to men, who are there because they suffered abuse and now feel bitter and even violent toward men in general. They take no pleasure in their work; to them, sexiness has become a boring chore that brings in the money. That's not my definition of empowering. Again, that doesn't mean every women is in that situation. And it's someone's individual choice how they want to dress. I just don't buy the universally empowering theory. I feel quite empowered in my non-belly baring, full-length costumes. :)

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

I went and looked up what happened at the panel and Gore was WAY out of line. Good God. I'll have more on this in a second post.

ITA; just as dressing up in a Slave Leia costume doesn't make you a hussy, preferring to keep it under wraps doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. The second most disappointing thing about that panel recap was how women uncomfortable with skimpy costumes were branded as prudes.

[may-child.livejournal.com]

As if I didn't already loathe Chris Gore enough.

[nic]

I just don't buy the universally empowering theory.

I don't either. As lazypadawan said, women are dressing in these costumes for attention. Because at Comic Con, there are the PAID booth babes to compete with. Get rid of them and then maybe the female fans will feel more able to get attention in the types of costumes THEY choose.

[chaeri.livejournal.com]

I was a little hesitant to read this because of the title. I am glad I did though. It is a fact that young women in skimpy costumes who fall into the extremely narrow definition of American attractive are sexualized. The problem for me comes when people blame them for an abuse because of that. The "she was asking for it..." defense of assault and rape makes me sick. I am SO glad to see you that put the blame and the onus on the misogynist culture not on the women.

There are two sides to this, and I am so glad to see you point that out. Too often the conversation ends at "be careful ladies!" with no discussion of the rape culture that requires that. Thank you :)