Gender Inequality in Cosplay
Introduction
Cosplay, the combination of the words “costume” and “play,” has become a pop culture phenomenon in the fandom culture. Cosplay is a performance art where participants dress up as specific characters from a television show, franchise, or, most commonly, an anime. Cosplay typically occurs at conventions, such as Animazement in Raleigh, North Carolina or the San Diego Comic-Con. The role gender plays in discrimination of costumes is startling. Costumes that reveal more skin than a classic shirt and shorts combo can be too sexual for some cosplayers preferences, going as far as to call the people wearing them derogatory names. Other gender discrimination is how a cosplayer might act; for example, a cosplayer
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It began with the first commenter stating that the female cosplayer, who was discussed in the article containing these comments, was seeking attention with her “overly sexual” Cosplay and presented herself “as a slut.” Another user responded to the comment by saying she was taking the discussion too far and was too quick to judge. Further along in the comments, a male commenter lamented the lack of male cosplayer representation within the article. A variety of commenters retaliated by saying men did not deal with the same amount of criticism due to “male …show more content…
I recognize that both genders are affected when cosplaying and I do see an uneven representation of gender in the Cosplay community. Perhaps it is not gender inequality and representation, but a show of society’s acceptance of dressing up in both genders, as one commenter suggested. American society, to my understanding from observation, views females as the more playful gender and males as the serious ones. To see a female in costume would be considered attractive or cute while a male in costume would be questioned as to
The original white trans woman responded to Kinfolk 's comment by talking about how she has been harmed and how the presence of TERF content renders a space unsafe and triggering towards trans women. Consistent with this abuse history, she backs into an apologetic mode at the dominating tone of Kinfolk Kollective 's comment.
Connell: Chapters 4 “Sex Differences & Gendered Bodies”: I found this entire chapter quite intriguing, but I really appreciate the way that Connell approaches the ways in which males and females differ and yet she also points out how there is no significant difference in brain anatomy and function between sexes. I found the statement by neuroscientist Lesley Rogers incredibly interesting, she states, “The brain does not choose neatly to be wither a female or a male type. In any aspect of brain function that we can measure there is considerable overlap between females and males” (p.52). This statement when paired with information about the affect social processes have on the body it is mind boggling to realize, as Connell states, “biology bends to the hurricane of social discipline” (p.55). It is unnerving to think that I am merely a product of my society. Not only has society shaped my beliefs, values, manners and religion, but it has also shaped my physical body? If I understand this correctly, it is incredibly disturbing.
Unfortunately it seems to be a subject that doesn’t get much attention. It is almost as if it is swept under the rug in our society. The idea of gender as we think of it, is solely a social construct, born into existence by the pressure of tradition and the supremacy of the majority. This is true for our perceptions of "masculinity" and "femininity", and this point is driven home in "Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code." Michael Kimmel points out the stereotypes men are taught to believe make them more manly. According to his interviews with various men from all over the country, the male social facade was put upon them by fathers, grandfathers, coaches, older brothers and other significant male role models as young
Each gender has its little tells and associations, the movie Victor Victoria depicts gender cues very accurately and well. Victor Victoria is a movie about a woman, who wants to have a successful singing career, but in order to do so she must pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman. This movie takes place in the 1930’s in Paris, France during the winter time. One gender cue I noticed was how women and men wore their coats differently. Men tended to wear their coats over their shoulders without putting their arms in the sleeves and women, wore their coats a help their coats together with their hand placed close to their chest, indicating they feel cold. Another gender cues I noticed was when Carole "Toddy" Todd, played by Robert Preston,
When asking the question, “What are the differences between men and women?” what things come into mind? When asking friends what their thoughts were they stated things such as men are stronger, women are weaker, men are bigger, women are smaller, men make more money, etc. Due to the obvious assumptions that people have been making for centuries it is thought by some Americans that males are the dominant sex. Before watching Miss Representation I had always gotten so upset at certain men for the way they treated women or the things they would say to them. After this film I realized that their actions might have stemmed from “rules” that they were taught an early age; those rules being the rules of masculinity. After reviewing the rules it finally clicked to me why
This is because it is common for males to freely express their own fantasy that they lack in reality. In addition, they play video games to be their ideal self. If they were to play a female character, it would lean more towards the fact that it depicts what they want their dream girlfriend to look like. In Video Games and Gender by Michelle Zorrilla, video games have long been known as a male-dominated media. There would mostly be male characters than there are female characters because female characters are usually depicted as the subordinate character.
When her paper is not picked for a summer job contest at The Sun Tribune, she confronts her journalism teacher about it. When he tells her “You should have something to fall back on”. [.] You’re a pretty girl, you can be a model,” Terry is outraged and believes that her teacher did not pick her article because she is a woman. This is a male gender stereotype because Terry concludes that her teacher is sexist....
Langdon Winner (1993): Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding It Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology
For the past century, the United States of America has made countless advancements in technology, medicine, and many other fronts. As a society, it has advanced at an incredible rate, becoming a major world power in an incredibly short period of time. The biggest barriers that America is working on are currently taking place within its own borders; civil rights and the battle for equality have men and women of every race up and arms. Specifically, the fight against sexism is the most modern struggle in America. Discrimination against women is harmful to both men and women; it holds women back into a useless position and forces men to take the brunt of the work. Men are expected to work, but women are almost expected not to, and instead "be nothing more than dangling, decorative ornaments--non-thinking and virtually non-functional” (Chisholm 4). There is progress to be made in the American society in its attitude and treatment of women. Gender inequality continues to be a social problem in the business, family, and personal lives of women.
There are many different factors that display the “social norm” for genders. Religion plays a role along with social media. Females are to wear pink and play with dolls. As females grow from girls into women. They are supposed to clean, cook, do laundry, and anything their husbands ask them to do. They have the ‘okay’ to show emotions on how they feel about something and not get picked on it. As where boys, they are not allowed to wear pink or play with dolls. They are to wear blue and play with monster trucks or play in the dirt. They are not typically allowed to show emotions. When little boys grow up to be men, they are supposed to go to work, pay the bills, and they typically want their supper on a plate ready when they get home. Katz proclaims in his article, “More than anything else, boys are supposed to learn how to handle themselves.” (59.) Meaning, they are not allowed to show emotions to other kids not even to their own parents. They are just supposed to ‘handle’ themselves. How does a little kid just handle themselves and not show emotions? Pollitt states, “Women’s looks matter terribly in this society, and so Barbie, however ambivalently, must be passed along.” (74.) I must strongly agree with this remark. They do everything you watch on a TV. The TV Ads advertise women with makeup and being tall and skinny. Gardner claims, “By helping children understand the similarities of different
Angela Carter utilizes her interpretation of “Puss in Boots” to convey a notion pertaining to gender roles within society; notions particularly pertaining to women’s place in the eyes of the populace. Through the character dynamic, and the perception of Puss, Carter is able to impress her ideas pertaining to women’s role within society upon the reader in a commendable manner.
It is only recently that sociology has begun to explore the topic of gender. Before this, inequalities within society were based primarily on factors such as social class and status. This paper will discuss gender itself: what makes us who we are and how we are represented. It will also explore discrimination towards women throughout history, focusing mainly on women and the right to vote, inequalities between males and females in the work place and how gender is represented in the media.
Around the world gender is genuinely seen as strictly male or female. If you step out of this “social norm,” you could be considered an outcast. This disassociation includes, biological males/females, interssexed, and transgendered individuals. These people are severely suppressed by society because their gender identification, behaviors, and even their activities deviate from the norm. Most Americans are exceedingly devoted to the concept that there are only two sexes. Therefore, the constrictive American ideals of male and female gender identities inhibits growth and acceptance of gender expression.
The first video games didn’t call for much attention to gender as there weren’t really any humans present. Games such as Snake or Asteroids were really just a revolution in technology. As time progressed, gaming consisted of male-dominated industry whose
Alyssa Norden Princess Storrer AP Composition 20 May 2014 Dress Codes: More Than Just Clothing Regulations Schools all over the world have created and enforced dress codes. Some schools are more relaxed than others; however, they all share the common theme of regulating what students can and cannot wear during the school day. But what happens when the latest fashion trends completely compromise the implemented dress code? That is the problem student’s-particularly young women- are facing in today’s society. The overwhelming increase in dress code violations has brought to light another issue associated with the codes: sexism.