A boy at my kids preschool wanted to be Anna from Frozen. His parents dressed him as Anna. I don’t think they went out of their way to feminize him - he had no wig or makeup, for example. But he was in a dress, because that’s what Anna wears. Was he a “male version of Anna?” No. Was he going as a female? No. He was just the character. Similarly, if a little girl puts on an iron man suit, is she a “female iron man” or some kind of “Iron Woman?” No.
So when you say “a male version of a character” I hear that you are not just going as a character who happens to be the other gender but you are putting a specific twist on that character. There’s nothing wrong with that necessarily. But it can definitely go wrong depending on the character and how you handle it. We’d just need more information. It’s one of those things that doesn’t have bright line rules. Like all issues of content offensiveness.
No?
To whom could it be offensive?
No
I have a question for you that needs answering first. Offensive to whom?
Let’s say “marginalized groups”…
It’s called “genderful appropriation”. I just invented it. All the cool people will be getting offended by it really soon.
I’m not cool and I’m fucking furious you excluded me
With all the Bowsettes last year, I’m tempted to say no in the name of equality.
Oh god was that only last year??
Not sure honestly. It may have been the year before. Or even earlier. Or maybe I’m just slow at noticing popular media trends. As you can see, I’m doing great at growing old.
It’s called gender-bending, at least in my local cosplay groups. It’s done frequently and usually turns out great because of the passion and care put into it. Go for it!
This is a subtle question, so feel free to answer “none of the above.”
But in your circles, is this gender bending explicit, as in “I’m a female Wolverine” or is it just someone who’s female going as Wolverine? And in the latter case, I don’t mean that she’s pretending to be a man, just that she’s not changing the character, simply embodying it as, herself, a woman.
I’ve also heard it referred to as cross-play, though without the contact of cosplay, can be somewhat confusing.
Rule of thumb:
- are you making fun or otherwise mocking someone?
- are you doing it for any “bad reason” whatsoever?
- are you doing something that is/was primarily done by others for “bad reasons”, historically?
- are you doing something that other groups started doing as a replacement for something else that they were not allowed to (that you are)?
I’m half asleep so I may have forgotten something but if I didn’t, then answering No to all of those should be the minimum thing you do.
I think as long as you’re not in blackface you can wear whatever the hell you want
I’m pretty sure there are other exceptions
My sexy Adolf Hitler got a great reception tonight.
The Producers?
I feel there’s a potential suicide joke here, but it would probably end up in bad taste.
People love the genderbending of characters. Go nuts.
Go for it! Those offended are not your target audience
No, cosplayers do that all the time
Why would it be? Here is me and my ex on Halloween 2020. I was Lydia, she was Beetlejuice.
Be whomever you want to be
