Question 3: What are some of the problems around cosphotography in terms of various (potentially unwelcome) gazes?
A big problem around cosphotography is the sexualising and objectifying of cosplayers, especially female cosplayers. This is a common problem in Japan because the age demographic for cosplayers are astutely younger compared to other places in the world with 90% of cosplayer participants being females in their twenties. Furthermore, in Japan there are weekly hall events in which cosplayers can attend to be photographed, the problem being that the majority of photographers are male. However, the rules in Japan around cosphotography are stricter than they are in the west. Some cosplayers will already have cards that have photographs of them that they can give out to their fan base and which also helps them to further build up their following, whereas other cosplayers known as toreareta will want to have their photograph taken. However, they still have the right to be concerned about where the photographs will be displayed and will often only consent to be photographed by a small group of trusted contacts. Additionally, the Japanese cosplay culture has a social ritual involved in asking for permission to photograph someone that is more official and expected than in the west (Mountfort, 2018). This ritual involves the photographer politely approaching the cosplayer and asking for their permission to be photographed. If the cosplayer agrees they will go through a set of poses. The photographer will take one or more pictures depending on if it’s been specified. Both the photographer and the cosplayer will thank each other, and sometimes the photographer will give them the prints once they have been developed (Mountfort, 2018). It is rituals such as these that may make the cosplayer feel heard, respected and comfortable as they have given consent. As well as this, the ritual helps to protect the female cosplayers from being demonstrated to hentai lech (the Japanese way of saying pervert). Japan also corners off designated areas for female cosplayers to further prevent any uncomfortable interactions with said perverts.
Some female Japanese cosplayers have criticized this approach as they feel that when they cosplay they have the strength and empowerment to ward off any lurking eyes and unwelcome photographers. Some cosplayers have taken their publicity into their own hands and have started posting the photos themselves without the sexualised clickbait tagline. But it has also had the opposite effect, it has been shown that though many female cosplayers from east Asia enjoy the attention they receive whilst out in costume, the cosphotography can lead to feelings of insecurity about their appearance or feeling as though they are being publicly sexualised. This has shown to either make them stop cosplaying and participating in these events or at least stop attending them alone.
Sexualisation is not the only way in which cosphotographers and the public make cosplayers feel. Sometimes the photographers aren’t there to enjoy and appreciate the cosplayers efforts at all, instead they diminish and mock the cosplayers efforts. It was found that 10% of non-costumed attendees only go to these conventions to later upload the photographs and publicly mock the cosplayers (Mountfort, 2018). Many studies have been done around the detrimental side of social media, and that unfortunately does not surpass the world of cosplay. Fat shaming of female cosplayers, mocking of costumes and just general trolling is thrown upon the cosplay community both from inside and outside the cosplay community (Mountfort, 2018).
References
Mountfort, P. (2018). Planet cosplay. Intellect Books.
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