I noticed reaction (quoted below) to this assumption onthe PVP webcomic site by the artistencouraging people to come by his booth dressed as his characters. I’m not plugged into the cosplay scene so it’s the first time I saw this anti-cosplay attitude discussed.
Assuming this attitude exists what is the reasoning as to why cosplay is a negative influence on comic cons? Why do the dress up people aggravate them?
I have no idea. There are always people dressed up at PAX East and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone minding.
‘Girls are icky.’
Possibly attractive women who are wearing fairly sexy costumes are bringing out the comic-con creeps, either to hit on them/follow them around, or bitter pseudo MRA-types who sniff that the women aren’t treating the genres seriously though it’s really just that they’re upset that the women aren’t like to have sex with them.
Just speculating. My girlfriend was into costuming and she helped me make a mask that won me an award at Toronto Trek way back.
I think that is only natural for people to react negatively when something they love starts to transform into something else. I think it may be a reference to people who have been going for years to comic book conventions to buy comics, talk to illustrators, discuss plots with other comic aficionados (I’m guess, I have never been to one) and are not fans of a more increased focus on cosplayers. Maybe they feel that the spotlight is shifting to them as opposed to having conversations about comics.
Now, from some conventions (or rather people who have gone to some), there are folks who dress up as something who don’t know much about the character - but those are a fairly small number of cosplayers.
These folks may also feel some jealousy as cosplayers who do a really good job get tons of attention, whereas the dude who has an encyclopedia knowledge of comics may not feel as valued as he may have in previous cons.
Yeah, I’ve always thought you should wear that mask more often. 
Change is hard for certain types of fans. I’ve known some Trekkies that absolutely hate casual fans of Trekdom. “If they can’t name James Doohan’s last car make and model, to hell with them! Not a true Trek fan.”
Kind of silly, but I’ve seen it outside of comic or sci-fi cons, too. Certain trade shows I attended or worked had a certain subset of people who looked down on those not as in the know of every stinking detail as them.
You can’t take everything Kurtz says as objective reality about a situation. He’s known as somebody who sometimes lets his opinions run ahead of the facts.
Let’s shorten that to “Kurtz is a jackass”. But maybe that’s just me.
It’s this. With a sprinkling of sexism. But mostly it’s this. They’re mad that comic conventions aren’t so much about actual comics anymore.
An article on Bleeding Cool a few months back (reprint from the author’s site)seems to have kicked the conversation off:
It’s disintegrated by now, but I still have the plaster bust of my own head used to make the mask. I only use it now to shape berets.
I think it’s an extremely exaggerated attitude that is really nothing more than a few grumbles.
Aside from the people who come in the most elaborate costumes possible (that then block traffic), I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sour word about cosplayers.
Here’s a more up-to-date article from last week
What I’m getting from this is that they don’t consider cosplayers to be “real” fans, in that they aren’t spending a lot of money buying from the dealers and not fawning over the celebrity guests. Actually, some of it seems to be “How dare everyone pay attention to the person in costume over there and not to ME!”
Some choice quotes:
What facts are relevant here? The debate is entirely opinion.
Yeah, unless we can arrive at some objective measurement of “hurting” or “ruining,” it seems to me that the whole discussion is little more than a subjective evaluation of people’s preferences and their level of enjoyment.
I’ve never been to a comic book convention, i don’t read comic books, and i only learned what the term “cosplay” meant a little while ago. I can, however, sort of understand the annoyance felt by people who perceive that their events have been hijacked by others who ignore the original intent of the conventions and want all the focus to be on them instead. My question, i guess, would be whether these new folks actually disrupt and interfere with the ability of the old guard to do all the things they used to do, or whether the simple presence of the costumed folks acts as a trigger for irrational feelings of resentment.
I find this interesting. On the one hand, power to the people. On the other hand, if industry people are truly becoming an afterthought for most attendees, then I can see that this shift might be bad for, you know, the actual people who make comics. On the other hand, maybe the way to deal with it is to embrace the change and make it work for you, like the person quoted in the OP (ie, stop complaining about kids these days, and figure out how to thrive in the new paradigm).
I think, though, that there’s enough of a real issue here that reasonable-minded people shouldn’t throw accusations of sexism (because only girls play dress-up?) at anyone who is lamenting the change of focus at cons. It seems that it’s almost impossible to have a comic/videogame/nerd event these days without people showing up, guns blazing, looking for neck-bearded misogynists to get angry at.
And also, who among us hasn’t derisively commented at some point on Instagram celebrities or folks who are only famous at being famous. That’s not necessarily all that removed from what the comic con folks are grumbling about. We may do it about Kim Kardashian while they do it about cosplayers at “their” events.
^ this
I had to change how I operated one of my businesses because of how things evolved.
For years, I used to make a lot of money selling my photos at small arts and crafts shows. Nowadays, those small shows are a waste of time, since the big (TV advertized) shows are where everyone goes. Either pay the higher booth fees and sell a whole lot in the 6 days of the show, or pay the piddly fees for a Sat aft at a show that few attend. Or, set up online marketing (which is what I have done).
Point of the post: things change, adapt
Meh. Cosplay has been a part of other kinds of shows for a long time. Gun shows are full of people running around in hunting clothes or bits and pieces of military clothing. Motorcycle shows are full of guys in riding clothes who got there by bus. The shows still go on.
I went to one comic book convention back in the early 90s. Cosplay wasn’t a thing at that convention. Overall, it was a lot like going to a larger version of a comic book store. Same lonely vibe. My daughter and her friends attended the recent Pittsburgh convention in costume, as did a friend and his son who went in regular clothing. All of them reported having a great time.
Never did many comic book conventions when I was younger. However I do recall the Masquerade as being one of the highlights of science fiction cons. The kids today are just doing Masquerade for the whole weekend.