I just read your post on cos/crossplay gender-bending and sex-swapped cosplay, and I have to applaud you for a very clear, concise and educational post. I also applaud you for not being condescending or patronising in your explanation, as people in a position of education so often are. I agree that most gender-bent (sex-swaped) cosplayers are probably not transphobic, they simply lack education about there being more than 2 genders to choose from when cosplaying. PART TWO INCOMING.
PART TWO. So yes educational posts like these are crucial to opening up people eyes towards the gender options when selecting a cosplay of the opposite gender. And as a Cis-Male who plays in the Drag/Gender Fuck pool myself I agree that we need to adopt better terminology for cis/sex-swapped cosplay (the reason I prefer sex-swapped over cis-swppaed is the further you get out of educated circles the more confusing the term cis gets). But again thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! <3 I hate it when people are condescending in articles and essays and lectures. Learning should never be a shameful experience. After all, education is the key to eliminating ignorance; if we want language to change, we have to use it ourselves. (I actually just tweeted about this because Jensen apparently said something problematic.) As Gandhi said, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.”
And yes! I agree with you; I like sex-swapped over cis-swapped. Using sex-swapped makes the language more accessible, and accessibility is important. No one should be made to feel lesser for not understanding something, so it’s important to speak as plainly as possible.
Thank you, again, for sending this. It’s always nice to know my accidental essays are appreciated, and I really needed the self-esteem boost.
