DISCUSSION: Anyone else tired of Sexy Apple Jack Cosplays?

[Katai]

FIRST: Lets keep this to CLEAN ADULT CONVERSATION. Please. I'm trying to bring up an issue that has been bothering me in cosplay and I don't want this to turn into an all out war. Lets act civilly please!!!

The point: Miling around some brony groups, someone posted a cosplay they did of apple jack. It was rather typical, low rise and I mean LOW RISE short shorts, shirt tied up under her boobs and a black tube top/bra?. Her cosplay, from the chest up was awesome, great make up, hat was great etc. But after that...*sigh* I just get so sick and TIRED of seeing sexified apple jacks. From girls in shorts where their butt cheeks are literally hanging out the bottom of her shorts Sac anime 2013) to the picture I just saw. I see this same style of AJ cosplay all. the. TIME.

The Cosplays I tend to like of AJ are more realstic ones. LIke...say this one:

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While her stomach shows a little, its part of her pose. Her costume is very well put together, tasteful and FITS the character.

Now I'm not saying all sexiness in cosplay is wrong. If its a character like..Poison Ivy or a game character like Felicia, sexiness is PART of the character. To me then its acceptable to cosplay as sexy because well thats the character.

Put to take a character like AJ, who is a work horse (no pun intended) and works on a farm and to daisy duke her out and make her sexy just...doesn't work for me. Thats not staying true to the character.

Yes Cosplay is about having fun, but when you're going out of the boundary of the character then..whats the point? Even gender benders still hold true to the character. They just change the sex.

I guess if thats you having fun..fine? But I don't know. I guess I'm just do it right or not at all. Even if you are not polished like some seasoned cosplayers, if you try and stick to the characer and portray it in a way that FITS that character then you're doing it right, in my opinion.

Does this make any sense?

[nollilols]

Makes perfect sense and I agree with you 500%.

[Katai]

My biggest issue is when I pointed it out to her she goes " I'm not trying to be sexy. I'm engaged, thanks. It's cute, it was summertime when I got this together." Which made me just face palm. But I think its that these days, what is sexy and cute has been blurred together. Its been mixed up. Theres a time and place for sexy.

[Al-1701]

My guess is people think Daisy Duke when they cause play as Applejack.  It really doesn't fit her character, but what are you gonna do?

[Majesty]

Yup I agree.  On an added note, I am also tired in general of people turning MLP into "adult" theme stuff.  Like you search MLP or go to youtube for MLP stuff and lots of the stuff you get is dirty.  There are some pretty sick people out there. 

I'm mostly talking about art not cosplay though. 

[CrystalCrown]

I'm tired of any "sexy" ponies, period. I feel like making anything sexy really has no place in a series meant for young kids, whether it's cosplay, art, or anything else.

[CarnationTwirl]

There's cosplayers who cosplay because they legitimately enjoy the character.
There's cosplayers who cosplay because they relish the challenge of trying to get the costume just right.

...And then there's the cosplayers who are only cosplaying for the attention.
Even negative attention is still attention to these people, so telling them to put their bits away isn't going to do any good.  Worse, they'll feel 'attacked' and next thing you know their fans or white knights or whatever you would term them as will come out and generate even more attention for them with their outrage over someone having the gall to "criticize" this person.
So don't let them get to you.

Between you and me though, I do think it's kind of disgusting how the conventionally attractive ones with their bits hanging out get so much free stuff given to them.  And how many know this and specifically do it for that reason.

[Wardah]

Honestly while I would never do "sexy" cosplay, I feel that if someone wants to its their choice. I feel a bigger issue is guys that feel entitled to harass these women based on what they wear.

[claricesponies]

Yes! Finally someone brings it up!

I do not think My Little Pony should be "sexy" in any way

[sweetapple]

I couldn't agree with this more!!!
Drives me mad when I see those kinds of cosplays. Augh!

[Salli]

Yup I agree.  On an added note, I am also tired in general of people turning MLP into "adult" theme stuff.  Like you search MLP or go to youtube for MLP stuff and lots of the stuff you get is dirty.  There are some pretty sick people out there. 

I'm so with you on that. I wish I could tell my computer that I do not want to see pony p0rn when I google a pony. And some of it is legit p0rn, not just sexy.

Back on topic:
Some people just have bad taste. They really can't see how tacky or overly sexual they look. They also may not be smart enough to appreciate tastefully done (and accurately done) costumes. I usually just feel sorry for them and their parents and future children. I tend to be drawn to people who are clever, creative and nerdy and would appreciate tiny details of accuracy rather than someone who looks 'hot' by pop-culture standards. Daisy-duke-Applejack-girl can hang out (literally) with her shallow people and I'll be over here having a blast (and being comfortable and not-harassed) in my thoroughly nerdy one.

[content edit ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

[Katai]

Here my AJ cosplay:

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[prancingstag]

I don't pay any attention to G4/FiM humanised ponies, art-wise or cosplay-wise. From the very beginning it turned me right off. Most designs seemed to be about baring as much skin as possible. Bare arms, bare shoulders, bare legs, bare midriffs, low cut tops, spaghetti straps, short shorts and mini dresses... doesn't matter about character personality, or their tastes/styles, or profession, or where they live. Just strip them down! Lots of skin! Who cares! Not to mention the fact that in artwork, rarely if ever are the body types varied to match the character. There's only so many pretty, petite, slender, pale-skinned anime girls I can look at before my eyes start going unfocussed and they cease to have any character or personality to them.

I don't begrudge people who enjoy those kinds of designs and I don't think they should stop existing. It's just annoying when it's the majority. I quite like depictions of Twilight Sparkle in argyle vests and long sleeved shirts, but pictures that appeal to me became so few and far between that I stopped looking altogether.

[Snapdragon]

I'm tired of seeing 'sexy' any pony cosplays, to be honest. At first it was like, "wow this is unique and a fun re-imagining of this character!" but now you're more likely to find 'sexy' cosplay than not. :/ Like, I'd prefer if it was the exception, not the rule.

I'm all for folks' freedom of expression, and there can be really lovely, well-done and tasteful 'sexy' cosplays done ... but a lot of the ones I see are beyond the realm of sexy and into really, um, borderline-illegal? I'm talking about stuff you see at the Renaissance Faire, with people literally spilling out of their too-small tops and such.

TBH, I think it's reflective of the whole G4 fandom's shift towards the Male Gaze. When men demand to be the center of attention for a children's fandom, I think the cosplay will reflect that - lonely nerdy guys in their moms' basements want to see more sexy cosplay, so the sexy cosplayers get more positive feedback, and we see more of the same types of cosplay showing up. There are some beautiful, elaborate, well-put-together cosplays out there - but the ones that get most of the attention are the adolescents in crop-tops and booty shorts. It's pretty sad, and encouraging a very predatory style of thinking towards these often-very-young cosplayers. :/

Basically, I feel like there's nothing wrong with 'sexy' cosplay in general - but it doesn't exist in a vacuum. There's dudes clamoring for this kind of thing, and when women feel like the only way to compete for popularity is to be sexy, then it's no longer something they chose freely to do. And that's terrible, especially in this fandom for - say it with me - young girls.

[SaelaVe]

Now I'm not saying all sexiness in cosplay is wrong. If its a character like..Poison Ivy or a game character like Felicia, sexiness is PART of the character. To me then its acceptable to cosplay as sexy because well thats the character.

I watched an episode of "Heroes of Cosplay" where Yaya Han said exactly this. That if a character is, by nature, a sexy character, then of course it is appropriate to portray the character as such. But to do so with a character which is not sexy by nature is just cheapening the character for personal attention. (I'm paraphrasing, of course.)

I could not agree with this more. Serious cosplay should be about character interpretation that does justice to the unique qualities that make that character so endearing to its fanbase.


(PS: Katai, your cosplay outfit is adorable! That shirt and vest are so perfectly fitting for AJ. )