So you want to talk to that girl rockin' spandex and utility best, special edition of "Suicide Squad" in hand? As an avid cosplayer deep in the geek community, here are some tips on what not to do upon meeting a geek girl. All based on real experiences.
1. Don't ask if she has a boyfriend.
(Disclaimer: if it's unprompted.) This horrifically common question makes all girls valid only if they had a boyfriend. Assuming I, or any other girl, isn’t a massive lesbian or straight up asexual, this implies a boy must be the reason I like comic books. Or a brother, or father. My brother gave me his collection of every single "Sailor Moon" episode he recorded as a kid. Yes, it’s a popular cosplay subject, but not really Marvel material. I watched my first "Teen Titans" episode of my own regard, picking up my first comic with no outside incentive. Although there is nothing wrong with a boy bringing a girl into the geek world (the more the merrier!), it’s not a requirement. And it’s annoyingly creepy.
2. Questioning her legitimacy for existing will get you nowhere.
I have been quizzed more than once on my knowledge on "Magic: The Gathering," "Star Trek," "Captain America" and more, simply because I am a woman. This may seem like an assumption, but I haven’t seen one man be questioned on his "Next Generation" facts while in line at the theater. I’ve even won a Magic tournament against all men because they never attacked me, entirely forgetting I existed until end game when I crushed them with my White-Black deck.
3. Touching a cosplayer without permission is a no-go.
Yes, this is sexual assault. Does her cosplay barely, and I mean barely, fit convention rules? If the answer is yes, don’t do it. If the answer is no, also don’t do it. There isn’t any excuse for grabbing, touching, hugging or making a pass at someone who just wants to live her life and have fun without worrying about someone touching them when they don’t want to be. Why would anyone want to anyways? That’s plain creepy, and goes for all genders (I got you, "Wolverine" cosplayers).
4. Criticizing a revealing cosplay makes no sense.
If people didn’t want to see “all that,” then stop designing interesting, epic game characters who wear little more than two stuffed animals and a sticky note. It’s simply social stigma to criticize a person for a beautiful cosplay that doesn’t fit one person’s standards, yet still encourage Power Girl to have a physics-defying boob window and Wonder Woman to have a total lack of protective gear. Let a girl wear what she wants to wear!
