determined
btime posted, as one comment in a long message to both his LJ and the Penguicon community:Also, to the gentlemen in costume (You know who you are) WEAR A FREAKIN CUP!! Have some respect for the people around you, jeepers!
I'm going to assume he was referring to me because I only saw one other guy there wearing tights, and he had on a codpiece.
My reply to that is simple: I make and wear costumes because I enjoy it, and because I have had some modest success in getting the details right. Whether you like it or not, the clothes of the characters I've done so far have been designed to be skintight by their creators. After the storm last year (and my discovery that I was incorrect in my assumption that the actors in TRON did not wear any underwear), I've gone to wearing dance belts, or similar support. That, however, is the extent of the concession I'm willing to make (and, as it happens, I'm willing to go that far only because it's more accurate to do so).
My goal is to duplicate the clothing and other appearance factors of the characters I portray, limited only by my artistic ability (and I stretch those limits whenever possible). I'm not out to coddle the sensibilities of those who lose all reason when confronted by the merest outline of male genitalia. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you do not look at that part of my body - or that of various superhero characters in movies and TV, or Renaissance-era costumes either in the mass media or live at such venues as Renaissance faires, or many athletic events, or lots of other places. Like it or not, men have those features of their anatomy, and you cannot wish them away.
It's not a matter of disrespect. I choose, instead, to believe that people are worthy of the respect that goes with being honest with them. I choose also to believe that they will be mature enough to avoid those experiences that distress them. If it bothers you that much, look at something else.
I enjoyed Penguicon. I enjoyed it more because I spent not one minute of the con in street clothes, and because I got many positive comments all weekend on the various costumes I wore. I intend to do the same in the future.
