An open letter to Tony Harris from the girls at GEEKPR0N
/sigh
Once again, G33K women everywhere are criticized for wearing “slutty” costumes at conventions. While this isn’t exactly news, it is a bit surprising that it’s coming from what used to be a well-respected comic book artist. Tony Harris‘ unprovoked hate tantrum about female cosplayers was a punch in the gut that’s been felt by the entire geek community.
Below is not only Tony’s original rant but, the personal responses from a few of the girls here at GEEKPR0N. If you’re a cosplayer, prepare to get pissed.
What’s more, I find it amusing that Tony has decided to back-peddle by saying “If you do really like comics then you’re not who I was talking about.”
Really? Who the hell do you think goes to these conventions? For the most part, this isn’t like ImportFest where girls are literally just there for decoration. Only fans pay to go to conventions. Only fans spend big money creating epic costumes out of nothing. Only fans stand in line for hours waiting to get in the doors. And only fans care/know who you even are, Tony Harris. Congrats on biting the hand that feeds.
As Jessica Rabbit once said, “I’m not evil, I’m just drawn that way.” So, Tony, if you’re SO offended by “slutty” girls at your conventions, maybe you and your artist buddies should stop portraying women as SuperWhoreos. After all, it is YOU that facilitates this. We’re just the fans.
From Kat Curtis (The Naked Nerd):
From Alice Quinn (Tdotcomics.ca):
To everyone talking about the Tony Harris thing here is what I think.
An angry rant with occasional ALL CAPS and poor grammar will not prove you right or portray any of your points in a positive light – even if there is merit to them. If Harris was seriously concerned he would think more before posting, and perhaps even use spell check.
There seems to be a lot of elitist attitudes going around recently in the geek community, and I can sympathize. These people where in the business before it was ‘cool’ or a mainstream accepted group, heck even before I was born! However you have to realize you’ve won – after decades of people looking down at your Dungeons & Dragons group or for your comic collecting, they’ve (the mainstream) have come around to your way of thinking.
The problem here is people refusing to accept change. The face of Fandom is changing, and by all accounts that should be a good thing! More people to consume your art, to read, watch, blog, buy, & yes cosplay.
What I have to say to the people that think like Tony Harris & will continue to do so – don’t stereotype us! Open up your mind a bit, opinions aren’t set in stone & they should change provided new evidence. There are as many types of fans as there are things to be fanatical about & everyone expresses their fandom in different ways. For Harris being a comic fan means digging through back issues and waiting in line for hours to get them all signed, for some people it is loving a character so much as to spend hours creating a costume so they can literally embody their heroes and that is OK. Also guys and gals fundamentally express themselves in different ways, and it all varies depending on the person – so don’t judge all ‘nerd girls’ or ‘girl cosplayers’ based on your perceptions and experiences with a few.
To the ladies who have taken offence by Harris’s letter:
Don’t let him get under your skin – he isn’t the first to treat you this way & he won’t be the last- continue to stand tall & do what you love!
From Melissa (hair/MUA/stylist):
Comic Cons are supposed to be about having FUN. It’s not supposed to be about judging the validity of a Cosplayer’s geekiness because their costume is deemed too “risque.”
Who creates these risque female costumes? Male comic book artists. Who chooses to recreate and wear these risque costumes? Maybe it’s someone who has a low sense of self, perhaps the ugly duckling who became the most beautiful swan, or maybe it’s someone with a great physique who was once the lonely fat kid reading comic books in the school yard. Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t mind being someone completely different for once. Or maybe, just maybe, that girl really is just a slut who craves attention.
Whoever the person is and whatever their reason, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they are having fun and everyone is having a good time.
However, I do have to say, if I were a mother taking my young son or daughter to a comic con, I would like to see less scantily clad female cosplayers. Ladies, please save it for the launch parties and after parties.
I believe true sexiness is all in how you carry yourself- fully clothed or not. I personally would never opt for the more revealing costumes but I appreciate the effort put in by female cosplayers to look as authentic as possible.
From Skaii (The Nerdy Stripper):
Ok so I have some stuff to say. I just saw a video that Kat Curtis put up on youtube about Tony Harris’s “article” (let’s call it) slandering cosplayers, of both sexes. Now Kat Curtis, for those of you that don’t know is the hottest nerd to ever get naked on the internet, and is a host on Naked News. (video above)
Now, I’ve been called a lot of things in my day, being an open stripper, and a female nerd, you get a lot of grief. I don’t mind. I love what I do and I could give a fuck. But this, let’s call it a load of bullshit, for lack of a better word here, is nothing more than disgraceful coming from someone who makes his money off these “pathetic nerds” and “Quasi-Pretty-NOT-Hot-Girls“. Really? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you sweetheart. Regardless of the situations I face at strip clubs, I NEVER BASH MY FUCKING CUSTOMERS! Rule #1. These people pay my fucking bills. No matter what happens at conventions, I WOULD NEVER BASH MY FANS! They make all the hours making costumes, writing blogs, doing photoshoots, worth while. They are who push my career forward. Now, I’ve been a nerd for as long as I can’t remember. I’ve been reading comics since I was 7. I still have my sega game gear, that still works. but honestly, I’m sick of reciting constant nerd facts to people to get them to take me seriously, and this garbage that Mr. Harris has just written has completely threw me over.
Instead of blaming the attention seeking, slutty, “ever so average on an everyday basis” chicks who are “either skinny (Well, some or most of you, THINK you are ) or you have Big Boobies. Notice I didnt say GREAT Boobies“…yeah this mother fucker here…how’s about you blame the men and women that draw these characters we slave away building costumes to look like? We’re not pulling this shit out of thin air. It’s not our fault that the best female characters have the sluttiest outfits (Kat Curtis talks about this in her video). For the most part, female costumes are skin tight, spandex and bare skin, and as cosplayers, it’s our passion and hobby to replicate these costumes down to the last stitch, and wear them to conventions, where EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. We don’t do it for attention, we do it to enjoy our cosplay with other people’s cosplays…that’s what the nerd community does. I’m so sorry but conventions aren’t all about you, Mr. Harris. And we may be there in costumes, but we’re spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars getting merch signed, getting photos taken with our favourite nerdy celebrities, and buying buying buying. Comics, video games, novelties, magic cards, action figures, AND OH YA, YOUR FUCKING COMICS. You have a problem with that? Oh sorry, I guess you have a problem with us buying your stuff when we look like sluts. My bad. Next time I’ll wear a moomoo.
And just so you know, this is what he said about you guys, the guys that like female cosplay: “a LOT of average Comic Book Fans who either RARELY speak to, or NEVER speak to girls. Some Virgins, ALL unconfident when it comes to girls“.
Is that you guys? Because I’m pretty sure a lot of you either have girlfriends, or are married… I will defend ANYONE I have met, either on my page, or at a convention. Every guy has been a fucking gentleman, and cool as fuck, which is more than what I can say for this condescending misogynistic prick. And as for his end statement, where he claims that “if ANY of these guys that you hang on tried to talk to you out of that Con? You wouldnt give them the fucking time of day“… Oh really? That’s why I have a page dedicated to interacting with people I meet at conventions.
In conclusion, Mr. Harris I used to be a fan of yours, but I can’t support your work anymore. Which is a shame, because you work with some epic people, and it’s going to suck to boycott them as well. But not that you care because I’m sure as a slutty poser stripper, my opinion doesn’t matter. Maybe one day, you’ll learn to respect your fans, the people who got you where you are today. I’ll continue giving my fans the love and respect they deserve.
Yours truly,
The Nerdy Stripper
As a non-basement-dweller (entrepreneur, actually, certainly a non-virgin) and proud cosplayer I will no longer support Tony’s works.
He’s not tottaly wrong and I see where he’s coming from. We have people like Jessica Nigri who just paid to dress up as a well known character and just show up…
Booth babes are one thing and I know Alicia and Jess have touched on that before here, but it was Tony’s blanket statement that is causing all the grief. We get it, us older nerds are getting annoyed that a new younger generation of geeks are coming into our community, many of them *gasp* fake. What was once almost exclusively a boys club, for lack of a better term, now has more and more women showing up and dressing as our favorite characters and throwing us into testosterone/anxiety rages.
I remember as a kid after getting made fun of by the “cool” kids (ok it still happens) and wishing that there’d be more accepting people that were into comics, computers and D&D. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that wish, but now that it’s happening, people are getting upset by it. Who cares if they’re fake? Every scene/culture has it’s share of wannabes. When something becomes “pop culture” like our beloved geek culture has, you can expect fakes and wannabes. But really? who fuckin cares! bring them on! We can turn them to our dark side and thus grow our nerd army!
Us nerds/geeks wanted to be accepted for so long and now that we (the meek) have inherited the earth and have people wanting to join us, we’re going to bully them and lash out?
I simply don’t get it.
Ok…. News flash. Any while respected Nerd would completly agree with Tony Harris. In his comments, he singles out Cosplay women who aren’t truely fans of any given genre or superhero/female lead character. He doesn’t respect women who uncasually dress up in sexy atire, then attend these con events ” pretending ” to be interested in portraying ex. Wonder Woman. Harris also is agaisnt cosplayers who over sexualize their character. I have to agree 100%. What’s wrong with an opinion that was ment to express alittle concern about female body image? Maybe before you criticize him, you should ask females who don’t strip for a living how they feel. If your a stripper, then strip. Don’t exepct every male to drop jaw and look at Supergirl lift her cape. You will be surprise at how women can embarrass themsleves to their male counter parts. It is a fact of life and it doesn’t mean that guy isn’t hetero. It means we sometimes don’t understand why a women would choose to hyper-sex herself in con 3events. This isn’t a bias to ALL women, but his opinion is addressed to women like ( No Offense ) The Nerdy Stripper. ” Pathetic Nerds ” as in : people who fall for a sexy clad woman, and don’t realize she never even read a Batman Comic. I don’t see why no one agrees. Just because some women call themselves nerd’s, doesn’t mean they are nerds. And Harris so damming comments are aimed at Fakes, and over exaggeraters. Not women who respect their love for comics/video games etc with enough dignity, they feel no need to bend down for Men, or lift their breast to fit a Catwoman costume…
I think the pathetic virgin part was clearly written about this Michael dude. I didn’t know he stalked the nerdy stripper that hard to see what comics she reads at home alone. If you ask me thats a little creepy. Good job outing yourself here Michael. Deal with your Mommy issues then come back like a real man alright homie.
SO because I’m a stripper, I can’t be a nerd? That’s about as stupid as saying a plumber can’t play video games. So, what do you do exactly? Do you write comics for a living? WOW good for you man! I didn’t know that was the only way you could enjoy them. I guess my tits allowed me to bypass the nerd detector at my local comic shop. It’s a fucking job. When I’m not at work, I’m off the clock. Just an average joe. So, because I’m a stripper, I can’t have interests or hobbies? I’m not allowed to read? What a weird rule, considering a lot of us have degrees. If you actually go to Fan Expo, you know the guy that air brushes himself as green lantern, and wears nothing but a loin cloth. Is he a poser stripper too? Is he what your pal Tony is talking about? Honestly, guys and gals should be able to wear whatever the fuck they want, and not have to answer to anyone. It’s their hobby. If it isn’t yours, that’s fine. Sit down and shut up. Who the fuck is anyone to tell someone the way they nerd out is wrong? I bet if I was 50 pounds heavier, with zits and a retainer, you wouldn’t be saying I’ve never read batman (I have. I have batman year one, a bunch of singles at random, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Huntress, and the 2 Dark Knights…but honestly, you’re right. I don’t read a lot of batman, I’m much more of a marvel/vertigo kinda girl. I don’t all the revamps, millions of dimensions that DC does, that new 52 is garbage. But I do like some stuff, like the flash and swamp thing. New animal man is good too ). But I digress. The truth is hunnie, I know you’ve never met me. You wouldn’t be calling me fake if you did. Retro comics, WOW, Marvel (and most other comics that aren’t DC), VS (it’s a card game, but you obviously know that because you know everything), Star Wars…Quiz me, I dare you. I double dog dare you. Make sure you do it to my face so I can’t look it up online. I know my shit. I’m at every convention Toronto has to offer, so no excuses. If I wanted attention, I’d go to the club, where guys pay me for it. Why would a pay $500+ per costume (that’s usually my cosplay minimum) to parade around for free? I love the comics I read, and when I go to conventions, I want to dress like them. It makes me happy, I live for it. It’s hard enough having to continuously try to explain it to the real world, now I have to try to explain it to nerds too? I thought you got it. Well, nevermind. Hope to see you soon Michael.
Ok, I do understand that. I worked for jagermeister for years. i’m not a big drinker. But a job’s a job. You can’t fault someone for doing their job. If you’re a model, and you’re paid to go to an event, wearing a uniform..you wear it. Now Jessica is not one of those girls. This chick is SO GOOD at what she does, that companies pay her to show up in her costumes. Making a hobby a job is not an easy task. And she did it. That’s pretty cool. Just sayin’ 🙂
This is the fucking worst part about faux nerd girls, they feel that they somehow need to flex their nerd boner to be taken seriously when really all it makes me do is shake my fucking head. Skaii, I also love how your whole argument in this comment can be boiled down to ‘Mind your own business, live the way you want to’ when you can’t leave this Tony Harris guy alone for having an opinion. Faux nerd girl incipient victim, my favourite costume at any convention. Fuck off.
if your a true geek or nerd girl and love to cosplay why do you get affended ? ..hes obviously NOT talking about you..i dont know if you can read but he says it right there that he knows a couple of cosplay chicks and there pretty cool and are true geeks what he has a problem whit is the laidies that show up just to be on websites or get some time on line or videos or just get attention( yes alot of women do things for attention) thats who you should be pissed off at that make real geek laidies look bad and clueless..
your open letter says more about you and what kinda person you are which is sad..
So Tony Harris straight up calls most cosplay women sluts, essentially, and you’re judging US? Get your priorities straight.
Tony Harris is a misogynistic prick who essentially called attractive cosplayers fake sluts and you’re judging Skaii? You’re fucking disgusting. Someone needs to throw you in a volcano.
Seriously, you are literally beyond a level of “disgusting” that I can handle. Go stroke your tiny white-boy persecuted dick elsewhere, asshole.
Right, because you can’t come up with a compelling argument to the contrary; you resort to just ignoring mine entirely and dick insults.
Also note how nowhere in this article does anyone comment on the fact that many women on Tony’s original FB post agreed with him.
No, because they’re obviously idiots, and traitors to the feminist cause. And I’M ‘disgusting’? Cry me exactly one fucking river
You’re fucking right I’m going to judge Skaii, read the bottom half of that comment I replied to. It’s purely her trying to make fandom into a pissing contest which is stupid no matter who it comes from.
So, Alicia, take your dusty cunt and fuck off up the model village.
slores gonna slore