Anime Boston and Breaking the Gender Binary

Anime Boston was a whirlwind of fun this year!  The Post-Apocalyptic Theme was incredibly present as the artistic installations and ambiance were really stepped up this year.  One of the most popular costumes this year was Finn (and Fionna) from Adventure Time.  One of the biggest costumes was a massive replica of Berzerk Fury from the show “Zoids.”  The Post Apocalyptic displays allowed for some interesting and dynamic backgrounds for photo opportunities.  There were some truly stunning Full Metal Alchemist cosplays that seemed to come out of nowhere.   In my own opinion one of the biggest trends to watch out for this year from AB was Male to Female Crossplay and Transgender cosplay.

Crossplay is something that has always been welcomed at AB and other conventions but this year especially there seemed to be a lot more biologically born males portraying female characters.  Through discussions with multiple con goers many attribute this to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’s popularity allowing cosplayers to feel more at ease breaking the gender binary in their costuming.  Still others, and I feel more prominently talked of how Michelle Pinard the creator, writer, and artist of the Webcomic Chaotic Kiss, was a Guest Artist this year, and with her came Gunner Scott the head of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC).
For those unfamiliar with Chaotic Kiss it is a Web-Comic which deals with anime and Otaku culture in America and whose central characters identify as Transgender in some way shape or form.  It’s written in the style of a Shojo story so it is at, it’s heart, a love story centered around character development and the building/breaking down of relationships.

While this is not the first time Michelle has been an artist or public speaker at Anime Boston, her being named a Guest artist and Gunner’s involvement in her discussion of Trans rights, “Transgender Manga and Discussion,” lent an extreme amount of legitimacy to the Transgender, cross dressing, and queer cosplaying communities and in a sense told the world that Anime Boston is willing to foster a safe environment for individuals who do not conform to the gender binary at their event.

http://www.chaotickiss.com/
http://www.masstpc.org/