Web Crush Wednesdays: Chubby Cosplay

I’m writing this only a few hours after the Ferguson Grand Jury passed down a no indictment decision in the murder of Mike Brown. It’s hard to be excited or joyful about anything when I’d much rather set a fire under the American justice system. It feels deeply disingenuous for me to turn around and say “let’s be happy about something unrelated,” but this is a Web Crush Wednesday post, and so that’s what I’m doing.

via chubby-cosplay

As our longtime readers well know, I spend pretty much all of my time either cosplaying, working on cosplay, or earning money for future cosplay. And although I have had plenty of experience being the victim of sexism while cosplaying, as a thin person, I have the privilege of not being shamed for my weight when I dress up. The same is not true for heavier cosplayers, who are often mocked or shamed for daring to commit the crime of having fun while fat. That’s where this week’s web crush comes in. Chubby Cosplay is a fan-run blog that celebrates cosplayers of diverse body types.

More To Love?: Revisiting Pochamani

Let’s face it: finding media of any sort that’s ready to delve into fat acceptance is few, far, and in between, especially when it comes to heavier girls and women. As we here at LGG&F are all about body positivity no matter one’s size or looks, I feel it’s important to share when we come across pieces of media that may focus on addressing on some of these issues. Or, if not addressing these issues head on, at least acknowledging that they do exist and that these standards we force on people in the name of beauty are ultimately harmful. Additionally, it’s good to point out that while body acceptance might be a topic or a theme in said media, that it may not necessarily be tackled in the best way. This is the case with the manga Pochamani.

While we’ve already looked at this cute shoujo series once before, I wanted to look at it a bit more in-depth concerning the issues it covers now that I’ve read it for myself. And while I still had my disappointments, I discovered that there was more beneath the surface than I was originally expecting.

Theatre Thursdays: Hairspray

Hairspray is a musical about a fat girl named Tracy who just wants to make it big on a local variety and dance show. In her quest to do so, she gets the guy and ends racism! Yay!

The one tragic thing about having your feminist critical eye opened is that it becomes harder to enjoy things that have problematic elements. I really love Hairspray—it’s a feel-great show with tremendously catchy music—but upon sitting down to critique it, I realized I’d have to be pretty hard on it.

Why I Love Pochamani

Shoujo is not the most respected genre in the manga world. On one hand, the plots, though often dramatic, are also simple. They usually involve a pretty but stupid high school girl and a handsome, smart, rich, and arrogant high school boy. This odd couple is usually thrown into some sort of situation that, while technically plausible, is very unlikely.

They include eye-rolling plot lines such as marrying for parents’ debt, working off a debt in the mansion, something else to do with a large sum of money and shitty parents, their parents got married so they are now step-siblings, etc. Whatever problems shoujo may have, though, there are more than a few gems in the genre, and even some that go against those pretty people. One of these fabled gems is Pochamani by Kaname Hirama.