Jessica Nigri Talks About Double Standards
Jessica Nigri Talks About Double Standards
If you know of cosplay then it’s likely that you know of Jessica Nigri whether it’s by name or body. I’ve written articles about Miss Nigri in the past, so it’s safe to safe I have opinions about her, most of which are positive. For those of you who are unfamiliar, she is the queen of cosplay. Cosplay has been around long before her but she is the woman who made it mainstream with her sexy Pikachu cosplay in 2009. I had followed her when her Facebook page was below 10k likes and saw it explode every month due to every new cosplay she released. Like anyone in the spotlight, she has both her die-hard fans and her die-hard haters.
The reason people dislike her, other than being incredibly popular, is because her cosplay style tends to be of a more sexual nature than most. She is often considered the face of cosplay and the general public assumes that is what all cosplay is and should be like. Jessica Nigri comments every few months after taking so much harassment and abuse that she acknowledges that her style has set the standard for cosplay but in no way supports this, she firmly believes cosplay should be for everyone and the community should embrace all styles of cosplay. Unfortunately, her words tend to fall on deaf ears.
Recently, Miss Nigri attended a convention in Chile where she witnessed a situation that made her emotional enough to write out her opinion for all the 2.9 Million followers of her Facebook page to view:
Today at Festigame in Chile, we had a cosplay contest. This particular contest was the first of two and it was group-based. I had decided to change out of my blood elf cosplay as the last time I went up on stage in my Super Sonico costume, the crowd chanted “TOO MUCH CLOTHES” repeatedly in Spanish. This time around, I judged the contest in a hoodie and jeans. The chants continued to come as we judged the contest and I felt pretty upset, but shrugged it off.
There was an awesome Borderlands group, complete with Mad Moxxi, Captain Scarlett, Handsome Jack and claptrap. As soon as the Moxxi stepped out, the crowd hooted and whistled. After that, a fantastic group of gender-bent League of Legends boys, that ended up winning 1st place, came out in their incredible costumes, but the crowd fell silent. I felt angry because when the women were on the stage, they whistled and yelled but I was particularly upset with the fact that because they weren’t scantily clad the crowd didn’t want anything to do with them. There was barely any applause.
I just want people to know that although I am “well known” in the scene, the way I cosplay is not the only way to cosplay. I don’t represent cosplay as a whole; I represent a part of it. Cosplay is costume play, the creative, the inspired, the amazing. I cosplay the way I do for fun and because honestly I don’t know if I could tackle 1/4 of the amazing things that people make. I emphasize on the good time and feel good as well as being yourself and being kind. With that being said, I felt angry at the crowd for their lack of enthusiasm for these boys’ costumes. They were phenomenally crafted and they all did an amazing job portraying the character from female to male.
I want to emphasize, cosplay is not all about tits and ass. It’s about fun, creative magic with your friends. It’s about spending weeks on something to wear for one day. It’s about feeling good about yourself in a costume to share with the world. These boys did an amazing job and I just wanted to say how much I appreciated their costumes.
With all this being said… I am going to try much harder than I have been. I’ve been letting you guys down with my style of cosplay(some boobies is okay but not every damn costume Nigri).
I love you. That’s all. –Via
As you can see from her message, she was shocked by the disrespect the crowd showed for a group of gender-bent male cosplayers while showing an overwhelming amount of support for the female cosplayers who showed a bit more skin in certain areas. The reason I am writing this article is to inform our readers of the situation and also to bring up the discussion of cosplay and the double standards that often come with it.
Many will cast blame at Jessica Nigri saying that she is the cause for all this but if she gave in and dressed up more, that would not resolve the issue, it would simply hinder her from cosplaying the way she’d like to cosplay, which would then set boundaries on a previously freeform art. On the other hand, because she is so popular and regarded so highly by aspiring cosplayers, there is no doubt that she has a great deal of influence on many who feel as though in order to be successful, you need to copy her style and body. What solution for this problem is there?
It would not be fair to ask Jesica Nigri to hang up cosplay for the greater good and to leave pieces where they lie would only continue to create a toxic community. Unless of course, the community themselves turn off the hate inside of them and throw support to the cosplayers they love. If this change were to occur, it’s quite possible that Miss Nigri would no longer be on top, yet still, beloved by fans while having the respect of her peers.
One can only hope.
I am but a humble man with my humble opinions. What say you about this issue?Â
All photos are from Jessica Nigri’s Facebook page
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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Aaron Wood
If you want an honest opinion on this. She’s only famous because of her sex appeal. She got famous in 2009 because of her sexy pikachu costume. While yes, not ALL of her cosplays are sexualised, there’s a large percentage of them which involve her showing off her clearly fake breasts and posing like a playboy model. She’s making money off this, as well as being a booth babe for various cons including Blizzcon. She says “cosplay is not about the ass and tits”, yet it’;s clearly how she makes her money and has 2.9 million fans.
Chiherah
While yes, that is how she makes her money, that’s not what this article is about, and her words stand true that cosplay isn’t about sexual appeal. Does it help people get views? Sure. We live in a society that over sexualized women anyways.
Cosplay is about fun and the art of making outfits and running around at cons like the little geeks we are. Aside from that, it’s different for everyone. Jess is using her art to model and make money. She’s using it as a business. And there’s nothing wrong with that; it works for her, it won’t for everyone.
What Jess is trying to bring to the light here is that the view of cosplay is supposed to showcase scantily clad women. But it’s not! That’s not cosplay as a whole. And cosplayers like those gender bent League guys put so much time and effort into these costumes that to not be praised for it by the community and fellow geeks really hurts.
Also, there’s no need to point out about her “clearly fake breasts”. Really. I think everyone knows that, but regardless, that’s none of yours or anyone’s concern if they are real or not. It’s her body, her concern. I get real tired of seeing comments like that, sorry.
I don’t personally approve of her outfits as it’s not my cup of tea, but I have no right to tell her how to cosplay or how to live her life, nor does anyone else for that matter.
Nikki_boagreis
Excellent article thank’s for submitting this post very nice article enjoyed reading and interesting comments.