Interview with Tiffany N. Perry, Cosplayer & Booth Babe
credit to Al Butler
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am 26 years old, with a B.A. from Oberlin College for English & Cinema Studies. My “nerd” interest up to this point was reading fantasy fiction and dressing up at Ren Faires (and Pennsic). I study Egyptian-Cabaret belly dance, while I proudly claim my half-Puerto Rican heritage (through my mother). I love constructing puzzles, and enjoy being a back-seat gamer (as in I like to watch and help other people play because I just can’t master the coordination with controllers). My career goal is to become an editor in the publishing industry (can you guess what genre?).
How long have you been cosplaying and what got you started?
I’m relatively new to cosplaying having been introduced to the hobby this past June. After my long-time friend, Allison Hourcade (owner and jeweler for RockLove Jewelry) asked that I assist her at NYCC, I consulted my other long-time friend, Freddie Nova, on what character to be. Once we knew Allison’s booth would have a Victorian/Steampunk theme, Freddie suggested Lady Mechanika for my focus. Then, she invited me to Wizard World’s Philly Comic Con in June, where I dressed as X-23 (using pieces from Freddie’s personal collection). After that, I was hooked. I had such a fantastic time posing with her (Freddie was Lady Death), that I decided to work on creating/accumulating my own costumes, and debuted my Silhouette, Scarlet Witch, and White Tiger outfits at the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con in August.
For me, finding the most accurate item to create my costume is my favorite piece. I’m in love with eBay and Etsy because you can find so many unbelievable pieces for inexpensive prices. On the other hand, choosing characters with clothing that requires sewing has become the bane of my existence. As a completely inexperienced “seamstress” I have the most horrible time completing even the simplest sewing projects.
My initial process is finding a character. I decided on White Tiger (one of my all time faves) by searching for Hispanic/Latina comic characters. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon an obscure, but still recognizable heroine. Once I pick a costume, I then “research” the person by reading the comics in which they appear. Why would I dress like someone that I can’t relate to, or have no understanding of? At that point, I then determine what pieces are needed for the costume – my Scarlet Witch was compiled from various eBay purchases. The only reason I had to modify the skirt was that it ended up being a bit too tight. I really prefer not to sew. Lady Mechanika could have been so much better if I could have found someone with sewing skills to assist me in time, though I did commission the custom leather pieces from an Etsy store.
How much time and money does it usually take on average to make your costumes?
Thanks to the helpful advice from my cosplay guru, Freddie Nova, I usually maintain a budget of $100-150 per costume (with the exception of Lady Mechanika). In terms of time, it really varies. Scarlet Witch consisted of primarily internet searches, whereas Silhouette required a few days worth of modification and gluing accents on each piece of clothing.
At the VA Comicon
What are you excited to be working with in the future and why?
I want to learn how to manipulate lycra/spandex since a vast majority of costumes seem to use that material, but with my minuscule sewing abilities, I’m pretty hesitant.
What is your view of the “cosplay scene”?
At this point, I haven’t really developed a concrete opinion on the whole “cosplay scene” because I still feel too new to this type of lifestyle. I have mixed feelings – on one hand I have a fantastic time cosplaying and meeting new people, frolicking around Cons with my friends, but on the other hand, I’ve met some people with rude and negative attitudes. I think it all depends on the social circles you run with that are associated with cosplaying.
What are some of the things you want to see change in the scene?
I would like some cosplayers to be more cognizant of the “audience” that will be at the events they attend. Some female cosplayers wear overly risque costumes on a Family Day, and I just feel that’s a bit inappropriate – I highly doubt many parents are allowing their young children to view hyper-sexualized depictions of women/men. Though I do feel that on an average Con day, running around scantily clad shouldn’t be surprising, it all depends on the specific event’s context and crowd.
Well, first and foremost, definitely understand the character you want to portray. Not only does it help with posing for pictures, but then you can have an actual dialogue with other Con-goers, and it can create even the smallest amount of respect. But most people jumping into cosplay have already attended Cons or have read comics. If you’ve never been to a Con, or never picked up a comic, than attending an event is one of the best ways to initiate your immersion. Going in-costume is way more fun, but if you want to get a feel for the environment, make the effort to witness the scene firsthand, then make your cosplay decisions from there. Networking with other cosplayers is a huge help as well (they can give you fantastic advice on costume construction).
What are some of your favorite conventions you’ve attended and why?
My cosplay experience has centered around friends, so I’ve enjoyed all of them to this point. Wizard World Chicago was probably one of my favorites, but I was recognized more frequently as White Tiger during the Baltimore Comicon, so I have a special place in my heart for that weekend. NYCC was insane, but I spent the entire time working a booth (or moshing my way to and from the bathroom), so I’m not sure how much I “enjoyed” the Con per se.
At Collectors Corner
What do you think of cosplayers at conventions that don’t know anything about who they are portraying?
I hate to say it, but I am a smidge judgmental towards cosplayers that have not researched the character they are portraying. I understand that sometimes an amazing-looking costume is just fun to wear, but wear it to a costume party – don’t wear it at a convention where true fans will be trying to delve into their hobby (often a lifetime commitment on some level). And why wouldn’t you want to know more about a character you’re pretending to be? Do you have any idea about his/her normal stances/poses? Do you have any sense of what personality he/she has? Is she/he good, evil, neutral? What powers does she/he possess? Knowing these little facts can completely change your cosplay experience because you can have more fun acting and socializing with people – sometimes they expect you to behave like the character.
If you are hired by a company to do a convention, do you get any training or briefing before working? So, for example, you know what aspects of a product the client wants you to show off?
I’ve only been hired as a “booth babe” for 2 companies – Collectors Corner out of Baltimore, MD and RockLove Jewelry, based in Staten Island, NY. For Collectors Corner, I dressed as Scarlet Witch on multiple occasions, and wore the store “uniform” for one event, while for RockLove I was in costume as Lady Mechanika all weekend for NYCC. The only type of training I received for both was basic info about the store/merchandise so that as I interacted with potential customers, I could shoot off a few facts to create some possible interest in the company and products. I think it depends on how much the client wants you to represent the company or serve as an eye-catching image to draw bodies.
What do you think of the way women are represented in comics and games?
I do believe that women are still negatively portrayed in the predominant forms of media within our culture. Some comics attempt to create stronger female representations, but sexuality is usually not far removed. Ultimately, comics (and especially anime) fetishize women on various levels. But you do have some stories that try to remove this hypersexualization. I very much enjoyed reading Avatar Press’ Freak Angels series (and plan to cosplay as Sirkka for the VA Comicon this coming weekend) because the women are presented as equally, or more, powerful (on occasion) as their male counterparts without having to use their bodies – though victimization does occur, I found it addressed in a more honest fashion than some other stories I’ve been exposed to. The women dress fairly normally, unlike some characters such as Psylocke or Elektra – really? That’s how someone should dress to battle their enemies? Yeah, right. But then, you have The Professional, which is very wrong on so many levels, but also amusing. There always seems to be a give-and-take in how women are conceptualized.
The term “booth babe” doesn’t really affect me. I’ve seen men referred to as booth babes. Honestly, that’s what you are hired to do – be an attractive attention-getter to pull people towards your location. As far as other terms to use, I’m not sure what would work besides the generic “cosplayer”.
I think that some Con attendees believe that every girl wearing a costume is trying to be a “model” or doesn’t possess realistic life goals – and that seems a bit unfair to me. I view myself as highly intelligent, and simply by putting on a bodysuit, my IQ does not diminish. When relaxing at a bar after a recent Con, I met some artists/sellers that started to ask me what my career goals were. Based on the surprise, then glazed look, I saw on their faces, they didn’t expect my answer regarding the publishing industry, or possibly pursuing a PhD. Nor did they anticipate my detailed discussion of a research project I conducted in college on the Western misrepresentation of “belly dance” and it’s history. They fully expected the mundane “I want to model” response, which is not my actual intent as a cosplayer. I just like wearing costumes – ever since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed playing dress-up. I have a mind. But, I will totally own that many hired models that work at Cons don’t reveal higher aspirations, and so there is a prejudice against pretty girls in costume as being dim-witted or shallow. It’s sad, but the only way to dispel this misconception is actually conversing with the women to see what lies behind the image (but that’s true for any industry in life, isn’t it?).
credit to flickr account coolsteel27
I try to maintain a healthy and balanced diet – and by diet I don’t mean drastically restricting my portions and skipping meals. I mean eating fresh food, cooking, and trying to steer clear of junk food as much as I can. Yes, I will buy my beloved “Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked” ice cream every so often, but I want to feel healthy as well. I also go to the gym. This year I participated in “Warrior Dash” and I try to run around 3 miles a few times a week, as well as taking weight training classes at my gym. Again, it isn’t just to “look good” but also to feel strong… and prepare for the impending zombie apocalypse…
As long as they aren’t handsy or disrespectful, I don’t mind it. Like I said before, I think the comic industry has fetishized women to a certain extent, and this is likely their fetish on one level or another. Besides, some women look unbelievably amazing in the costumes they buy/construct – I love to take pictures of and with other cosplayers all the time. Some people have a more innocent motivation than others, but as long as they are polite, it’s what you can expect when you throw on a costume – it would happen in any environment (people in general love costumes).
Do a lot of men ask for your phone number or ask you out on a date? You have to have some creepy stories.
Thankfully (knock on wood), I have not had too many creepy experiences in my few months cosplaying. Sometimes guys will try to ask for my number, but I never give out my primary contact information, only my e-mail in case they have some excellent pictures or would like to hire me as a booth babe. Even with my Facebook, I’m very particular who I accept as a friend, and then I limit the amount of information they can see if they are just a Con contact. I never really considered this to be a business venture, but cosplaying has proven slightly lucrative for me, so I’m willing to explore that aspect if the opportunity presents itself. Though in some way I am enjoying the attention I get, my main reason for cosplaying is to have fun – I’m not trying to score a date through it, and I think most guys realize that. I don’t believe I’ve really had to be blunt or aggressive with anyone at this point.
There’s a convention called PAX who created a puritanical “no booth babes” rule, supposedly to protect overly-sensitive con-goers that squirm at the sight of cleavage. What is your opinion about that?
I think they need to grow up. Cleavage will forever be titillating (excuse the pun). After centuries of sexual repression by most societies, a woman’s body will always serve as sexual stimulation. Yes, as I mentioned before, I think there is a time and place for it, but you can see a ridiculous amount of cleavage just walking down the street on a normal day – do you have the right to tell that woman she needs to cover her body? That implies she should be ashamed. I’m on both sides of the fence with this topic – women should be able to enjoy cosplay and comic books without having to wear skimpy clothes, but there are costumes that do not reveal any skin (they just might be skin-tight). If these attendees are that uncomfortable with seeing sexy depictions of women in real-life, then they must only read a tiny percentage of comics, which is too bad.
On a related note, there are a great deal of feminists who feel that by putting yourself on display in a revealing outfit that you are degrading yourself and all women. Harsh words – so do you have a rebuttal for that?
I say what right do they have to tell me how I should enjoy my body? Who are they to determine what is acceptable for me? Isn’t that just as debilitating to the feminist movement as showing your body? I see both sides of this argument, but ultimately it comes down to choice – do I choose to dress this way or am I being forced? If I chose this for myself, then it should be supported, not shunned, because I’m trying to express myself through my femininity and joy in my body. How is that wrong or degrading to other women? They should find that same confidence, and if they choose not to wear certain types of clothes, so be it.
I’m really glad you are having fun (seriously, no sarcasm–I can’t tell whether it comes off as sarcastic, because, you know, the internet). It is fun to dress up, and awesome to get paid for it.
That being said, there is some serious misrepresentation of what’s going on at PAX and of most feminists’ views.
With respect to PAX, there is a big difference between banning paid booth babes, and telling women not to wear revealing clothing. Do a google image search for “pax cosplayers,” and, I can assure you, you will see an abundance of cleavage. I haven’t personally been to PAX, but I sincerely doubt anyone’s telling these women to cover up. I am pretty sure the ban on booth babes has more to do with the idea that people representing the product should actually be representing the product, rather than primarily decoration. I am really, really not trying to say that booth babes are stupid or don’t know about the products or whatever, but no matter who you are and how smart you are, if you were just hired yesterday, you just aren’t going to know as much as an employee.
With regards to feminists: it is true that there is the occasional feminist who thinks women “shouldn’t”* wear certain kinds of clothing or perform femininity in certain ways. However, the VAST majority of feminists do not care what you, individually, choose to wear. It came up in a thread on Jezebel yesterday, so I am going to quote a commenter from there, because I simply cannot say it any better. So, thanks to commenter Yoana (http://jezebel.com/5858393/japanese-cosmetic-dentistry-helps-you-get-that-sexy-infantilized-smile?comment=44295235#comments):
“To everyone who got all defensive about their fashion and grooming habits: it’s not about you. It’s not about separate individual’s personal choices removed from all context. It’s not about how you personally are not infantilised by your fashion tastes or your personal reasons to have them. It’s clearly about a social trend and how and why it came to be. Nobody has scolded you or told you to grow out your pubic hair or buy some pantsuits. There’s a good discussion to be had about increasing pressure and multiplying expectations of women’s bodies and behaviour, in general, in both cultures, and instead the comments are mostly ‘I can do what I want with my body!!!’ Nobody has contested that. But there’s no shame in stopping to analyse our choices and where they have come from, or talk about the social consequences of not conforming to body ideals or gendered expectations, or discuss where this is all going and how it’s changed in the past decades, or just realise that not everything which questions the sources of our choices is a personal attack against our individual rights to do what we like.”
All that being said, honestly in my own circles, no one gives much of a fuck about booth babes at sci-fi/gaming/comic/other entertainment conventions. Where it really pisses people off is at technical conferences, because if you happen to be a woman in tech (oh hi!), and you go to conferences for your company, it is often assumed that you don’t know shit about the product, since booth babes are so ubiquitous. It’s not even stupid to go straight for the guy at the table if you want actual information, because more often than not, the woman is just a model, who couldn’t possibly have been trained on the really technical topic at hand in time to give you information. And that’s just really annoying. So it’s important to remember when you see people going “Grrr booth babes” on the internet, often it is spillover from that (or even, that’s what they are thinking of entirely, and they haven’t even ever been to a sci-fi con).
*What exactly “shouldn’t” means is kind of hazy here. Even most feminists who say that, in my experience, have a caveat about how really you should do what you have to do to get by, and sometimes you just have to perform femininity to some extent in order to have a reasonable life, and so there are tradeoffs. Probably they still would rather you not be a booth babe, though. But, again, at least in my experience, these are the minority.
Hi Darla –
I will own that I don’t have much experience with PAX – so my response is really just a generalization on some of the negative responses I’ve encountered in my brief time cosplaying. Personally, I do believe that if you are hired to represent a company, you should have knowledge of the products, but that’s based on my own work ethic – I’ve never considered myself just a pretty face (I never even really considered myself attractive until recent years), so I am used to being a salesperson – having details on the product in order to engage with the client. I understand women that simply want to score a gig to get paid, but my introduction into comics came from a true comic fan and this has encouraged my perception that if you work in this industry, you really ought to have knowledge of the industry – does that make sense?
So, based on how you’ve explained it, I can completely understand the idea of banning booth babes as an influence on products as opposed to costume restriction. But at the same time, why ban them completely if all you have to do is train someone on your merch? Why not have someone in costume helping customers if they’ve been trained on product specs, etc? (Obviously you don’t actually have to answer, but this is where my confusion on the whole idea comes from – it seems to become an issue of company involvement rather than simply using “human decoration” to appeal to clients). Eh, so many cultures use appealing people for their services/items – what’s the big deal if the booth babes (male or female) serve as sales reps?
And I certainly agree with the comment you included about feminists – I went to a college with a very strong GAWS program, and equal rights was an extremely crucial component to ALL fields of study. I also feel that the majority of “feminists” simply want to ensure that everyone has a *choice* in how they are portrayed, not necessarily that women shouldn’t reveal any skin ever.
Thanks for your comments though – it helps me learn more and more about this scene. Only a few of my gigs up to this point have been paid, which is totally fine with me – I really am in this for the fun, as well as the opportunity to express myself in a creative way. Hope this helps clarify my responses a bit!