The benefits of Kink in Cosplay: Consent
**Disclaimer: Kink and other sexual activities should ONLY be engaged between consenting adults and this is in no way an encouragement for minors to participate in sexual activities**
Again, one must make the distinction between Sexualization in cosplay and Kink in cosplay. Sexualization is the projection of one's sexual fantasies/tendencies/expectations onto others. Kink is one's own sexual fantasies/tendencies/expectations being applied to themselves.
I also want to note that this is not at all an attempt to normalize Kink or to get everyone to participate in it; it is simply an observation of those who have blended the two communities for themselves.
That being said, it is important to remember that Kink has everything to do with communication and consent. Because Kink involves the self and what the self desires (especially about topics that are considered and should be considered taboo), an entire community erupted that involves clear communication expressing those wants and desires. The cosplay community has a history of rampant crossing of boundaries. And that is because of the sexualization aspect of cosplay: people projecting their own desires on to others, often without the consent of those involved. While kink should remain for those expressly involved and within certain circles of people, that doesn't mean that what Kink we do have in cosplay would be without benefits. The more people educate and are open about kink, the more access we have to learning about consent and proper ways to engage in sexually charged situations.
Too often is it assumed that because something is sexually charged, we have a right to project our own sexual fantasies onto it. And cosplay is rife with sexually charged characters, and sexually charged human beings displaying themselves as these characters. So, fantasies ensue. To be sure, there is nothing wrong with fantasies. But we must remember the distinction, they are OUR fantasies. Just because someone is expressing a fantasy of yours, does not mean they want to engage in that fantasy with you. Kink is in every way aspects and desires of ourselves and it is not at all a space in which you can walk in without knocking and getting permission in which to enter. This goes for the Cosplay world where we engage in displaying fantasies and often see our own fantasies being displayed by others. But cosplay in and of itself is not consent. Kink in and of itself is not consent. For those of us who have blended the two communities, we see an opportunity to educate something that is very important within kink. Something that we want to see for the cosplay community as well, and that is communication and consent.