No, I don't agree with some of the simpleton sentiment in the article. I'm only posting it because (obviously) it might be of interest to those of you who don't read the daily Washington Post (this was in this morning's paper, but was apparently published on the website two days ago).The entire article is pasted below, if you'd rather not go to their website; however, the article online (at washingtonpost.com) also includes a couple of photos and a brief video. The actual convention was last week in Baltimore (for those not familiar with it, it's one of the largest cities on the Atlantic Coast of the United States; it's about 200 miles southwest of the city of New York).The advanced smilies didn't come with the article.Code:http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/awkward-moments-at-baltimore-anime-convention-as-art-form-comes-of-age/2011/07/31/gIQAFYY5rI_story.htmlAwkward moments at Baltimore anime convention as art form comes of age[By J. Freedom du Lac, for The Washington Post]BALTIMORE ?밠adoka! Madoka!?a man shouted, and the 16-year-old dressed as a 14-year-old Japanese cartoon schoolgirl stopped in the middle of the Baltimore Convention Center. 밅an I take a picture??br />She nodded, then struck a pose as Madoka Kaname, the 뱈agical girl?character she was dressed as last weekend at Otakon, the annual festival of Japanese cartoons that once again turned the Inner Harbor into the epicenter of all things anime.Her costume included a Day-Glo pink wig with pigtails, white knee-high stockings, a red choker and a short pink-and-white dress that Little Bo Peep might have worn on a day she wanted to alarm her parents.The man, who appeared to be in his mid-30s, pointed his digital camera at the make-believe Madoka, snapped a photo . . . and then stared.And stared.밒t can sometimes be very weird,?the teenager said of her convention encounters with overly interested older men. 밄ut they really don뭪 mean any harm.?br />This is a delicate time on the anime convention circuit, where a demographic shift has created an occasionally unseemly and sometimes dangerous dynamic.Men have long been the foundation of the genre뭩 fan base, but they뭭e been joined in increasing numbers by teen girls, whose embrace of the medium뭩 more fantastical side has helped launch anime to new levels of stateside popularity. Conventions that were once cult gatherings attended almost exclusively by VHS-trading college-age (and older) males are now overflowing with young females, many of them sporting various iterations of anime뭩 popular doe-eyed, scantily clad look.The dark side of the new demographics has not gone unnoticed.밫he Con perverts,?read the title of a Web forum thread that catalogued alleged stalking of minors at anime conventions. 밇ver happen to you??br />Last month, a 34-year-old Silver Spring man admitted in federal court that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl he met in February 2010 at Katsucon, an anime convention at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor in Prince George뭩 County. Michael A. Alper, who had previously been convicted of raping a 13-year-old in Virginia, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to coercing and enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.The news spurred Katsucon organizers to announce that they might begin checking their convention pre-registration list against sex-offender registries before their next event. Under the proposed policy, anybody listed on a published sex-offender registry would be denied entrance to Katsucon, which returns to National Harbor in February.밯e want to make sure we stay within the ethical and legal guidelines afforded to us in Maryland, but at the same time do everything in our power to protect our most vulnerable attendees,?Katsucon spokesman Chad Diederichs said.Jennifer Piro, a member of the board of directors for Otakorp, the nonprofit group that produces Otakon, said that 뱊o decision has been made?to introduce a similar policy at their convention.Otakon, she said, has taken precautions to protect minors. All attendees younger than 12, for instance, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times, and adult-themed programming is presented late at night, for those with 18-and-over wristbands. But, Piro said, Otakon 밿s not a babysitting service.?br />밯e want to do everything we can to keep our attendees safe,?she said. 밄ut there뭩 only so much you can do. . . . There are definitely sketchy people out there. They could be at the mall. They could be at McDonald뭩. This is still the real world.?br />Anime is a broad medium that ranges from the purely innocent to the pornographic. Some of it fetishizes young girls.The Alper arrest and conviction became a hot topic among anime fans, some of whom fear being further stigmatized. (Many of them already think that other people consider them geeks who live in their parents?basements.)밚eave it to the sickos to make the rest of us older guys that go to cons feel like eyeballs will be watching us double now,?one poster wrote on the Anime News Network forum. 밒 already have issues with going to cons and being the odd man out, and this guy has to make it just that much harder.?br />Said Katsucon뭩 Diederichs: 밒t does propagate a terrible stereotype that some people have about male fans that attend anime conventions.?br />But an uncomfortable undercurrent is obvious. Just consider the visual snapshot of attendees at any anime convention now.밳ou get hundreds and hundreds of young girls in skimpy costumes . . . and then you have older male anime fans,?Diederichs said. 밫he juxtaposition of the two may not look entirely wholesome.밒 myself feel a little uncomfortable sometimes [at Katsucon] when I have to say to the third girl in a weekend who is wearing something too revealing, 멒o back to your room and get more dressed.??br />At Otakon, there were people 밹osplaying??or costume-playing ?characters from their favorite anime series and video games and sci-fi films. There were pirates and vampires and superheroes, along with a Rubik뭩 Cube and a My Little Pony.Everywhere you looked, there were older girls dressed as little girls and little girls dressed as littler girls ?and grown men taking photos of all of them. Sometimes, the men asked for hugs, too.밫here뭩 a little bit of perviness,?said Jamie Blanco, who was cosplaying a teenager from the hit anime series 밄leach.?(In real life, she뭩 in her 20s and the morning-drive producer for Federal News Radio.) The majority of people who attend anime conventions, she said, are there 밷ecause of a pure love?of the art form, its characters and stories. 밄ut there are definitely a small percentage who come here to hug up on some of the younger girls ?and younger boys.?br />At the trade bazaar in the bowels of the Convention Center, one could buy all the too-short schoolgirl outfits one would ever need. Also on offer: hentai, or pornographic comics, some of which leaned Lolita.In 1994, before anime moved in from the outer edges of fringe culture in the United States, David Stoliker attended the first Otakon. He has turned out every year since. He is 43 now, a physical therapist from Long Island. His summary of the demographic shift at Otakon: 밫here are definitely people who can wear skimpier costumes a little better.?br />But don뭪 take that the wrong way, he said. Most of what happens at Otakon 밿sn뭪 prurient. It뭩 certainly not criminal.?An encounter like the one between a registered sex offender and a 13-year-old at Katsucon, he said, 밹an happen anywhere. People tend to draw attention to it when it happens in an unusual environment.?br />Outside the Convention Center, cosplayers in animal outfits and gas masks and wigs generated triple takes (and occasional heckles) from drivers on Pratt Street. For Otakon attendees, it was business as usual.A man dressed in a 밣edobear?costume was there, portraying the creepy satirical mascot that first emerged on the Internet as a way to mock inappropriate behavior in anime Web forums. Pedobears are regulars at anime cons, where many attendees appear to be in on the joke.밇verybody loves Pedobear,?Travon Smith, the 20-year-old Baltimore man inside the sweltering teddy-bear suit, said ?while assuring anyone within earshot that he is not, in fact, a pedophile. He also is not endorsed by Otakon but came to the conference as a paid attendee. 밒t뭩 all a joke,?he said. 밓ust people having fun.?br />In his costume, Smith posed for photos and shook hands. People laughed. A young girl hugged Pedobear.Quote:Originally Posted by jjjjeczalikA young girl hugged Pedobearat least the convention wasnt a total waste of time.Not to be racist here but.. Its pretty much the stereotyped white american view that article has.. They should be happy they have such large conventions, where I'm from, we got them too, but they aren't as recognized unless you're a hardcore fan..I can already see the media, especially news sites who love the rush of the visitors to their pages, having a field day with this. They are going to paint this as a "beacon to all sex offenders" and to "have parents watch their children closely when attending these events". First of all, the world is not perfect as we all know it. Bad things don't just happen under the banner of an anime convention, they happen whenever. Beef up security at these events and all events for that matter and hope that nothing gets out of hand. For those people that do love to cosplay and might be of under age (that includes both sexes) they should be free to attend gatherings where they can be around people that enjoy the same things as them. I am not one of those people (although I might go to Comic-Con next year dressed as Captain America just to watch the premier of The Avengers), but I do sympathize with the mass media painting a gathering as a haven for freaks and losers.Where I live, they think that anime and manga is for kids, while Harry Potter is a very serious work, and Star Wars and Star Trek are very realistic and scientific... go figure... and may the force be with you or something like that...About those news, one day the locals will banish an anime conventions full of pedos to give space to host one of those contests of underage children in bathsuits they are so proud of, and the judges and attendance are only there to admire a cute one, I mean, event... a cute event...Quote:Originally Posted by SergilNot to be racist here but.. Its pretty much the stereotyped white american view that article has..Actually, that is racist because you specified color. America is a melting pot with a vast variety of all races. Not that you dont have a point to some degree but I think you are missing the point of the article. If you let your kids walk around, unsupervised, in skimpy and provactive clothing....they are likely to draw inappropriate attention. Add to that a place where clearly sexual magazines are sold and displayed and this becomes less of a family atmosphere. More so, children are more likely to be put in physical danger. The article was meant to be somewhat of a wakeup call to parents who read the paper not to the children themselves who do not.A quote I liked from the article:Quote:Originally Posted by jjjjeczalikOtakon, she said, has taken precautions to protect minors. All attendees younger than 12, for instance, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times, and adult-themed programming is presented late at night, for those with 18-and-over wristbands. But, Piro said, Otakon 밿s not a babysitting service.?/div>These people are an embarrassment to anime fans everywhere. There is a difference between liking anime and taking it too far. Going to a nerd convention dressed up as cartoon characters and thinking you are showing an appreciation for another culture is taking it too far. If I could I would release a gang of bullies on that place.Not surprising at all.As a wise man once said: "Fuck America"Enjoy your corrupt hyper religious police state.Quote:Originally Posted by megatrollNot surprising at all.As a wise man once said: "Fuck America"Enjoy your corrupt hyper religious police state.Wow. Well, for all its faults, (most of which are not indigenous to America alone), I love America and that which it stands for. You are of course entitled to your opinion.Of course, this article generalizes and polemicizes. - On the other hand, if I had a minor daughter, I wouldn't want her to attend it by herself ...