FRATPACKER WORLD.

THE NEW SUPERHEROES OF THE GEEK WORLD

Since the beginning of time, we’ve always heard the story about the damsel in the distress, especially in the comic book, sci-fi, superhero world. It’s uncommon that the women are usually the ones being the heroes and saving the men. Even more rare that you’ll find a black woman being the superhero. That’s why it’s so refreshing and a wake-up call to the nerd and geek community, which I am loudly and proudly apart of, that the recent rise in popularity and interest into things such as anime, comics, cosplay, gaming and more is because more and more black women have become vocal and public about having an interest and passion for the world of the nerdy and geeky.

Ever since I can remember, let us say from the age of 5/6 years old, I’ve had a deep love and passion for everything fiction; cartoons, anime, comic books, superheroes, sci-fi, all of it. Now being a black youth, both in South Africa & America, having this love and passion that I did was always ridiculed or judged because it was a “white man” activity. This is where the problem starts. The culture had always been described and assigned to two classifications of being for white people and for men. I always found the white part funny just because anime is the Japanese word for animation and there are certain animation styles and technique that help classify it but the fact that Japanese culture can be described as for white people is hilarious. This classification or label that black people had put on the culture of fiction and animation had robbed black youth both men and women from getting the chance to discover and enjoy a passion or hobby that they may have had interest in.

I also never liked this classification because it gives off the implication that you are trying to be white or engage in white activities by immersing yourself in this culture, when really you are just being yourself and trying to enjoy the things you like and bring representation to a space that hasn’t had any and maybe that’s due to the fact of the own stereotypes we set for ourselves. I say all this because growing up having a strong passion and interest in the animation and fictional world as a black kid wasn’t easy. You were either teased by your family, friends and strangers. Then in the actual community itself you could also sort of feeling this sense of loneliness where because you didn’t see others like yourself, because there was the stereotype of you shouldn’t even be interested in this stuff, because it felt like every time you showed up you had to show up as an idea and fighter for others like you to also participate in the culture, it felt like you were carrying all of this by yourself and to prove a point when really you just wanted to geek out over some Power Ranger action figures.

When I look at it, I think the biggest factor that made this mentality or stereotype trend was just the fact that the black community didn’t see any of this as “cool” by any standards. It’s weird because even growing up I can say a lot of n*ggas loved stuff like Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z, Batman, Space Jam, Freddy Kruger & Jason and Popeye but for some reason it could never turn into real life cool. Things like reenacting scenes, playing pretend, dressing up or doing cosplay was just seen as weird and loser-Ish. Even from those in the black community that were seen as cool couldn’t necessarily make enjoying and consuming it cool. I’m talking about the likes of Ghostface Killah who took on personas of people such as Tony Stark (Iron-Man) or MF DOOM who took on the persona of Dr. Victor Von Doom (DOOM). Both these personas are characters (hero & villain) from the Marvel comic book world and even though in rap they are considered some of the most highly skilled artists the comic book references and inspiration made people look at them like, “These guys are a bit weird or out there.”. Even with a show like The Boondocks, whose style was inspired by the anime style of drawing, it was a door into the world of anime but could never help the community cross the line and step into it.

We see how the fictional world has never been really to fully integrate itself within the black community. That was true until recently and we have Megan Thee Stallion & COVID to thank for this major transition. In 2019 just before the pandemic Megan Thee Stallion released her Running Up ‘Freestyle’ single and it had references to Dragonball Z’s Goku and Naruto’s Sasuke. This took the rap community and the black community by shock because as mentioned earlier, the fictional world was said to be for white men and now we had a black woman proudly and loudly referencing it. It was also a culture shock because the stereotype and stigma before then was that black women weren’t attracted to, interested or had any care for it so to hear an emerging super attractive woman rap superstar reference was something no one expected. Hearing this and then having COVID hit where people couldn’t go outside, the shows the public regularly enjoyed started becoming played out, platforms for streaming live gaming like Twitch came into popularity and just people having more time to discover new passions and hobbies, people started trying to give the fictional world a chance. The impact of the Marvel movie series also played a big role in that with movies like Black Panther that came out in 2018.

All these factors combined came at the perfect time to cause a boom in the black community. It has always been said in hip-hop that wherever the ladies are the men will follow and the anime boom was a real-life example of that. With the Megan Thee Stallion references and her coming out on platforms like IG Live talking not just talking about anime but also cosplaying it opened the doors to other black woman who have always been into it but were overlooked because they were black women. It also opened doors to those who have always been curious but shy and to those who just love to follow trends. Once the men started seeing the women do it and find it interesting and even attractive, well…you know n*ggas, they jumped on the baddie bandwagon and went full steam ahead with it. This is not to ridicule or judge people but to show the impact that black women have on setting trends and shifting the culture for the benefit of all.

I know we’ve all seen the shift and impact with more black women cosplaying and doing live gaming streams. The statistics in America even show that since 2020 that the black community has shown more interest into anime and more open to getting into it. It has been said that “Black Americans (18+) account for roughly 18% of the anime fan audience, despite being 13-14% of the US general population.”, and that, “23% of Gen Z anime viewers identify as black.”

Now the one downside of the fictional world and that has always been a topic in the community is the sexualisation of the women who are in it. This is mainly from a character point of view because the costumes or outfits that they are portrayed in can be described as promiscuous, sultry and revealing. This has always been true and why even back in the day when women would dress up as their favourite anime, comic book, cartoon or superhero character they would be met with the previously mentioned labels or fetishised by the fictional community. It can be said the fetishisation comes from the fact that most men in the fictional community weren’t used to interact with women in the space and therefore came on too forward, strong and creepy. It could be said that living in a fantasy world and seeing those fantasy women in that world come to life in real women who are attractive triggers certain feelings and emotions, especially when it’s your fantasy woman cosplaying as your fantasy woman. Whatever the reason the sexualisation of women in the fictional and especially cosplaying space is real.

It’s so real that women recognised a market and how to switch flip that fetishisation into profit. With the rise of OnlyFans in the same time women saw how they could add this niche of a fetish into their businesses and benefit off it. There are statistics out there that show women make up 98% of cosplayers on OnlyFans. This is not a surprise when already it is said, “That women make up a majority of cosplayers and some observations suggestion it to be at 66%.”. Beyond the fetishisation of it, these stats make sense as women are more open to playing around with fashion and make-up compared to men and expressing themselves through these artforms. We just need people to start recognising it as an art and not fetish to fulfil their fantasies.

The world of cartoons, anime, comic books, superheroes, manga, science-fiction and fiction is vast and wonderful. It’s a place where fantasies and our inner children live. It’s a space that is meant for all whether black or white, nerd or jock. It’s just amazing how black women where able to bring a shift of popularity to something that has been going on for decades and one that had been discriminated from until recently. It just shows the true strength and power that black women have on culture and pop culture. Thank you to black women because what was once seen as nerdy is now dope and now my passions can be accepted as cool and not just “white men activities.”.