It has been more than a week since the end of Comic Fiesta 2019 (CF19), with everyone resting after the convention for Christmas and New Year (except some university students who are busy with their assignments and exams so I wish you all good luck). Despite all the good memories within the con, there is an issue that is still debated within Malaysia’s anime community on the Internet, regarding ahegao hoodies.
This heated argument started after the first day of CF19 when four men were detected to be wearing hoodies with black and white pornographic images around the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) with parents and children around them. There are some netizens feel repulsed by the appearance of the hoodie in public area as it is seen as inappropriate; some netizens believe that these hoodie wearers are ‘heroes’ and deserve to be praised for their ‘bravery’. These ‘heroes’ even got their fame on mainstream media headlines:
Article link: https://says.com/my/news/netizen-rages-over-anime-enthusiasts-wearing-clothes-bearing-hentai-at-a-kl-shopping-mall
As someone who had attended the con and witnessed these ahegao hoodies in public as well as reading through the comments on social media, I would like to seize my chance to voice out my personal opinion through this short essay. I will break it down into three parts: firstly, I will briefly introduce the term ahegao and how it comes to the Internet platform; then, I will justify on why ahegao hoodies should not be worn in public; finally, I will refute on statements that support the ahegao hoodie.
What is ahegao?
For those who have not got themselves into the dark side of the internet and non-anime weebs, ‘ahegao’ (アヘ顔) is the orgasmic expressions of women that are commonly found in hentai (erotic manga). From the book “The Expression History of Eromanga”, there are three features that make an ahegao face:
a.A wide-open mouth with the tongue dangles out
b.Visible body liquids like drools, tears, sweat, and snot coming out from the face
c.Rolled-back eyes with hearts formed in the pupils
Here is an example (I hope I don’t get reported by this):
With the accessibility to hentai websites, people can obtain these images easily and spread them around social platforms like Discord, Reddit or 4chan. Around 2019, the ahegao face has become a video trend on Tik Tok with girls making orgasm faces, which started the widespread of ahegao with memes created on the Internet.
Then, there comes people started to sell ahegao clothing online. Some buyers purchase them for a bolder approach, which is to wear them in public, especially anime and cosplay conventions which they think con-attendees can understand or joke around. This type of clothing brings a lot of drawbacks not only for themselves but for the anime community as a whole.
Why ahegao should not be acceptable in cosplay conventions (or public areas in general)?
I would like to address the two main reasons why I think ahegao clothing should not be worn in open areas. The first reason will be analyzed through the Time-Place-Occasion (TPO) interpretation on the case of CF19 and the second will be from the fashion aesthetic point of view.
a. Time-Place-Occasion (TPO) of CF19
Comic Fiesta is an annual cosplay and comic convention which assembles the anime and comic fans from all around the world. It is also considered as the biggest cosplay convention in Malaysia that any anime or comic fan should attend at least once. CF19 was organized during the 21st and 22nd of December (Saturday and Sunday) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), from 10 am to 7 pm. The location of the event, KLCC is nearby Suria KLCC, Petronas Twin-Tower, and Aquaria, the popular spots for tourists. Besides that, December is the month when Malaysian students are having their school holidays, which means the area is fully packed with families with their young children who are spending their time in the shopping mall, as well as there could be parents taking their children to venture within the convention hall. Coincidentally, the 2019 Kuala Lumpur Summit was held in the same venue and the same day as the first day of CF19 which Muslim leaders and scholars were gathered to discuss the issues related to the Muslim world.
I can comprehend the protests from various people on why ahegao hoodies should not be worn in public, especially in the case of CF19. Firstly, these people are wearing ahegao hoodies in a place and time in which con-attendees and normal people gather around the area. Since the event is open for the public, there would be parents bringing their children to venture around the halls out of curiosity. If they meet these people in their ahegao outfit, it would give these parents a wrong impression about the anime or cosplay community and this will bring a very bad image to the community as a whole. Furthermore, wearing these outfits in a place where foreigners are active could ruin the reputation of our country, especially there are other leaders from overseas being nearby the venue. Moreover, Comic Fiesta is the event that first-time con attendees are most likely to attend, but not all of them are ready to see this kind of thing anyway.
b. Aestheticism
The design of the ahegao outfits are not entirely aesthetic. They are just pieces of black and white pictures from hentai manga collaged together in an unorderly fashion and sold as merchandise. Trust me, nobody would like to see images with sexual innuendos in public and the huge cluster will make an OCD person cry.
Supporting arguments for ahegao hoodies and my personal refutations
There are people who believe that ahegao hoodies would not making any harm and further bring in other topics to justify their statement.
a. Children won’t know about this! They only know they’re just weird images.
Let me tell you something. Children nowadays are extremely smart! Heck, my six years old cousin knows more vocab than I do when I was his age! With the advanced technology we have today, kids can find out what are those within a short period. Besides, they spent more time on the Internet since modern parents won’t allow kids to play with sand anymore.
b.Why women can wear bikinis in cons and men can dress up as women but ahegao hoodies are not allowed?
It is a lame excuse for people to continue wearing ahegao hoodies in public. Although they aim to point out the hypocrisy and the double standards of society, they should realize these are two separate matters.
Women in bikinis can be seen as sexually appealing, but the overall clothing does not have any sexual innuendos or graphic images imprinted on it. Frankly, I would admire women in bikini who wear them as a sign of body positivity, for I am very uncomfortable with my own. Unless the wearer of the bikini is trying to show off her body for sexual purposes, that would be another matter to discuss.
Men cosplaying as female characters are just the same as women cosplaying as male characters. They want to show their love for the character and their outfit is not sexually suggestive like ahegao clothing. I swear crossdressers have a better sense of fashion and decency than ahegao hoodie wearers.
c. We wear these to show we are men of culture.
‘Men of culture’ is an inside mediocre joke for all of us anime weebs, it is considered appropriate if it is shared it within personal social circle who understands the reference. However, not everyone can relate to this statement. Whatever is a joke among friends should stay among friends.
d.What about the R18 doujins sold in cons?
Should I need to mention that it is illegal to display pornographic materials in Malaysia? Also, there is no way to have R18 materials sold within Malaysian cons due to this regulation.
(Plus, it is illegal to sell merchandise that the images are stolen from other people’s work.)
e. Why can’t we be open about our sexuality when other people can?
Of course, it’s almost 2020. People are encouraged to normalize the topic of sexualities. However, wearing ahegao hoodies as the means to display their sexuality is an immature move. No normal person would parade around with unhealthy and sexist lewd images plastered on their body. Besides, some people do read or watch pornographic materials in secret, but decent people know that graphic materials are not something to show off as a trophy.
Conclusion
The overall takeaway from this mini-essay is that ahegao-related outfits should not be worn in public. This article also aims to place awareness that these people’s childish actions could jeopardize not only their image but also the reputation of the anime community.
Further Readings:
The Trend of Ahegao Hoodie:
What is Ahegao, and Why's It All Over Reddit, 4chan, Instagram and Anime?:
This would make my last written work of 2019. I hope in 2020 I will contribute more in my writings, especially short fictions and travelogues. I wish you all a Happy New Year.
Finished by 30th Dec 2019
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