Passionfruit newsletter: The cringeification of costumes

Issue #181 | October 31, 2023

There are swathes of creators whose whole content strategy revolves around reacting to “cringe” content. YouTube, in particular, thrives on being a bit of a freakshow. As YouTube essayist Contrapoints points out in her essay about cringe, this kind of voyeuristic content is often fueled by an “obsessive and addictive contempt” for the people cringe-crusaders mock. 

A simple scroll through the internet will reveal some interesting internal struggles these internet Scrooges are facing as Halloween time rolls around. Some Redditors think dressing up at all on Halloween as an adult makes you stupid, saying, “Halloween adults are just as cringe as Disney adults.” Incredulous arguments abound over whether or not it’s “cringe” to cosplay on Halloween. One confused Quora user asked, “Does using a Sonic costume for Halloween make you a furry?” I don’t know, does it matter? (In my humble opinion, the furry is in the eye of the beholder.)

Halloween is an interesting time, as sexy costumes, anthropomorphism, pop culture eclecticism, and make-believe are not only tolerated but encouraged. Sexy Sonic the Hedgehog. Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy. Uwu cat girls and Naruto characters — these are the types of characters we’ve come to expect during the Halloween season. In fact, it becomes a bit taboo not to dress up on Halloween. 

“Why is it cringe when we do cosplay but it’s not when y’all dress up as characters on Halloween?” one creator tweeted yesterday. Why indeed? Furries, bronies, Disney adults, weebs — you name a costume-related niche, there’s an army of “cringe”-hating, snarky Redditors dedicated to making them feel bad. 

Patch O’Furr, the journalist behind the furry news blog Dogpatch Press, told Passionfruit there might be some interesting “double standards” about costuming that reveal underlying prejudices, and “the lack of awareness is a little ironic.”...

– Grace Stanley, Newsletter and Features Editor

In Today's Newsletter

• SAG-AFTRA Faces Criticisms For Halloween Costume Policies
• Elon Musk Says X Will Demonetize Posts That Contain Misinformation. Creators Are Skeptical.
• The Latest MrBeast Debate Proves You Should Always Question What You Watch
• Djerf Avenue Drama Explainer: Why Creators Are Mad at the Company and What They Can Do About It

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