Last year at the Fancy Frontier manga and anime expo in Taipei, a Taiwanese cosplayer got in trouble with the law for exposing herself in the cosplay area near the event hall while photographers snapped photos. She was arrested for violating the country’s Act on Offences Against Sexual Morality.
Note: Thie article contains content some readers might find objectionable.
At the time, the Taipei Times reported that the cosplayer lifted her skirt, revealing she was not wearing any underwear, and sat for photos, fully exposing herself. The incident made TV news.
Back in 2012, Japanese cosplayer Ushijima Ii Niku also got in trouble for exposing her buttocks in a Taiwanese arcade.
In the years that followed, Fancy Frontier organisers have created cosplay regulations in order to help ensure participates followed the country’s decency laws. For example, banned costumes include outfits that reveal nipples, genitals, and buttocks as well as ones that show off bras and underpants. Swimsuits are allowed, however, but as the Taipei Times points out, organisers do not have control over cosplayers outside the venue.
Apple Daily and Asagawo Blog now report the cosplayer has been sentenced to three months in prison and fined several thousand dollars, a verdict she can appeal. During the trial, the cosplay reportedly said that she doesn’t habitually wear underwear as part of her defence. The judge replied that Taiwanese law does not infringe on her right to forgo underwear. Exposing oneself publicly, it seems, is another matter.
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