Cosplay speed dating

What with the spanking and all? Bell rings to end the date and the session. You find out your matches by filling out a checklist. If they check you off too, you're matched. A skilled dater knows that by checking everyone off — whether you liked them or not — you're guaranteed to see all of the people who liked you. I didn't want to look like that person, so instead I chose to look like either someone who had a very low bar or was very desperate.

I checked 22 of the 25 boxes, randomly. I vainly thought that since I wasn't your typical cosplay girl, that I would be getting probably 12 to 15 matches from my 22 checkmarks. Less than 12 hours after the event, I got my matches. I scored less than 33 per cent.

Zombies, Trekkies and jerks: what happens when FanExpo geeks try speed dating

If this was a math test, I failed. At that moment I realized, while most people judge those who live and breathe Fan culture, they're judging us too. My ego took a hit, but it was a refreshing affirmation that, as the young Capt. Picard said to me during our date: Even if our outside appearances — costumes and all — suggest otherwise. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way.

Click here to subscribe. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters globeandmail. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter. Comments that violate our community guidelines will be removed. Commenters who repeatedly violate community guidelines may be suspended, causing them to temporarily lose their ability to engage with comments. Read our community guidelines here. Article text size A.

More Stories

Open this photo in gallery: Published August 30, Updated April 30, There are deep sexual undertones in Fan culture. Story continues below advertisement.

During my stroll along the convention floor at FanExpo Canada last weekend in Toronto, I saw a young man fondle the breasts of a comic-book statue and dozens of ergonomic Anime mousepads, where your wrist would rest comfortably on the padded breasts of a cartoon vixen. For those of you who haven't been to FanExpo before, this may sound weird.

Zombies, Trekkies and jerks: what happens when FanExpo geeks try speed dating - The Globe and Mail

But it isn't, when you consider that the event is a gathering of over 90, passionate nerds and geeks, many of whom have trouble releasing all their sexual tension. Some mask it by dressing up. If you're a woman, your costume is sexy. Think skimpy, dominatrix-like outfit from anime series. Or skin-tight spandex for a crime-fighting female comic book character. I wore decidedly the least sexy costume: The Next Generation uniform circa Season 1. It's polyester and goes from my ankles to my wrist to my chin.

Despite this, I tested my luck at one of FanExpo's 15 speed-dating sessions, hosted by 25dates. A total of men did, and of them got stuck on the wait list and never made it to the dating tables. You're given three minutes with each suitor — a brief window, but it allowed me to peer into a culture that is equal parts sexually frustrated and misunderstood.

• hollywood dating couples.
• More Stories!
• newest free dating sites in usa.

A hip-looking guy in a tight shirt and black ball cap sat down. Before his butt hit the seat, he introduced himself and said: I remove my purple specs and flutter my eyes I think this is flirting, right?

The Globe and Mail

Don't you have contacts? My glasses are kind of my thing. Changing the topic quickly, he asked me how old I was. This guy was a jerk. I could see that at least. I didn't realize after the date that that was a line he used on all bespectacled ladies. Unfortunately for him, it backfired. About halfway through my 25 dates, a man lumbered over to my table. Probably 6 foot 2 or 6 foot 3 at least. He wore a black dress shirt, black pants and a black tie. With his sleek black hair and muscular body, he was indistinguishable from a regular, non-Fan speed dater. Except that he had looped the Blue Lantern ring through his tie.

A nervous-looking group of women begin to fill the room and take their seats at one of the grey chairs. Each spot is set with a pink card that's borderline uncomfortably close to the blue-card chairs. As more and more chairs are taken, a woman off to the side awkwardly scans the rows for an open space.

The man running the program quickly noticed. At Comic Con , speed dating might seem more or less intimidating than the ordinary session happening at your local bar, depending on how comfortable you feel while sitting across from a man in a cape or a woman dressed as Iron Man.