Actually, I was running off the "overly tight clothing" line of thought when referring to health, not "skimpy" or "anime costumes" - I think my initial statement said as much. (And when it comes to pants, rest assured, hurting yourself just to squeeze into them is not a good idea.) I didn't say anything about fat cosplayers - although if the goal is realism, then the plump are at a disadvantage due to the abnormally slim build of most anime characters. (Ignore the huge eyes and all that - that's for things like the opening picture of this thread.
)And about exposing oneself to public scrutiny, cosplay or otherwise, independent of all other things... well, it must come into play somewhere along the line, otherwise what are conventions for? (Especially cosplay: I can imagine people wanting to wear skimpy clothing because it's comfortable and makes them feel good, but dressing up in a suit of armour... that's another story.)
I'm still working on explaining the last bit, but I'm out of time, so I'll get to it later. Apologies to all offended parties, and damn, I've been doing a lot of that lately.
you know what I mean)