Thanks to Cyndi Lauper, everyone knows that girls just want to have fun. However, not every girl has the same definition of ‘fun.’ Anna Vescio, a freshman studying Chemical Engineering, fills her free time with some not-so-conventional activities. Cosplaying and martial arts are hobbies close to Vescio’s heart and have been since she was young.
“When I was about 7, my mom tried to get me to start ballet. I absolutely hated it –the girly tutus and the pink everywhere just wasn’t my sort of thing,” Vescio said. “But the ballet school in my home town was in the same building as a Karate school. I told my mom I wanted to try karate instead of ballet, and I fell in love with the martial arts.”
Her intro into the world of cosplay had a similar start. Cosplay is the act of dressing up as popular characters and actors, typically from Japanese cartoons called anime.
“Well, I’ve always had a fascination for Asia and Asian culture. One day I was bored and decided to start watching an anime, “One Piece,” and I’ve been a huge anime nerd ever since. My favorite part about cosplay is just that it’s a lot of fun. I get to dress up as characters that make an impact on me and other people.”
In both of these activities, being a woman can make one feel a bit out of place. According to Vescio, the main problem with being a woman in cosplay is that it’s easy to be sexualized, but the key is to just ignore it. With martial arts, however, people’s preconceived notions can play a more intrusive role.
“As a girl, a lot of people don’t expect martial arts to be in my background whatsoever, and they’re always surprised when I tell them. My personality is quite bubbly and happy, and a lot of the people I meet think I am a very nice and innocent person. But once they figure out I have a martial arts background, sometimes their perspectives of me change, whether it be ‘Oh she’s really cool,’ or ‘Wow now she’s scary.’”
Sometimes her fellow male competitors have a problem with facing —and being beat by a woman.
“I was praised for my hard work and skill by actual MMA fighters, and it was a great feeling. Also, the fact that I was able to compete and keep up with them was a great confidence booster. Some of them didn’t like being ‘beat by a girl’ (literally), but people who thought like that just had poor attitudes,” Vescio said.
Anna Vescio is a great example of how diverse and powerful a woman’s interests can be. We all love to have fun, but that doesn’t mean it has to be “girly.”
Stay awesome, collegiettes!