Blame stupid thots like Momokun and abuela-chan Lori for this. I remember one cosplayer from that 2000s era,
Mandy Nader aka the webmaster of the now defunct site TRSRockin.
Back in 2004-2005 she'd upload cosplay pictures to her site despite already being married, and she did all her props and costumes by hand with astonishing quality. She still does now despite having 2 kids and leading a home life, with the same degree of quality with age appropriate costumes too.
Then you find retards like Lori and Kevin with their arrested development doing a sexualized mockery of cosplay and you can tell the difference.