Cosplay is for Everyone: Cosplayers Talk Inclusivity
Representation matters. Today cosplayers are sharing experiences and wisdom on cosplay inclusivity in fandoms.
Cosplay is for everyone. I’ll say it again for those in the back of the room: cosplay is for EVERYONE. The art of cosplay is a recreation of people’s favorite fandoms. It’s fan art in the most real sense of the word, fan art that people around the world can see, experience, and enjoy. Many people try to gatekeep who has access to cosplay, and that really needs to stop. It’s time to talk about cosplay inclusivity.
We live in a day where representation matters- it’s important to include black, brown, lgbtq, and disabled cosplayers in the community. It’s time for change!
–DJ Croft
A Call for Change and Representation in Cosplay
Representation in cosplay can’t be stressed enough as a theme. We in the cosplay community pride ourselves on our misfit status which is welcome to anybody who wants to join. If you’re interested in a character or franchise, we encourage you to cosplay it. It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you come from, or what type of artistic experience you have – cosplay is for you if you want it to be.
Sadly, this welcoming mindset is not shared by everyone. Far too often, people are judged for their cosplays. Whether it’s for the color of their skin, skill with cosplay, gender, or any other reason, bullying and prejudice happen far too often.
Wendell Cosplays recently posted a video highlighting his experiences as a black cosplayer, and that inspired this conversation about inclusivity. This week we’re letting the cosplayers speak to their experiences. Hear their stories and take their advice as you step into your own cosplay, convention, or event. Be kind to yourselves and others, and remember that it’s NEVER ok to judge someone else’s art. There’s space for everyone in the world of cosplay. Act accordingly.
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Wendell Cosplays on Cosplay Inclusivity: Be Kind, Be Better, & Be Creative
I’ve been cosplaying on and off for 8 or 9 years. I try to cosplay characters I resonate with, whether they are villains, heroes, black, white, or Asian. Cosplay helps me bring to life a character most have only seen on paper or on a TV screen.
I know they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The same can be said about cosplay. With the nice comments about my cosplay come a load of hateful ones. As a black cosplayer we seem to get the brunt of the negative backslash, whether from social media strangers or other cosplayers. There is this ongoing need to be 100 percent accurate and I just don’t think anyone should be held to that standard. Cosplay is supposed to be fun and inclusive. It’s odd for people who supposedly got bullied for being different/ for being outcast as kids now turn around and do their own form of bullying and hate to cosplayers of color.
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I hope to lead by example and show people you don’t have to tear anyone down to rise up in this community. I hope to inspire people by my cosplays. Life is tough for many and this may be one of the only outlets to relieve life’s stressful moments. Be kind, be better, and be creative. I love seeing other cosplayers cosplay whether they make it or buy it. Let’s all continue to inspire and create.
-Wendell Cosplays
Diana The Great Cosplay on Cosplay Inclusivity: Spread the Word
#28DaysOfBlackCosplay is an initiative created by Chaka Cumberbatch in 2015 in an effort to ensure that the shortest month of the year, which also happens to be Black History Month, is elevated to help provide visibility to the myriad cosplayers of color. Eight years later, it’s still running strong both nationally and internationally. The movement has helped me to find new cosplayers to follow and support every year, and there have been other endeavors to help highlight black cosplayers with themed events, such as #BlackFaeDay (the third weekend in May) or #BIPOCVampDay (the third weekend in September.) Celebration and representation in fandoms and fantasy is needed, and the #28DaysOfBlackCosplay initiative helps to see that most needs are met.
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DJ Croft Cosplay on Cosplay Inclusivity: Genderbend Cosplays are Art
I am a content creator and a professional cosplayer since 2016. I am an American Black man that cosplays genderbend versions of female characters or characters of a different nationality/ethnicity. Characters such as Lara Crott, Jill Valentine, are characters that played a very important role for me growing up, seeing these strong female characters be rebellious, independent, and strong.
I have mainly experienced more sexism more so than racism. I have had people laugh at me or question why I do cosplay female characters, stating that because I am a man, I shouldn’t cosplay female characters. To me this is very false. Cosplay is art, an ability to be creative with whoever or whatever you want to be.
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My message to those interested in cosplay: remember to enjoy your life and cosplay whoever you want. It’s about the passion behind who you want to be, not what uneducated people may think. Art and creativity itself has no limits.
-DJ Croft Cosplay
Knightmage on Cosplay Inclusivity: Cosplay is Fan Art
I’ve been cosplaying since 2012 and I can honestly say that there is no other community as accepting and inclusive as the cosplay community. It’s a very social community full of socially awkward people from all backgrounds, but that’s exactly why we understand one another. The majority of the negativity comes from those outside the community. I get called derogatory names, and the “black version” of this or that character. The unfortunate truth is that this will be unlikely to change for me or any other cosplayer of color.
The turning point for me was when I did a Elementary School assembly about bullying, where I cosplayed as Batman. There were about 250 kids in the assembly. A week after, I spoke to one of the teachers who said one particular kid, one of the only black kids in the assembly, kept talking about me. The kid was so enamored that Batman looked like him and he could be Batman now too!
-Knightmage Cosplay
It was then that I fully understood how much representation truly mattered, and I became devoted to the notion that cosplay is nothing more than your fan art of the character. There’s no wrong way to do it. But my job is not to try and replicate someone else’s vision of the character, but instead make people believe the character always looked like me.
AdvertisementI can happily say that I’ve changed the views of many and now people rally for whatever I want to do in cosplay. We can’t control the racism, bigotry and gatekeeping of others but we can control our response to it. I’ve chosen to continue on in hopes my cosplaying not only opens and broadens the minds of people but inspires those like me to continue on despite what others say.
-Knightmage Cosplay
Empressjasmine on Cosplay Inclusivity: Look Out for Each Other
I am a black cosplayer of Jamaican Caribbean decent. I must say my experience as a black cosplayer is a beautiful one. I love cosplaying, it really brings the creative side out of me. I love to see the reactions on children and adults faces.
Of course we have hard times, I.E discrimination and racism, but I feel like the good outweighs the bad. . Even non-black or POC people look out for us for the most part. It’s just the few who are ignorant and don’t understand.
-Empressjasmine Cosplay
My advice for people who discriminate would to be to educate them on their ignorance, and then move past it. There is so much more for us to share and do.
-Empressjasmine Cosplay
~Join us next week for more Cosplay Coverage~
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