If you’ve lived in Atlanta for a while, you might have heard of the massive fan convention known as DragonCon. It’s notoriously known for the parade of cosplayers that march down Peachtree Street every fall. Cosplaying or dressing up as a certain character, is a hobby enjoyed by fans of many different backgrounds.
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for cosplayers to be ridiculed for the costumes that they wear. A quick Google search of “cosplay fails” results in several images of people being mocked for having a less-than-accurate costume, despite people not knowing the circumstances that went into creating it. It seems like haters don’t realize how cosplaying is a mix of the words “costume” and “play.” There’s no right or wrong way to cosplay.
Conventionally-attractive white people reign supreme in the media, especially in superhero movies or fantasy worlds. Those who don’t fit into this specific dominating category are faced with two options: pick a character who was designed with their minorities in mind or cosplay that character anyways. The former is rarely an option and there’s plenty of cosplayers who dress up as whoever they want to.
It should be known that anyone can admire any character they want to regardless of gender, race or body type. For example, anyone can like Spider-Man or wear a shirt with Spider-Man on it. So if they want to wear a Spider-Man costume that they made in five minutes then let them be. It doesn’t matter if it’s a large-bodied, unconventional-looking person wearing the costume; Spider-Man doesn’t care. If a cosplayer doesn’t match his exact description it’s not like that person is going to dramatically and dangerously alter their body for a few days.
Cosplayers put effort and money into their costume and it’s no different from creating a piece of art. Only the scum of the earth would even consider to pick on a poor stranger because someone’s costume doesn’t live up to their standards. It’s the same kind of people who point out pimples and complain about politics without even voting.
Cosplayers can’t change their skin color because it would be physically impossible or racist. They can’t change their body type for a specific character because it would be unhealthy and time-consuming. They’re doing their best with the body that they have and deserve to be congratulated on their effort and hard work.
Basically, the only rule of cosplay is that there are no rules.Cosplaying is a way for people to share their love for a character with others and it’s not an open invitation to critique. The idea of “cosplay fails” is fueled by two concepts: perceived lack of skill and body-shaming. Those who wrongly judge other’s cosplays need to stop ruining everyone’s fun and dragging innocent cosplayers images through the dirt. It already takes confidence to show off one’s creation in public. Don’t knock someone else down just because you can’t tell reality from fantasy. Cosplayers are real people and diverse people; deal with it.
