On Color and Cosplay
Costume 1. a style of dress, including accessories and hairdos, esp. peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period. 2. dress or garb characteristic of another period, place, person, etc., as worn on the stage or at balls.
Play 1. a dramatic composition or piece; drama. 2. a dramatic performance, as on the stage. 3. exercise or activity for amusement or recreation.
Seems too many people have forgotten what cosplay is. It’s about people who are dressing up and pretending to be someone (or something) other than their normal, day to day selves. It’s about expressing one’s creativity and more importantly, a love for a character (or characters) who have enriched their lives in some meaningful way. It’s all about cheerfully and proudly showing off one’s geekiness while often surrounded by thousands of fellow geeks who get it.
Now normally I wouldn’t bother with such nonsense, but while Googling African-American Cosplayers, I came across the following response from a poster named Fumouffu:
>~<
Okay, I'm black and I have a HUGE nat for cosplay.. I know your question doesn't want to offend anyone but your responses really does hurt me.. it makes me want to cry... I LOVE cosplay and when I see myself I know that I don't look anywhere near anime characters because they have way lighter skin tone than mine.. but I do it because it is fun.. it hurts me because it seems like I'm being reminded... Maybe I want to cosplay as like... Sakura from Card Captor Sakura but I can't because I am too dark, and there are rarely any dark characters from my favorite series.. besides I love Sakura from CCS and she's very adorable! But it seems like you're saying because I am dark I can't be her and it makes me really sad because I know that I'm too dark... I didn't ask to be born this way and I still like the character! In my mind I know that I can't exactly "pull" them off but I say as long as I sewed the costume right then it's the best I can do! I am constantly being judged by skin tone but I really do love cosplaying... things like this makes other people wish they were something they aren't. I know I'm black but I do not wish to be Asian or white. So you got lucky by being born white (assuming that's what you are)so you can dress up pretty much ANY anime character you want but I would like to dress up as any anime character I want because I have fun doing it.
ANd I say if manly guys want to dress up as girls then let them. >~< Some guys have a lot of hair on their body but it shouldn't stop them from dressing up as a school girl or an awesome amazing costume that shoes bits amount of skin because they have a beard that just won't go away. And even then it's not the same because we can't even really change our color... if I want to I would have to go to the Michael Jackson length and I don't think I want to do that to fit in..
I'm sorries, but you saying that really just makes me feel bad about myself but I will get over it of course because there is no reason to mourn over people who cannot accept the fact that I'm doing this for fun. I'm not trying to hurt you but geez it makes me think that no one can accept my love for cosplay because I was born the way I was... I really do love cosplay...
I'm sorry again and good luck. u~u...
Even though the post is two years old, the ridiculous notion whether or not fans of color should cosplay certain characters is still posed every so often in various forums. It’s the same ignorance that tends to be a part of many subgroups from Goth to Lolita to Steampunk. What really struck me the most was that this young woman felt bad because someone voted themselves the cosplay police and deemed that being black was some sort of hindrance.
Repeat after me: “Things like color, gender, size-these have nothing to do with cosplay. “ If anyone finds it hard to grasp this concept, try tattooing it on the forehead as a reminder.
I’ve attended quite a few conventions over the years, and I’ve pretty much seen the full gamut of cosplayers-from those who really go all out to the goofy frat boys dressed like Sailor Scouts. The usual crowd reactions range from “awesome costume” to a huge smile toward those who may not look the exact part but are all about the fun. Admittedly, I’ve seen big girls in tiny schoolgirl skirts and chunky guys running around in nothing more than Speedos and body paint. I’ve seen tall Mokonas and short Cloud Strifes. I’ve seen cosplay of characters whom I have no bloody idea just who they’re supposed to be. Every year at AX there’s at least three Sephiroths, and maybe only one of them actually pulls the whole bishonen thing off, but I give kudos anyway for everyone who tries.
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So when I come across posts that say people who aren’t the same skin shade as Ludwig (from Axis Powers Hetalia) can’t or shouldn’t cosplay him because it ‘won’t look right’ or that we should only cosplay certain characters just because they happen to be Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, Native American-looking, I’m like whatever. Granted, there are not a lot of anime characters of darker hue running around, but why should that lack have any bearing on anything? Moreover, why should a cosplayer of color be relegated to just certain characters? Frankly that sounds kind of racist to me-that we can do “x” but not “y” because we happen to be Black. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Claudia Grant from Robotech, and I have considered cosplaying her, but I’ve also considered Lia d’Beaumont from Le Chevalier d’Eon and Marciano from Coyote Ragtime Show. I even thought of doing a tribute cosplay of Jasmine You from Versailles Philharmonic Quintet-though the easiest part of that are the fingernails, LOL.
Why is it such a huge deal that some Black guy is dressed like Inuyasha or a Latina girl is dressed like Misa Amane? If they’re rocking it, that’s the important thing. Even if they’re not rocking it, oh well. The last time I checked, there are no laws that state only Asians (and by extension Caucasians) can dress as Yuki or Zero from Vampire Knight. I am more than certain the creator of Naruto isn’t freaking out over what color some guy (or girl) happens to be cosplaying Sasuke or Sakura. I’m sure he’s probably thrilled (as any writer/artist would be) when their work reaches a vast and diverse audience.
Sure, some people have an idea as to what a certain character should look like in real life. Still, one’s personal feelings shouldn’t infringe on other people’s enjoyment of the same medium. I do get the fact that for some people, cosplay is an art form and they practice it with as much skill as someone who writes or paints. However, cosplay isn’t an exact science-it’s an interpretation (sometimes a very loose interpretation).
What some people fail to understand is that no one-regardless of color-looks anything like an anime, game, comic, etc. character in real life (at least I hope not. Okay, I would like to see a guy who looks like Fei Long from the Finder series…rawr). None of us have huge eyes, strangely coiffed hair of colors only crafted by Manic Panic (and even some they don’t have). None of us have impossibly huge breasts that resemble floatation devices and nearly non-existent waistlines while still managing to save the world. None of us have pointed ears, pointed teeth or whiskers. None of us ‘transforms’ into a walking Gundam. And who’s to say something doesn’t ‘look right’? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Sure, I would love to see two hot guys cosplaying Taki and Goh from Yellow, but even if it’s two girls, I’m still going to think it’s cool. At the end of the day we’re talking about FICTIONAL CHARACTERS here.
At last year’s AX I dressed as Victorian parlor maid Emma. No sweetings, I’m not British and no, I’m definitely not Caucasian. I think I did a pretty nice job of it. At least twenty people (including a few guys) recognized me right off. No one said, “You can’t be Emma ‘cause you’re not white”. Not that it would have mattered one bit if someone had been stupid enough to voice that opinion to my face. I chose Emma because I loved the story and the anime. I’m a historical buff, so it was right up my alley. The interesting irony here is that the creator of Emma, Kaoru Mori isn’t British, but she loved the Victorian age so much that she let her wings take flight and created a beautiful and compelling story about two people in love and overcoming class prejudice. Could we imagine someone telling her that she shouldn’t have written Emma because she’s Japanese?
At its very heart, cosplay is all about FUN, and I think some people have forgotten about that in their zeal to narrowly define who can and can’t do cosplay. It’s about putting on a persona and acting out in a way that one cannot do in everyday life. It’s not subject to all the strictures that we’re subject to in real life. If a man wants to don Sweet Lolita, who’s to say no? If a little Black or Brown girl wants to dress like Sakura, that’s cool. Do what makes you happy, because at the end of the day, we’re still all misfits and outsiders.