“To me, it’s being in the shoes of the characters you love and having fun! It’s called Cos”play”, meaning if you’re not having fun, then you aren’t doing it right.”
That quote came from the wonderful book called Cosplay in America, which should be the bible for cosplayers. It is the concept of cosplaying and it should be a fun hobby first, no matter what.
Cosplayer Living Ichigo
As a long time member of the cosplay community, I noticed some questionable trends that have been popping up which don’t bode well for cosplay as a whole. First and foremost would be the emergence of elitist cosplayers. Too often I see several questionable posts made by these types of cosplayers, which, at best are in poor taste and at worst downright judgmental, which really hurts the community. These holier-than-thou would make guidelines that are too unrealistic. For example, demanding that one has to look exactly like the character that one is cosplaying and stay in the character for the entirety.
To me, these types of elitest demands in the cosplay community really suck out of all the enjoyment and make it very stressful hobby when it is supposed to be a fun times for everyone to enjoy. I have been to major cons where these types of cosplayers just ruin all of the fun and hurt the experience. It doesn’t help the community in any way, but rather stunts its growth and negatively impacts fandom.
However, there are few high level cosplayers like Yaya Han whose are not elitist in the least and promote cosplay at various cons. That’s fortunate because people like this show us that cosplaying is about having fun first and foremost. There are several points that Yaya Han brought up about the cosplay recently on her Twitter account that I found very intriguing. My personal favorite statement being:
“That is why I have never/will never believe in cosplay elitism. No 1’s better or deserving than another. Just different cosplay styles.”
That quote really hit it home for me because everyone does have their own different styles and we should celebrate that. It’s not fair for elitist cosplayers to make such questionable comments to other cosplayers whose concept of cosplay doesn’t fit their own.
Another statement that caught my attention from Han is:
“It’s great to be proud of your work, but don’t put others down. I never understood comparing costumes. Everyone has different budget and time.”
Cosplayer Mercy Nixon
This should be made clear to the cosplay community that not everyone has the same budget and time. I have seen some cosplayers pour lot of money and time into their cosplays to make them look good. Great for them! But not everyone can has the time or resources to pull this off. Take me for example, I’m a very poor college student so I often hit up thrift stores to acquire pieces of my cosplay on a small budget. I do my best with limited resources but I always make sure that I have fun, no matter what.
“The cool part about Cosplay is that it can mean something different to each cosplayer without being “wrong”. It’s very personal passion,”
Yaya Han mused on Twitter. Again, this should be made very clear to the cosplay community that not everyone will have same idea when it comes to cosplaying. For instance, I prefer to cosplay the characters that mainly dress up in a suit and tie because it suits my personal attributes and it makes it easier for me to be mobile during the cons.
Another pitfall of cosplay elitism is that it stifles creativity and places unnecessary restrictions on people. If accuracy were the only baseline for cosplay, there wouldn’t be any fun and outlandish cosplayers, like Ronald McDonald Sephiroth vs. KFC Cloud Strife and Sailor Bubba. To me, those cosplayers happen to make the hobby even more fun and enjoyable because they are so unconventional and fun without any restrictions.
McDonald’s Sephiroth vs. KFC Cloud Strife
“Cosplay is an ever changing community and I have changed with it over the years. I used to fight the changes, but now I embrace it!!”
Again, Yaya Han is completely right that the trends in the cosplay community really change at a rapid pace so one has to continually evolve with the community rather than struggle against it. When I first cosplayed 4 years ago, it was entirely different world. But now, the landscape is rapidly evolving and I do my best to embrace the change. After all, the only constant in life is change so it is up to us to whether we’ll roll with the punches or struggle against the current. I would certainly suggest the former!
Liz Stockdale (left) and Heidi Alford (right) taken by Onionknightinc Photography
“To me, the cosplay is a way of life. It has truly brought me so much happiness ever since the first day I started doing it. It has brought me together with all the people I love most. All my roommates, my boyfriend, and so many other people whom I have come across on this great journey in the costuming world. Becoming someone else for a day, losing yourself in a different world is a truly wonderful feeling.”
That quote is from Lindsay in book Cosplay in America. It truly captures my feelings about what cosplay should be.
I have never regretted entering the cosplay community, but I want it to be enjoyable for everyone. I’m very blessed to have a wonderful mentor who’s taught me that I should cosplay for myself and the characters I love, and not for the approval of others. I have always followed that advice because it allows me to explore other avenues without restrictions, which is excellent for growth and gaining experience in this hobby.
There are few high level cosplayers whose I would like to thank for their time and interacting with me. Obviously, I would like to thank Yaya Han for posting her thoughts about cosplay on Twitter. Also, I’m very thankful to Living Ichigo, whose is a very cool and friendly cosplayer that takes the time to interact with others so frequently at cons and on social media websites. Lastly, I would like to thank Johnny N’ Junkers for being so cool to me about using his pictures for this article. You guys are truly the assets to the cosplay community and please keep up good work.
Remember, the cosplay hobby should be for fun, not to be competitive. It’s about having good times with your fellow cosplayers and creating wonderful memories that you will cherish for the rest of your life.
Check out some of the greats below and again, thanks to all of them!
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- McDonald’s Sephiroth vs. KFC Cloud Strife
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- Arisa Nicole Lynne taken by Onionknightinc Photography
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- Liz Stockdale (left) and Heidi Alford (right) taken by Onionknightinc Photography
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- Cosplayer Johnny N’ Junkers
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- Cosplayer Living Ichigo
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- Cosplayer Johnny N’ Junkers
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- Cosplayer Living Ichigo
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- Cosplayer Mercy Nixon
Ugh, it is so sad that cosplay has to be ruined so much by tightwad cosplayers who can’t leave other cosplayers alone that an article (a beautiful, well-written, and true-to-the-T article) has to be written to tell them to shut the fuck up and have fun! Thank you for informing the community!
BlackChixCosplay, yes…. it is very unfortunate that elitist cosplayers are not making this hobby a enjoyable one. Thank you for the kind words about my article…. I truly appreciated it a lot.
DD Remember…. cosplay is about having fun and spread this article around if you can. I want to reinforce the notion that cosplay is about having good times with good quality people.
It’s true I’ve had people say don’t cosplay kakshi tour not the right type of Asian but idc cause McMahon in may I’m going as gray fullbuster to shut the elitists up
Cosplay elitism has always been kind of dumb to me. It’s people taking their hobby way to seriously. I enjoy cosplaying myself, and would even love to be better at it and make more elaborate cosplays, but I would never let it get to the point where A. It is the center of my life and B. It turns me into a snob. Some people forget that this is a hobby. They become so consumed by it, that it becomes the center of their life. I’ve seen that happen so many times, it’s ridiculous. I understand enjoying it and wanting to be accurate and see other awesome cosplays done well, but it should never be about anything more than an expression of creativity and for fun. When you start taking your hobby so seriously that you start treating it as more than something that’s fun to do, then you might need to start re-examining what you consider a priority in your life. Because cosplay shouldn’t be at the top.
@Uchiha Seriously? People have actually said you’re ‘not the right type of Asian’?! That’s insane!
uchiha, it’s about having fun. As long you’re having fun and make good memories with people, I don’t see any issues with it. But you should not care what other people think.
My favorite quote from Game of Thrones is, “Remember, the lion doesn’t care for opinion of sheeps.”
Joseph, you have great point. It is very unfortunate that some people take cosplay way too seriously to the point where it actually centered in their lives. It’s about having fun and sharing your love for fandom with others, really. I view cosplay to express my love for fandom and want to share it with other people, that’s all. But, le sigh, some people just don’t get it.
Thanks, guys, for the commenting! I truly appreciated it a lot!
Joshua, it’s fairly common trend in cosplay community. Lot of people would criticized the others for not being ‘right type.’ Honestly, best Naruto cosplayer I’ve ever seen is black man but that’s because he is about having fun and running around with people. I admire him a lot because of that.
So no, the race should not factor when you’re cosplaying. You should cosplay the characters you love and focus on having good times.
This article hit all the keys that what is wrong in the cosplay community today. I feel that the cosplay community is turning into high school all over again where each group has your different clicks. I loved this article and loved the fact you pointed this out. this should really go out to the cosplay community more and be shared on all major sites as well as panels.
@Anthony Glad you liked the article! MG writes passionately and honestly about his love for cosplay so we love seeing that it’s resonating with people. The best thing you can do if you dig it too is share it out so we can build up the GeeksPodcast community. Thanks so much for the comment and I’m sure MG will be on here shortly to weigh in as well :p Take care!
I really enjoy this article. I am one of many people who have been hit indirectly by cosplay elitism. And not just by other cosplayers but with people outside of cosplay. Some people that I’ve told about my cosplay hobby look down at me. Those outside looking in expect so much.Like, we are put on some standard. Especially for our bodies. For guys: “Why aren’t you ripped to the point of a bodybuilder?” For guys: “Where’s your really big assets?”. Why didn’t you spend so much money for props? Why aren’t you lit up? Your cosplay sucks because XYZ. It’s so toxic and poisonous. This article really made me a bit happier with cosplay. You don’t need to be the best to have fun. Why can’t we just calm down and have fun? Cons are almost like a party in celebrating our appreciation to our nerdy society. Not a day in high school.
Anthony, I’m very pleased that you really dig this article a lot. You can spread this article around if you want to. Elitism in cosplay is just not really good at all. It is very unfortunate that elitist cosplayers has turn it into competitive hobby, which makes no sense at all.
Rabbit, I also am happy that you dig this article as well. I’m also one of those people whose has been hit indirectly by cosplay elitism as well. I actually wrote this when some of my dear friends posted on FB about quitting cosplay hobby and it made me very unhappy so this article is my personal answer to the cosplay elitism. Yes…. we just need to get together and geek out and focus on having fun times.
DD
I’ve certainly witnessed and experienced a good share of the cosplay elitism, like “in order to have the best cosplay you should closely resemble the character as much as possible,” which means if you’re a PoC or don’t have universal standard-industry facial features (such as big eyes, sharp nose, sharp chin, etc.) you’re out of luck. There’s also “you have to make your outfit from scratch or you’re not a real cosplayer” because “it’s lazy and an insult to cosplayers who work their ass off their outfits.” But if you don’t have top notch skills, or if you aren’t self-taught, then you suck; try to ask for help though, and some will tell you, “Figure it out yourself, that’s what I had to do!”
I’ve actually come to summarize all of this with the song “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” from Broadway’s Annie; particularly the lines, “You’re never fully dressed/Though you may wear the best/You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” You can have the most amazing cosplay, but the worst attitude can ruin it all.
Excellent words, musicalpencial!