#cospositivity

-cosplayers who do characters they don't look like

-cosplayers who do characters they reeeeeally don't like like. Different body types, different gender, different race (without skin darkening of course!)

-cosplayers who are not "traditionally attractive"

-cosplayers with disabilities who need to accommodate them (especially when they incorporate into the cosplay!)

-cosplayers "of a certain age" doing characters much younger than them

-cosplayers of color doing characters not of color

-cosplayers not considered traditionally sexy doing revealing or otherwise sexualized characters

-cosplayers who are trans and non-binary who risk getting misgendered or feel dysphoria in certain cosplays because of how they are percieved

-and I may be biased but I ESPECIALLY love plus sized Cosplayers.

And most of all

Important Theme #2: There is no "correct" way to make a cosplay.

Cosplay is all about embracing creativity. Figuring out new methods, using what you've got on hand. There's no pre-requisite for being a cosplayer. No training, no degrees necessary. No one should be telling you you've made something "wrong*" - if it works, it works! That's why this is such a cool hobby.

Here we've made cosplays of the exact same character, but there are just as many differences as there are similarities. We both used different methods to draft our patterns based on what skills we were comfortable using. We chose different materials based on what we interpreted to best fit the design. We constructed our wigs differently due to what base wigs/wefts we could source. We've used different techniques for the heart/butterfly detailing. And the results are both equally cool. (Admittedly doing the same simple sewing-based costume did severely limit ourselves for scoring in judging ~ more on that in the next post)

Stop worrying about whether so-and-so famous cosplayer uses whatever method, just get out there and MAKE IT YOUR WAY.

*the one exception here is health and safety related concerns. Please don't go putting yourself and others at risk for the sake of a costume!

So I've been reading a lot of hate and anger towards cosplayers that cosplay characters that are "mainstream" or "popular" Most notably right now is the giant influx of Rey, Kylo Ren, Harley and Deadpool.

The whole, "You don't know anything about the character so you are only dressing up as them because they are cool and now you are totally ruining them" is a stupid argument. Cosplay is about having fun and dressing up as a character that you love and are passionate about. If the movies are what got you into those characters, then so be it! Many times I fall in love with a character and then spend countless hours reading up on them and falling even more in love with them. Not a lot of people are avid comic book readers so you can't blame them for only hearing about a character through movies and games.

Secondly, who are we to dictate what people can and can't cosplay? Just because they are cosplaying as your favorite character and not doing the character "justice" doesn't mean it gives you the right to bash their decision to dress up like them. I see this more often than not with Harley and Deadpool cosplayers. As a Spiderman cosplayer, I know there's a lot of us Spideys running around and one of the things I like about the Spidey community is that instead of comparing whose suit is better, we compliment and help each other improve our Spidey cosplays.

Also, "I used to cosplay them before it was cool" is such a hipster thing to say. Sure, it can be annoying when your cosplay gets lost in a sea of similar cosplays but you can also take it a step further and add your own personal touches just like I see Disney Deadpool, SonicSpidey Cosplay, mitchv0, Lady Haha, and a few other cosplayers do. My first Spiderman cosplay was a Mexican version of Scarlet Spider which I affetionately dubbed Spiderjuan and my latest is my Fallout Spiderman.

I believe in cospositivity and I will never bash on your cosplay even if the character or mash up you are cosplaying isn't my cup of tea. I know how hard it is to make a cosplay especially when you don't have the skills to sew or make props. Luckily, the internet is full of helpful sites like the RPF forums, youtube and most importantly, other cosplayers. We all start somewhere and a lot of the cosplayers I know are more than happy to give helpful hints and advice. I know I'm more than happy to help in anyways I can and I'll always cheer you on even if I don't know you =D

TL;DR