The Social Politics of Cosplay

Allison Wilhelm

ConnectiCon 2013

Why do we cosplay?

Meet new people

Fun

“Nerd Cred”

Pay homage to favorite characters

Inclusion

Attention

Feel powerful Be someone else

Creative outlet

Challenge

Sense of accomplishment

Self-expression Overcome shyness

Bring characters to life

The main problems

• Slut shaming• “Fake geek girl”• Lack of diverse characters limits options for

some groups of people• Blackface/brownface• “it’s a trap!”• “Perfect” cosplay is expensive and exclusive, not

achievable for everyone• Harassment

Buy vs. Make

Age and Cosplay

“Silly black girls, you can’t be Thor or Loki.”

“I’m A Black Female Cosplayer…And Some People Hate It”

Okay, so we should let black people cosplay white characters.

Awesome, I’m okay with that. Does that mean white people can cosplay dark-skinned characters?

That’s where things get interesting

And a little controversial . . .

Brownface in Cosplay

“My skin color is not a costume. It is something that has been used

by racists to hurt me & discriminate against me. You

don’t get to wear it for a day and then wash it off without

consequences.”

What about skin lightening?

Weight, Dieting, and Cosplay

Sexy Cosplay

Crossplay

She’s empowered

He must be gay

Genderswapping