Here’s a secret about cosplay that I’m going to address more in an article I get to write for xoJane (yay!)

So the insults people throw at plus sized cosplayers, or cosplayers of color, or lgbt cosplayers, or whatever?  Here’s the deal.  A lot of us come into cosplay already paranoid about being bashed for something.  This is because that, most likely, these diverse people have probably dealt with some sort of insult in their lives BEFORE getting into the geek scene.  When I decided to cosplay I immediately went on the hunt for a black character, or a plus sized cosplayer, because I thought, “If I do someone who is white, or skinny, I’m going to get bashed.”  This was even before the horror stories I heard.  I was already pre-paranoid.  We already live in a society that has its opinions on how I should look, and I don’t fit them.  So I came in on guard, right off the bat.  

Now, as you’re probably aware, there are not that many characters on the geek scene that fit my body type or race.  So that’s when I learned that cosplay is about dressing up as who YOU like, NOT who you look like.  I think people forget the most important part of cosplay:  play.  Have fun with it, o.k.?  If you want to be Sailor Moon but you’re fat, or black, or hell, a man, then do it.  The point is to be the character you like.  While it’s great to see the cosplayers who absolutely nail it appearance wise, what’s even better to see is the cosplayers who just love what they’re doing.  I love the cosplayers who are in character.  If you walk up to me as Joker but you’re not pencil thin, yet you can nail the laugh and the mannerisms, that will make me so happy.  

I did Peach because I love her.  I’ve done this costume before, years ago, but I never actually went out and took pictures in it.  The only pictures were ones people posted online themselves, but I never went out of my way to do it myself.  It’s because you hear these horror stories of people giving others a hard time, and while it’s true, it’s not terribly encouraging.  It scares cosplayers off.  "I can’t do this,“ they say, "because they’re going to make fun of me.”  The truth is, you CAN do it.  You can cosplay whoever you want, and if you’re having fun with it, people will enjoy it.  So stop telling people that they’re going to be made fun of if you’re trying to encourage them.  Tell them to rock it.  I wanted to do Peach but she’s a blonde haired white girl.  So what?  I just made her a plus sized black girl with curly hair.  I made her fit me.

This is why bashers really irritate me.  Not because they’re bashing me, but because someone sees that and thinks, “Wow nevermind I’m not going to put myself out there.”  But truthfully, if you think about it my plus sized/black cosplayers, you’ve met this person before.  Just not in the cosplay community.  You’ve had someone let out that regretful sigh when they see that you’re a big person.  "Cute in the face,“ that’s what they called it back in my high school days.  You’ve had someone make an assumption about you because you’re black, or gay, or whatever.  I’ve been told I don’t "look gay,” I’ve been told that I “sound white.”  If you stop and think about it, you’ve been through this hate before.

And just like in real life, you shouldn’t let them get you down.  This is why when I got my bash fest I decided to turn it around because I know that someone is reading this, and they’re getting scared.  They’re thinking, “Oh wow someone is bashing her they sure as hell are going to bash me.”  But believe me when I say everyone, EVERYONE, gets bashed.  The cosplay icons you know about?  Get bashed, somehow.  For anything.  Yaya’s breasts are fake.  Jessica Nigri is too sexy.  The list goes on.  And you know what?  For all of the hatred at the end of the day, at its core, the geek community is a place where there will be people who support you, and love you.  They will encourage you, and they will even defend you if something like this happens.  

So don’t hide your cosplay, o.k.?  Get in costume and come out there with me  :)