If someone tells me that I’m not worthy of something enough times, I’ll start to believe it. I have believed it. I’ve believed that I wasn’t worth it because of my race. I’ve believed that I was ugly. I’ve been told to “stop acting white” because I like anime, video games, and cosplay. And I know a lot of others have felt the same way because of the color of their skin. Those people need to be shown that they are beautiful, that they’re worth it, that they’re equal. It’s great to think we all should be equal but there are plenty of black people out there who think that they shouldn’t be because of the crap that gets flung at them; who think that they CAN’T be. Equality is great, but you have to WANT it, and if you feel like you’re beneath everyone around you, you’re going to think you don’t deserve it.  That’s what #28DaysOfBlackCosplay is about, and it’s so wonderful to see so many people taking part in it. This encouragement is just a start to what we hope to accomplish within the cosplay community, so that everyone can feel comfortable with who they are and truly enjoy cosplay.

My write up for the Twin Cities Geek about the importance of #28DaysOfBlackCosplay :)

methodizedataxia:

.Righto, Rant Time from the mouth of Chaos! Whoooo! If I lose followers for this, you know what, it’s their loss.

Okay, so earlier I decided to check my Facebook and came across a post from Brichibi (seriously, she’s absolutely wonderful and an awesome cosplayer, plus she and her wife’s artwork and crafts are absolutely adorable, seriously, go follow her. She’s so positive and uplifting that it will brighten your day) and I was so proud! She’s featuring black cosplayers this month (as is Cosplay in America, if you follow Ejen on here or on Facebook) and I just had to check it out. The cosplayers were WONDERFUL. But of course, anytime you mention something about featuring black cosplayers, or black people celebrating black people together especially during Black History Month, there’s always at least one person who starts talking about “If I featured all white cosplayers, there would be riots” or the ever popular “what about white history month”.

Newsflash, every month is white history month. Not to mention, a majority of cosplayers in the US are white. So, that point is totally moot. And I would suggest you actually taking a look at this month and see that it’s BLACK HISTORY MONTH here in the states. So celebrating black cosplayers is a WONDERFUL idea and gives black people the chance to see cosplayers of their skin colors.

Do  you know how hard it is to cosplay as a black person? I’ve gotten told SO MANY TIMES that I can’t cosplay Harley Quinn. All because I’m fatter than Harley is and because I’m not white. I’ve seen people call Sailor Moon black cosplayers, to their face at cons, nigger moon. So many people have decided that shaming and making fun of black cosplayers is the best thing in the world. That it’s funny and completely worth it to tell a black cosplayer how much the dislike the fact that they cosplayed such and such. That they fucked up the character by cosplaying them not perfectly. Although, even when there is a damn good cosplayer, that the default insult goes back to “well, such and such isn’t black. You would do better having done Afro Samurai or insert other dark skinned anime character”.

And things get even worse when you mention Black History Month. The default, go excuse on why someone is complaining about February is that “if there was a white history month, people would say it’s racist”. Seriously? That’s the complaint? Really? Every fucking month is white history month. We get one month out of the year to call our own, that we can openly say “this black person contributed this, this, and this and we’re so proud of them for furthering our community and world”, without dealing with the stupidity of people yelling about “black people are a part of this world and should act like it, so why should they get a month about black history”. Madame CJ Walker, George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King… All people who have contributed majorly to society. All people who, at one point or another were faced with obstacles that centered mainly on their race. So are you telling me that we should simply erase the fact that they are black, just so you can feel better about praising them? “Black History is all History” is something I’ve heard on the way towards this month. Well, while Black history is all history, black history is black history first of all. So many people have tried to erase black history from the books of society, and now people are trying to erase it again because they feel that it’s racist to point out the black part of history. It’s not racist to point it out. But it is racist to attempt to homogenize black history because you don’t want to feel guilty about that fact that it was erased, taken over and over all glossed over by oppressors.

I’m proud of Brichibi and cosplayers like her who have defied the amount of people who attempt to discourage black cosplayers. The amount of fucks not given about people making fun of them is wonderful! I will say that if you believe that saying “black cosplayers” is wrong and that they’re simply cosplayers, then you’re missing the point. You’re missing the fact that so many black children, my two boys included, are constantly bombarded with feelings of inferiority and self doubt because of the color of their skin and their heritage. It’s so wonderful to see black cosplayers doing what they love and that’s why I’m all for the 28 Days of Black Cosplayers. It’s showing black people that they can do it.

Brichibi said it best “It’s not segregation, it’s confidence building”. Confidence in our skin being worthy of cosplaying our favorite characters. That the work we put into our cosplays is just the same as the work as others put into their cosplays. It shows our young people that they can dress up like Spiderman, or Batman and be comfortable.

Thank you for all of the love towards me because, I mean, wow, just… thank you  :)

Also “28 Days of Black Cosplay” is going to go on all month and featuring all sorts of cosplayers, and I’m proud to be part of this, and am looking forward to sharing and promoting these amazing cosplayers.  

I know people don’t like to think of the negative and like to think that such racist comments like “nigger moon” just don’t happen, but they do, and there are so many cosplayers out there who won’t do it because they’re worried about backlash.  There have been plenty of people who’ve told me, “This is why I don’t cosplay,” and out of all of the shitty comments I’ve gotten (most recent being fat, retarded baby), those are the most heartbreaking.  Everyone should be able to enjoy this, and the fact that people are scared to do this thing that’s supposed to be fun is just sad.  This thing that basically boils down to all of us dressing like fictional characters and having fun, seriously, when did this get to the point of calling someone a ghetto sailor scout because of race..?

Anyhow, that’s what this idea is about, to show black cosplayers out there enjoying cosplay for what it is, and hopefully, showing someone that they can join in on this, too.  I do the same thing when it comes to plus sized cosplay, showing bigger people that, hey, they can join in on this, too.  They can have fun.  They can love themselves.  It’s o.k. to smile and enjoy who you are.  Just because you’re supporting a group doesn’t mean you’re trying to brush aside another group, or saying that one group is better than the other.  Like I said before, we all want equality, we really do, but we also need to show people that they’re deserve it.  

Posting here too even if it was on my cosplay page (and deleted by the poster), but I feel like it needs to be said because I’m sure it’s going to come up this month, the, “If I had a month dedicated to sharing white cosplayers…” comments. 

Besides the fact that it is actually Black History Month… here’s the honest truth. We all want equality, we do. But part of striving for equality is making people feel like they deserve equality, and the sad reality is that some black people feel like they don’t deserve it, because they feel like they’re less than everyone else. In the sense of cosplay, there are black people who feel like they can’t cosplay because of the color of their skin. There are plenty of times where words like “ghetto” are flung around, “Ghetto Venus,” towards the black woman cosplaying Sailor Venus, or even, “Nigga Moon,” for the black Sailor Moon cosplayer. “That character isn’t black,” or in my personal case, “Go and fry some chicken” just for being black and holding a frying pan as Princess Peach, who does use a frying pan as a weapon. These things happen, and these things do make black people feel like they can’t take part in this community.

If someone tells me that I’m not worthy of something enough times, I’ll start to believe it. I have believed it. I’ve believed that I wasn’t worth it because of my race. I’ve believed that I was ugly. I’ve been told to “stop acting white” because I like anime, video games, and cosplay. And I know a lot of others have felt the same way because of the color of their skin. Those people need to be shown that they are beautiful, that they’re worth it, that they’re equal.

It’s great to think we all should be equal but there are plenty of black people out there who think that they shouldn’t be because of the crap that gets flung at them, who think that they CAN’T be. Equality is great, but you have to WANT it, and if you feel like you’re beneath everyone around you, you’re going to think you don’t deserve it.

That’s what “28 Days Of Black Cosplay” is about. It’s to show those people that they are beautiful and can do this. It’s the same thing I do on this page when I get called a fat, retarded baby (which happened this last week). I stand up and say, “I’m fat and I’m beautiful.” That’s what I’m doing here. I’m black and beautiful. I’m worth it. I deserve to be treated with respect. It’s not segregation, it’s confidence building.

Sweet!  My home state did it  <3  So my home state (Illinois) my college state (Iowa) and my current living residence (Minnesota) all allow gay marriage.  Awesome  <3

naked-among-wolves:

frogfaceengage:

amilltheghoul:

anarcha-pie:

wormsonaline:

telleboo:

pornocreep:

alxndrmrtnz:

I approve of this message

Women aren’t the only ones told to look a certain way

Hooray for the Male Body!

i would.

Except no-one expects men to look like CK models
popular media constantly shows fat/stupid men having “hot” wives

men are not constantly harassed on the street if they don’t fit the social norm of what is “attractive”

Men aren’t blamed for their sexual assault if they are “sexy”


Fuck you, OP

Shut the fuck up you big stupid idiot.

I approve of this post.

I’m sorry: “men are not constantly harassed on the street if they don’t fit the social norm of what is “attractive””? I don’t fit what is considered to be an ‘attractive man’ (probably because people perceive me as somewhat androgynous) and I’ve been asked many times in quite rude and demeaning ways whether I’m male or female. Someone even said “was that a bitch or a boy?”. Of course people harass men who aren’t considered “attractive”. I think it’s very narrow minded of someone to think that not a single man is harassed because of what he looks like.

Those guys are actually not that bad-looking. If chubby women can look beautiful, then chubby men can look handsome

Also as far as sexual assault goes, no one barely even talks about it happening to a man.  At least we talk about it with women.  At least it’s made visible with women.  Men are actually told not to say anything, period, because, “What man would complain about a woman doing this to them?”  "What man would complain about being raped by a woman?“  "What man doesn’t want it?”  And if it’s a man doing it to another man, he’s shamed into not saying anything.  "Do you really want to tell people you were fucked by a man?“  

The point of this post is to show that the expectations of society work both ways.  Because it does.  And you just proved it with the "except men aren’t treated like this.”  At least we know that women have ridiculous expectations, whereas with men we assume that things are simple, there are no expectations from them at all.  They can just walk around and be men, that’s it.  Now I’m not saying that women don’t have it hard, but don’t just assume that there is zero expectations of men.  That’s not how this works.  That’s not how equality wants.  We want to be equal, not, “shut up you don’t get to weigh in on this because you’re a man.”  Men have feelings too, and the assumption that they don’t is a problem.

Also, what makes you think that just because the chubby guy gets the girl on T.V. that he has it so easy in real life?  You think they’re just funny all the time and are able to bag a girl with the power of their humor?  You think plus sized men don’t get made fun of?  You think they don’t get teased?  If you want us to not believe everything we see on T.V. in regards to women and body image and things like that, the same goes for men too.  

Body image discrimination isn’t sexist, it effects both sides, it’s just that we usually hear about one side (female) more.

ellyosa:

vhanstiel:

cutepiglet:

crowxfeather1:

posting-randomly:

deadspiderinthepool:

crepusculeluminance:

actinoutloud:

penelopehardcore:

thelastfivedimensions:

Guys.

Guys.

This might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen as a pro-marriage equality ad.

WATCH THIS. It’s an Australian ad.

Australia, why do you have the best ads? This is awesome.

Aww omg ;_;

REBLOG UNTIL THE END OF TIME IM GOING TO CRY

I AM GOING TO CRY

I ACTUALLY STARTED TO TEAR UP

omg I teared up. Is it ok for me to say I ship these two? That was just beautiful.

I teared up, this so beautiful! Forever reblog. 

Beautiful

Awhh…I’m not even saying this because of the fact that “oh they’re gay that automatically makes everything they do adorable,” but wow, this is so sweet. It really does show that regardless of orientation, love is love. I would say the same thing for a straight, lesbian, or transsexual/transgender relationship.

Oh god I actually am crying right now.  This is such a great ad, not just because of the message, but because of how it’s shown to us.  You have no idea who the camera person is, you just see them filming this guy who you can tell they absolutely adore.  They’ve been through so much together (oh god the part with the mom just, ah!) and really, honestly, by the end of it when he drops to one knee it’s like, “Oh god yes please!”  And the same time it’s like, “Wait you’re just now doing this you two are practically married already…” then you see that the camera person is another guy and it’s like, “Oh I see.”  Which also hits the message home.

After all they’ve been through, they should’ve been able to do this a long time ago.

Gay marriage started here in Minnesota at midnight.  Congratulations to all of the couples who got married/is getting married  :)  My wedding is coming at some point, we want to have enough money saved to make it a spectacularly nerdy event!  The plan is still a Mortal Kombat theme complete with the pastor saying “FINISH HER” for kissing the bride  ^^

findchaos:

(Just a Few of) The Federal Benefits of Marriage Equality

What we didn’t have yesterday.

This is amazing.

In the middle of the awesome news about Texas, let’s take a moment to cheer about DOMA and PROP 8 no longer being things.  Good job, Supreme Court.  And good job, Texas.  Just good job everyone.  Good job today.

At least that is the tentative theme to my wedding, since it’s going to happen, since its FUCKING LEGAL NOW IN MINNESOTA!