By F. Porter
Cosplay is short for “costume play.” It’s a popular trend in Asia and it’s reached people all around the globe. Cosplay is a fun thing to do, but it lacks black representation. Many people believe that black people shouldn’t cosplay because of their skin color. Many people cosplay as Anime characters. These characters are usually not black but they are people of color. There’s been heavy debate over if black people should dress up as characters that are not black. There are also people that say making characters that are not black, black is “blackwashing.”
The way black Anime characters are drawn is also stereotypical. They are drawn with lips that look like cartoons back in the 19th century. It’s a big deal because a lot of black people watch anime but some people don’t realize what they are seeing is potentially racist. Black people should be treated with more respect in media, which would lead to more respect in the realm of cosplay.
It’s also really common for anime to stereotype the way black people talk. When we talk in a dialect or accent it’s called “ghetto,” but many people use African-American Vernacular English when they don’t even know they’re doing it – it’s that ingrained in the culture. Cultural appropriation gets to crazy levels and no one bats an eye in the cosplay world until a black person wants to dress as a non-black anime character.
Black people come up with amazing costume ideas all the time, and it’s only fair for them to have a chance to express themselves through dressing up. If it weren’t for black people, some of the things that people use frequently in culture wouldn’t even be around.
We need to see more black people in the cosplay community. Kids of color need people they could look up to and not only see people that don’t look like them. I think kids would be more interested in characters that look like them too. If all you see is someone that doesn’t look like you all over, then you’d learn to not think highly of yourself. Cosplay is meant to be fun and make you feel good. Let’s make it that way for everyone.
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