Cosplay Solidarity: SheProp Ban on Harry Potter Content
Trigger Warning: Discussion of transphobia and the targeting of minority groups
On January 11th 2023 SheProp Admin and founding member, Beverly Downen of Downen Creative Studios, posted a rules change; Harry Potter cosplay and discussion would no longer be allowed on the page.
“As you are all aware, SheProp is a cosplay community that is continually working towards providing a safe zone for trans makers. With this in mind, we have updated our posting policies to ask you all to refrain from posting or sharing Harry Potter fandom-related content to this group from this point forward.
This decision is due to JK Rowling’s long history of exclusionary, controversial and transphobic comments and actions that have deeply harmed the trans community.”
This came after multiple members of the 5000+ strong Facebook group, expressed their concerns around Harry Potter cosplay being posted in the group that prides itself on inclusivity, support and open-mindedness.
The post continued,
“Trans makers have a place here in this community. HP content and corresponding discussion cannot be separated from the author, and so we feel that our community cannot truly be considered safe if we continue to allow HP content in this group.”
SheProp, founded in 2018, is a cosplay group for those “that self-identify as female, non-binary or trans propmakers, costume designers, SFX artists, cosplayers, and more, at all skill levels” (from the SheProp group page). It was set up when it was felt by the founders that they, and many women, weren’t safe from unwanted comments, inappropriate messaging and general “man-splaining” or undermining from male creators and cosplay fans in other social media settings, calling it SheProp. The group quickly broadened it’s intake to the above list, aiming to give a safe place for all minority genders to thrive creatively.
The admin have strived to maintain this, though it has not always been easy with such a large group of people to manage, but this new change to the rules and the support the admin team put behind the trans members was widely welcomed.
“The positive response and the RELIEF that we are seeing from members in the comments has been so wonderful to see.” Downen replied when asked by TCJ about how the changes gave been received. “When we change rules to ask our community to refrain from doing specific things, sometimes it’s met with a bit of resistance. When we updated our salutations rule, I could feel our community adjusting through the comments. I was expecting much more of that with the new rule but it was just a flood of relieved folks. I just wish we had done this sooner.”
SheProp has previously banned cosplays of the character Stormfront from The Boys along with any cosplays of “characters mimicking or making light of genocide or targeting real groups of marginalized people" (from the SheProp community rules).
It is the hope of the admin, and many of the members, that other cosplay groups and events will follow suit, taking a stand to show the trans community that they are a welcome and supported part of cosplay culture, a sentiment The Cosplay Journal whole heartedly agrees with.
Thank you to Beverly Downen and the SheProp admins for their comments.
