Black Face and Cosplay: How Are We Here Again?
Sensitivity Reading done by @bipocoftringanddacorum
On the 18th of November 2021 I opened Instagram to find every story on my feed filled with talk of a cosplayer doing blackface, and my reaction? Oh here we go again. And I wasn’t the only one. When talking with other friends in the community without fail they replied with “oh who this time?” or similar. It should be shocking but this behaviour is just a regular Tuesday in the cosplay community.
We’ve seen people make prosthetics, paint themselves with face-paints, use tape for their eyes and even make a full on muscular bodysuit of a black man and call it “accuracy”, rather than what it is. This is racism. They may not be using slurs but by doing raceface it shows that white cosplayers see people of colour as a commodity, something that they can pick and chose from without thought, before finding the next new thing. Race is seen as an aesthetic, a fiction, rather than the reality it is.
And this isn’t something that only happens in cosplay, we know that. People using East, and South East, Asian names and aesthetics for businesses with no inclusion of people from these cultures or expertise of the culture within the business is ridiculously common. Celebrities and influencers taking fashion trends from the black community and passing them off as “new” and “unique” happens all over the internet on a daily basis. But - and yes there is a but because I am not going to let the excuse of “it happens everywhere” be used to walk away from the issue - the cosplay community needs to deal with this within its own ranks.
We claim to be a community that cares, that is progressive, that is open and friendly and here for everyone, well how can that be true when members of this community hurt each other like this? It is not caring if people respect a character more than they respect a person, or respect a follower count over a minority community asking for help. We have to stop, because at moment, we aren’t doing enough.
Every time it happens it’s left to the people of colour in our community to deal with it. The weight of calling people out, making posts to share and restarting the conversation is put on the shoulders of those who are already affected. It is an emotional and mental burden that is hugely tiring for people of colour. And while many white cosplayers will share posts and commiserate that this is an on going issue, many more will side with the offending party, telling PoC not to be offended and that they should want to be see people “respect” these characters by portraying them accurately. It’s just not good enough.
I don’t think a single one of us is free from taking a backseat on an issue we maybe don’t understand or don’t feel educated enough to talk on. Educating yourself and listening to the voices of those affected is a good thing, for certain, but its getting to the point if you don’t know about why blackface and raceface are bad in 2021 you are just not opening your eyes.
So what can be done?
Educate each other is the most obvious one. You don’t have to step into a comments section argument, but talk to friends and family who don’t understand, have the resources you need saved so you can reach for them when you need, and open those conversations with education at the forefront of your mind. It’s hard not to get into an argument but keep it cool, calm and collected. White people are more likely to listen to other white people, so use that platform to change minds, even its just planting the seed of new thoughts. By doing this you are taking the weight away from people of colour.
Conventions and events can do more. It’s now common place to see “Cosplay is not Consent” signs around conventions because we pushed for it, so why not the same for raceface? Have a no tolerance policy for racially offensive costumes at events, and having that loudly and widely spread will make a difference. And making sure that staff and volunteers are trained to deal with this will help as well. Add on top of that panels discussing racial issues in the community, the need for more diversity and more, and that spreads the education even further. Ask for these things to be enacted at your favourite cons, encourage them to support the community in this the same as they have in the “Cosplay is Not Consent” campaign. We have control over the events we go to, so support the ones that listen and help, and use your money to show those that don’t how you feel about that.
Promoting and uplift cosplayers of colour. We all have social media, so share your friends, share people you admire, share that really cool costume that popped up on your For You Page or search or whatever. Even if you don’t use your social media all that much (guilty as charged), you can help by following people of colour and pages that promote them. Search out those accounts and give them your time rather than a big name cosplayer who doesn’t need another number on their follower count.
And for those who don’t listen? Stop supporting them. As obvious as that. It doesn’t matter if they are your favourite cosplayer or the best convention in the world, if they don’t show support for a large part of our community then they don’t deserve your support. Stop supporting their patreons, unfollow them on social media, don’t go to that convention, and encourage others to do that same. You give people the ok to keep doing things if you keep supporting them so let them know through action that you don’t condone what they are doing.
Ok, this probably all feels like the basics but it does work. Every time we talk about blackface and raceface in the community, people change their minds. No, it’s not gone away, yes people are still doing it for one reason or another but social pressure and public backlash works, and when people are called to account they are less likely to do it again.
As a community we have a duty of care to each other, we need to protect and help each other in every way we can, so lets make sure we do.
