Monolouges and Rants

Cosplay Advice

I get asked a ton of questions as a cosplayer on what it's like, about the community, and everything else.
Though one thing I get asked often about is if the person asking should cosplay a certain character.
When I ask why they're doubting themselves, it's always something along the lines of:
"I'm too fat for this character."
"my skin isn't the right color."
"I'm not tall enough."
"I'm too feminine."
"I don't look like the character."

My response is always the same though: "do you like the character?"
Usually the answer is yes.
Then I'll ask "why do you want to cosplay this character?"
The typical answer is something along the lines of "well I really like *insert character name* and want to be them!"
By this point, I give the same response that I'm about to tell you reading this.

Cosplay is about having fun and being whatever character you want to be. There's no rules to who you can cosplay! At the end of the day, all cosplayers are just nerds in costumes. So what does it matter if you have a darker complexion, or are larger than the character? So what if you're skinny or really feminine? We're all the same underneath the cosplays.

Regarding the community, most would be surprised at how accepting it truly is. No one cares about something as small are your race, weight, or gender. That stuff doesn't matter in the end.

For my first con, I went as Ceil Phantomhive from black butler. I was terrified that people would make fun of my for buying my cosplay or being over the top. But it was the exact opposite. Almost immediately after I got to the con, I was complimented on my cosplay. By the end of the day, I had at least 50 people take my picture and even had magazines take my picture. By that point, I realized that I was worrying for nothing.

Cosplay is all about expressing yourself and having fun. So don't let something that you can't change hinder you from doing what you want. Most people will accept you for who you are!

Try not to worry so much about minor things and focus more on being yourself! As long as you give it your all and have fun, what's stopping you?

So my dear readers, go out there and be whoever you want to be!! Don't let someone tell you who you can or can't be! Be yourself and you'll be just fine!