Diversity in Cosplay

Name: Diversity in Cosplay
Uploaded: 2026-02-05T12:47:26+00:00
Duration: 53 min 43 s
Channel: Afropunk
Description: Diversity in Cosplay with Michael Allen..

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Diversity in Cosplay with Michael Allen..

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00:00All right, welcome everyone to diversity and cosplay panel. My name is Papa Bear and I'm joined

00:09by three other lovely guests. We're going to talk about all things diversity and cosplay,

00:14empowerment, what we've gone through, how we've been inspired, how we inspire others,

00:19and everything in between. So starting off with our panelists here, we're going to start with

00:26Venture Bros. Just a little introduction to yourself. Hello, everybody. I'm Venture Bros.

00:33A little introduction about myself. I'm from Chicago. I started cosplaying in 2017.

00:42Currently, I am trying to perfect different things like photography and cosplay editing and

00:49trying to, you know, just get better at cosplaying right now. I build my own props

00:55like I said earlier. I do some of my own edits. I do some of my own photography and, you know,

01:02I like to try to teach others and include everybody in the cosplay community, especially the PLC

01:07cosplay community. Okay. And next, Tranquil Ashes. Hey, I'm Tranquil Ashes. I'm from Baltimore.

01:16I dabble in a little bit of everything. I am a makeup artist, FX artist. I make my own cosplays.

01:25I do majority of my own photographies. I also consult and I do graphics. Just a little bit of

01:31everything. I'm here to represent everyone that doesn't look like me, both in color and in size and

01:39in gender. And yeah, that's me. All right, Eric. Hey, everybody. I'm Eric the Smoke Moran.

01:48Basically, I've been cosplaying since before, way before it was all cosplay. I'm an actor. I'm a

01:54producer. I'm a director. I'm a writer. I've been a TV host for shows like SyFy Channels, Heroes of

02:03Cosplay. I'm also been doing different TV shows. Basically, in the cosplay realm, I do a lot to

02:11inspire and help other cosplayers, especially cosplayers on the rise, especially with the PLC

02:18movement. It is very important because everyone should know not just in color, but in size and

02:26age and gender, it basically covers all branches of cosplay, what I'm all into. And most importantly,

02:34also age. So basically, I'm here today to be able to express my views and share my thoughts in the

02:41world of cosplay. All right. And so last but not least, myself, my name is Papa Bear. I'm also from

02:48the Chicago area. And I started my cosplay journey years ago. I didn't even know it was called cosplay,

02:55but went to a con, fell in love with it, and been doing it ever since. And, you know, for me personally,

03:01when I first started, it was all about, you know, how many contests I can win and how many times can I

03:06get my picture taken. But now it's more evolved into how can I help someone else in their cosplay

03:11journey and how can I help someone else get their costume done? And in doing that, I volunteer with

03:17Costumers with Cause here in the Chicago area. Me and Venture Bros, we co-started Chicago POC Cosplayers.

03:27And that group itself is designed to help, you know, the local people here with all their cosplay

03:33needs. And also through that group, we've done charity events. We've done all various conventions

03:40all through that. So that's been very fulfilling as well in my journey. So that is our panel.

03:47So we're going to jump right into kind of our stories as POCs in the cosplay community. And the first

03:55thing we're going to talk about is kind of where we began. When we first started cosplaying, what was

04:02the, what was your first costume? What inspired you to start to cosplay? And why did you choose that

04:08character? Okay. So just a little bit about, you know, your first costume, what got you into it?

04:15What inspired you to do it? And, uh, we're going to start with Tranquil Ashes.

04:21Um, let's see. Um, I was living in Japan at the time. I was working and, um, in my particular prefecture, I had a lot of

04:30creatives and, um, I ended up getting into plays, doing makeup for the plays and shows. I've sung at weddings, um, while I was in

04:40Japan and it kind of translated over when I got back to the States. Um, I saw Yaya Han cosplay Daenerys Targaryen, the book

04:48version, and I was pretty much hooked. Um, and I started my like real cosplay journey around 2015. And it's taken me

04:59definitely a lot of places and it's incorporated all of my talents, um, and the things that I enjoy doing,

05:06such as makeup and photography and travel and meeting new people.

05:12Okay. And, uh, so, you know, for, for venture bros, tell us a little bit about, uh, your, how you got your

05:18start, your first costume and what that looked like for you.

05:21Okay. So my first cosplay was, uh, a character from Naruto named Killer B. Um, it was actually the

05:29first time I met you in person. Um, and when I did Killer B, he was the only black character in that

05:37series at the time. And for me, it was a real big deal because not a lot of black characters in

05:42anime. So I really wanted to like kind of embody him. And, um, he was also, he's also a pretty big guy.

05:50So me being a big guy and then me identifying with him cause he was black made it like the perfect

05:56cosplay for me. And, uh, it was really well received to my like surprise. And, um, it was a lot of

06:04people wanted pictures with me and, uh, that really just like kind of full steam ahead, pushed my cosplay

06:11like desires and career. Okay. Uh, so, um, Eric, tell us a little bit about your journey.

06:19All right. My journey broke into three different phases. Um, during the time back in the eighties,

06:24before it was the term cosplay was a thing, it was mainly called costuming. And one of the very first

06:32things I did in my early late teens, cause I was considered the odd guy because of the fact that I

06:38wasn't, I was following the beat of my own drum and I was doing my own thing. And a friend of mine and I,

06:43we decided to do crock and then tubs, you know, we got our bikes together. We got these different

06:48jackets and all one head. He had an all white jacket, I had all gray. So, you know, we pulled

06:53out these, this is when you could bring out little, you could buy like plastic guns on them in the

06:59market and all. And we did some pictures, um, as crock and then tubs. Then fast forward a little bit,

07:05a couple more years. And I'm about to graduate high school. Uh, my mom was a seamstress and a

07:10fashion designer. So basically off the, uh, books out of black Hawk that was designed by Howard

07:16Shakin. I basically, um, designed my tuxedo, um, based on their tuxedos in the comic book that

07:24was done by Howard Shakin down to the button, down to the color scheme, the whole nine and wore that to

07:30my senior prom. And then I really got immersed back into the cosplay world years after I did my

07:37time in the service, getting back into the costuming slash cosplay world. Um, when I was doing some

07:44appearances for a couple of different comic cons and big Apple con, I was doing a show in New York

07:50and I was appearing. And so one of the things I did was I peered as the rocketeer. That was the

07:57the first caution that I put the time and effort doing my research, making sure I got the jacket,

08:02right. Making sure I had to have a friend of mine helped me put together the jet pack. And we built

08:08that from the ground up together. I bought the helmet that was directly from Disney and on, it was a rare,

08:15uh, uh, rocketeer helmet and wore it. And it went over really like a big hit. And so from that point on,

08:24I just kind of went wild. I just went buck wild, anything, anything I can do a character of,

08:30I didn't care what people thought because I was doing was the character. So basically that's how

08:37the phases broke for me when I got back and then fully immersed into the world of costuming and cosplay.

08:43Okay. And, um, so for me, um, my journey started, like I said, years ago, I went to, uh, I had no

08:55idea what cosplay was and, and, uh, my first costume was, uh, right out of party city hell boy.

09:02And, um, and I just thought it was the coolest costume ever. I had, I had like the grease paint.

09:08So I used my fingers and I just smeared red all of my, I had a beard. It didn't matter. I put the

09:13red, all of my beard, smeared all over my face. And I had the plastic, you know, jacket and I had

09:20a paint can and a boxing glove for my right hand of doom. And, uh, I mean, you couldn't tell me

09:26that you couldn't tell me nothing. I thought it was just the best thing ever. And, uh, so then after

09:32that, I realized like, I want to do this, I want to do this all the time. And I took it seriously

09:37from then on out. And, you know, over the years, you know, the rest is kind of history from there.

09:44Um, but you know, that first time being that costume and everybody was so nice about it really

09:48was like, okay, this is, this is a community that, that I can get into that, that I want to be a part

09:54of. And that's kind of where, where I got my start. So, so now that everybody knows a little bit more

10:00about us. Okay. We can now jump into the meat and potatoes of the, of the panel and talk about,

10:07you know, you know, we've all had that beginning start, but we can really dive into the really

10:14underbelly of what that looks like, you know, coming up, uh, doing cosplay and, uh, and, and being

10:20black cosplayers. So the second question here is what kind of responses, you know, have we've gotten

10:28from our costumes? What, what experiences have we gotten from our costumes? Um, and has there been

10:34any negativity, um, or any resistance from some of the costumes that we've had? And, um, you know,

10:43whoever wants to jump in can just jump right in. Well, if we're talking about negativity, I mean,

10:50I could list like things for days, as far as people talking about either my weight,

10:55the fact that I was the black version of a character who's like Asian, like I've been called

11:02the N word a million times. So, I mean, it's a lot of negativity that comes with it, but it's a lot

11:09of goods that come with it too. I get a lot of compliments from people and, you know, but as far

11:15as like, um, the negative side, I had to learn how to ignore certain comments instead of trying to

11:21respond to every negative comment. I had to learn to just like keep it moving because it would like

11:26be time consuming and it would like kind of demoralize me when it would happen. Another part

11:33of the community is being inclusive. And cause we all want to get together in our fandoms. We all

11:38celebrate different fandoms, whether or not you're plus size or black or Asian or Hispanic, and we all

11:44want to come together and, and have a good time and celebrate our fandoms. So with that said, um,

11:51is inclusivity important? Why is it important to be inclusive, uh, in these spaces for everyone?

12:03Um, inclusivity, being inclusive is important to me because part of being a nerd, I think we all can

12:11relate, especially some of us that are older. It was being, it was, uh, you were excluded from doing

12:19activities, from doing sports, from talking to certain people because you are a nerd. So now that

12:25it's popular and we can be more inclusive with each other, we can make it more of a together thing and

12:33exclusive thing with us. Not necessarily exclusive in the sense where we're excluding people, but we can

12:39come together as nerds and these different fandoms that we love, whether it's Star Trek, whether it's

12:43anime, whether it's, you know, Marvel and DC, then we can come together and congregate. But the moment

12:49you start excluding people is you're starting making people feel less than, and you're kind of like

12:55hurting people from loving something and enjoying that with someone else, you know, because there's

13:01plenty of nerds that once I started cosplaying in different groups that were other races that became

13:08friends of mine because of the fact we both shared love for this different fandom. So I think

13:13inclusiveness is a great thing, especially, you know, for children who might not have, might not know

13:20other nerds who like the same video games as them or anything like that, or even adults who feel that way.

13:27And bouncing on that, I think it's very important because, again, now the nerds are the cool kids. And so, again, remember how, you know, for most of us, we remember how it felt to be the one who was the odd person in the group or the one that everyone looked at like, oh, yeah, you know, he's our nerd or she's our nerd. And now we have a

13:56a sea of people who are just like us that we never thought we would be able to bond with. And within that time period, stuff would happen where other people within that group starts, oh, yeah, start hating for whatever reason within that group. And then there's a divide within the group. So the whole idea is not to be able to do that.

14:18But you're going to always have different personalities. That's no matter where you go, no matter who you're dealing with, there's always going to be different personalities. But not to forget the idea of why you guys got together in the fandom. And when it comes to cosplay, you know, there have been a lot of clicks. And I'll be the first one to say it because I've been doing this for a long time.

14:38There have been a lot of clicks that I've seen across the boards. You know, I've seen I've seen these cosplay groups. They got to a point where they become snobs. And yes, I'm calling y'all the ones who know who they are snobs or they think they're cos famous because they get a little time on camera or they get a little clout.

15:02And all of a sudden they think, oh, well, I'm cos famous. So because I'm cos famous, I'm going to end it. First off, there's no such thing as cos famous. Second off, just because you get a little time in a magazine or what have you, unless you are doing feature films, you are doing TV and you're doing constantly doing something on air, even then you stay humble.

15:27And that's the problem. A lot of cosplayers that start getting recognized, a good portion of them, male and female, they get to a certain height of their popularity in cosplay.

15:41And for some odd reason, along the way, they forget where they came from. And that's when they, oh, well, you know, you bought your cosplay from a store. You bought your cosplay from a store. It's store bought. I can't bother with you. I can't talk to you. Bull. I think that's bull crap.

15:56But if you have the heart and courage enough to put on a costume, regardless, to me, it's like, okay, you're expressing your fandom. And also, like I said again, but if you want to be involved or basically a part of cosplay, also don't be just jumping on the bandwagon because everyone who's truly into it are into it because of their love.

16:20Like I said, there's always a flip side to it. You have certain people out there that see people like us who are cosplayers and say, hey, I want to be down. I want to get known. So I'm going to get on a costume and get known.

16:33Again, after a while, we see the people who are still in the game, in the world of cosplay. Now, granted, they might be branching off and doing their thing when it comes to everyday life or career or whatever.

16:48But the true cosplayer is going to be that cosplayer, whether it's male, female, big or small, doesn't matter. They're going to be the ones that are still cosplaying regardless of what's going on in their life, regardless of what's going on, what they're doing.

17:05They might not do it to the degree that they were doing it in the beginning, but they're still constantly staying consistent as a cosplayer.

17:12The other thing is staying humble, helping the others that want to come up and want to get in costume and encouraging them or giving them advice.

17:22But again, it's something that needs to be done. And I'm not one to pull my, hold my tongue about, you know, cosplay clicks and all that stuff.

17:32Because again, it's died out a lot, but it's still, you know, and I'll be the first one, and I've seen it firsthand, you know, these, you know, so-called cosplayers that are now no longer cosplaying because they got life issues or whatever.

17:49And I just sit back and I, and I, and I, and I observe, and I observe these cosplayers that at one point were really thought they're high and mighty.

17:56They talked about the stuff. They, they basically pushed everyone away that wanted to learn how to cosplay, but now they're no longer cosplaying.

18:04But people like us are still cosplaying. Why is that?

18:08It's because of the fact that we have a true love for the, for the art of cosplay.

18:12And we want other people to be involved as long as they got the right idea and the right conscious of bringing other people together.

18:21And so again, that's this, my thought process on the world of, you know, instead of, like you said, exclusive, being more worldly and bringing everyone together in the world of cosplay.

18:34Well, um, there's been a lot said, but I'll definitely try to, uh, put some more on top.

18:43Um, well, I guess, um, you could say this about our community or any community in general, um, hurt people hurt people.

18:52And unfortunately in our community, it's filled with a lot of people who weren't accepted back in, uh, middle school and high school, who weren't accepted in their job place or at home, uh, because of their interests or, or their, um, sexual orientations or whatever the case may be.

19:09And they've been outcasted at some point in time.

19:12Um, and then they come into the community and to cosplay and find other people who really enjoy, um, dressing up, really enjoy being coming in the character, um, and all of the skills and talents that it takes to become that character, photography, makeup, artistry, videography, um, hair tech, you know, technicians, everything, costuming, sewing, all of that.

19:35Um, and, um, uh, with, with the cosplay community and it being inclusive, um, it's interesting that, you know, we're at that point where we all became friends with each other because we're into the fandoms.

19:51We're into the same thing.

19:52We have the same love and, um, like others are saying, you know, others push away because they want a little bit of that attention or they want a little bit of that clout.

20:01And I think a lot of it comes from not having it before.

20:05And I got to tell everyone, cosplay is not going to make you, um, the person you're supposed to be.

20:12Um, it can help you, um, you know, get out there, uh, build your confidence, um, you know, get you a crew of people that are, you know, like-minded and, and are for you.

20:28But, you know, in, at the end of the day, you're here because somebody accepted you.

20:33So that should be the practice going forward.

20:37Um, this is a community that's supposed to be there for the fun and for the support, especially in this time and day.

20:45I think that's what we really need is, uh, to stick together and, um, just on like a personal note, uh, I would get DMs occasionally, um, saying, hey, I would have never thought about cosplaying until I saw you.

21:01And, you know, of course I go through the gambit of, oh, there's been plenty of people who cosplayed this before, you know, there's a billion people who cosplayed, you know, that character before, but they haven't seen anyone that looks like me do it.

21:14And then that's when I realized that inclusivity and representation, like how much, you know, it matters.

21:22I wasn't even realizing I was being a part of it until someone said, hey, thank you for being who you are.

21:30Now I can do this too.

21:31So I think inclusivity is extremely important.

21:34I don't think we can be a true community without it.

21:36Agreed.

21:39There's, there's, there's so much to unpack, uh, to unpack here with, with everything that was said.

21:45And cause there's, there's multiple layers to being inclusive.

21:49Um, you know, one hurdle you have to jump is, okay, I'm plus size, but I want to be this traditionally thin character.

21:58That's, you know, that's the step or I'm, I'm blank, but you know, all the characters like an anime with venture bows, all the characters are,

22:06are, are, are white.

22:07Um, so, and that, that's another step.

22:10And then as a cosplayer yourself, you have to then like the smoke was saying, be humble.

22:17Um, everything he said about cosplay clicks and groups is a hundred percent accurate.

22:22Um, and it's just another hurdle that you might have to go through when we're talking about being inclusive and when we're talking about getting into cosplay and things like that.

22:35So it's, it's just multi-layered and we all have to remember that we're all here for the fun of it.

22:41And if you take yourself too seriously, then you're going to be going down the wrong path.

22:47And you're, and once you do that, you're either going to burn out or you're going to stop doing it, or you're going to be resentful, or you're going to hurt other people.

22:54Um, and none of that's good for anybody and none of that's good for the community.

22:59Um, so, you know, being inclusive, it's not just about, you know, somebody plus size or somebody black, you, you accepting them and celebrating them as a character.

23:08It's also too, as a fellow cosplayer, accepting cosplayers who are just starting, accepting cosplayers who don't know how to do armor.

23:18So, you know, things may be falling apart and even the best of us have had things fall apart.

23:22Um, and so, you know, a lot of that too, as a cosplayer and being in the community, you are responsible for opening doors, not closing them.

23:33Um, and that's part of being inclusive as well.

23:36And, and I feel like, you know, everyone here on this panel is a part of opening doors for other people.

23:42And it makes me proud to be a part of, of what we're doing here, uh, on this panel.

23:48Um, so being inclusive is important and, you know, fostering in new cosplayers just keeps everything wrong.

23:58Um, and just about, you know, just another piece about being inclusive.

24:03No matter how much I feel like I know, I've always learned something new from someone else.

24:09And if, you know, for me, um, I'm like, well, I'm popping beer.

24:14I've done this.

24:14I've done that.

24:15I don't need to do that.

24:16You know, but when you do that, you exclude learning from yourself and, you know, judging competitions from amateur to, to, you know, master level.

24:27I've learned so much from all walks of life about how people put things together and about people's different lifestyles.

24:35And all these things I didn't even know existed about how people live.

24:40And I never would have got those experiences if I was just like, well, I can't be bothered with that because, you know, I'm popping bear.

24:47I just, that's beneath me.

24:49You can't, you can't take that attitude.

24:51Um, I have learned how to do new things from people who've just started cosplay.

24:56I've learned how to do new things from people who've been doing it for forever.

25:01Um, and the spectrum is very broad on the things you can pick up as long as you're open and inclusive.

25:09And that's why, you know, you know, for me, it's important to, to bring everybody in because the more people that are in, the more you get to learn, the more you get to know, and the more we can all do the things that we want to do together.

25:24Um, so that's, you know, for me, that's the important part of, of, uh, being inclusive.

25:29Um, so when you are in an inclusive environment and you get more people doing more costumes, you get more people, um, you know, experimenting with, with some characters that have different culture values, or, you know, we talking about things like kimonos, um, wigs, uh, different types of makeup looks, different type of culturally important, uh, attire for characters.

25:55So the question is, you know, what would be some respectful guidelines to follow, um, when cosplaying, you know, someone of a different race or a different culture or, uh, or a different gender, um, how do you cosplay these characters that don't look like you and keep it respectful and not offensive?

26:18And there's, like, and there's, like, a big example that we're probably all thinking of, but, um, we'll start with, uh, Tranquil Ashes here.

26:26Um, honestly, I would just say don't do it.

26:30Like, if you have to question, if it takes you a while to be like, well, if it's this, or maybe if it's that, I would just avoid it altogether.

26:39Um, if, if, unless it's, like, a character that's, like, from an anime, and that anime character specifically is wearing a kimono, and it's that character kind of like in, um, what's the good one, like, Demon Slayers.

26:56Like, they have some traditional attire, but, you know, it's for that character.

27:02It's specifically colored and designed for that character, and as long as you don't wear it outside of that, I believe that it's okay.

27:10Um, I don't think anything Native American should be worn ever, ever, ever, period, ever.

27:16Um, unless you are Native, uh, or of Native heritage yourself, um, there doesn't seem to be enough education on what certain ceremonial pieces mean or do, um, across multiple cultures, not just Native American cultures.

27:32Um, so I feel like if you have to ask the question, just avoid it altogether.

27:37Um, or if you do really want to cosplay something, and it's really in your heart to do so, talk to the people who belong to that culture, and ask for their opinion.

27:49And if they tell you no, then that's what your opinion is, or that's what your, your options should be.

27:54Um, I think there are a lot of options to cosplay out there that we don't, we don't have to play with this line, um, as often as people tend to play with this line.

28:05Um, but I would just say avoid it, avoid it if you can, and if it is something that's important to you, um, ask the people from the culture it's from.

28:17Yeah, and that's the important piece is, like, if, if you, if you're going into a space and you feel like, well, I should probably ask if this is cool, it's probably not cool.

28:26Um, so why, why even go there?

28:29And, you know, a lot of us can relate to this when we talk about blackface, um, and, and how, and it will, the, the frustrating, there's a lot of frustrating things about it.

28:38But one of the more frustrating things is that someone blackfaces and then people tell them, well, this is why you shouldn't do it.

28:46But then they doubled down on why they did it as if doubling down on it makes it okay.

28:54And that's the frustrating part about it.

28:56It's like, well, now at this point, you're just trolling and you're just looking for clout and, uh, and, and, and you're here for it.

29:04Um, and that's, you know, that's, you know, I know that one kind of touches all of us here.

29:09Um, that's a big one for me is like, if you, first of all, you know, you shouldn't do it, you do it anyway.

29:15People say, why are you doing this?

29:17You shouldn't do it.

29:18And then you double down on how it's just a costume and it's okay because you're not making fun of, uh, of black people.

29:27And, you know, we all know that that doesn't matter.

29:32You, it should not be done.

29:33Um, skin color is, is not a costume.

29:38I'm using, and I didn't mean to cut you off venture, but look at venture.

29:41Venture is doing the Mario brother.

29:43You don't see venture putting on, uh, uh, uh, uh, a peach color skin or tan, making stuff look Caucasian.

29:51I want to bring up, I want to bring up a good point.

29:54There's a friend of mine, um, and I'm going to give him his clout.

29:58Thomas strange.

29:59Thomas strange is a big Luke cage, power man fan.

30:02Thomas is white seat and hair.

30:05The whole nine.

30:06Don't you know what's on the tear?

30:10What's on the yellow shirt pants?

30:12The whole nine.

30:13Never once.

30:14Did he ever have the black face or anything?

30:16And he walked around, not in a hundred percent shape or anything.

30:20He's just a fan of Luke cage, power man.

30:24And he wears it with pride.

30:26And he, and I was like, I was so blown away.

30:29Cause I was doing Batman for the show we were doing.

30:33And I'm like, look, we got to get a picture together just to show everyone across the board board that it doesn't matter.

30:39This is how you cosplay.

30:41And it's like you said, like Papa said, like Tranquil said, first off, educate yourself.

30:48And if you can't educate yourself, ask as, as Papa said, you know, damn well, you're not supposed to be doing that.

30:57The fact that you're doing it, you're doing it to be a smart ass, nothing more, nothing less.

31:01Right.

31:02And you can't turn around and double down.

31:04You can't make any excuses.

31:06You can't get bold.

31:07And then this, this time and age right now is the wrong time to do it.

31:13It's the wrong time to do it because I know y'all heard this term before.

31:17We are not our ancestors.

31:19We ain't going to take that stuff lightly and let you just get away with it and slide with it and just say, oh, well, you know, I was just doing it because it's the character.

31:28That kind of stuff will get you jacked up.

31:30And I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going to sugarcoat it because people, this is what people have failed to realize.

31:37You're going to end up offending someone wearing the wrong thing with the wrong makeup, thinking that it's cool.

31:43And, you know, oh, well, I wanted to be an Asian character.

31:46So I'm going to, I'm going to do my eyes and make them squinty.

31:50I'm telling you right now, that kind of stuff will get you jacked up in this day and age.

31:54You need to tread lightly out there for those people who are not sure.

31:57You better do your education.

31:59You better ask questions.

32:00Because you're going to end up offending the wrong person that they may take some type of action towards you.

32:07And so I'm not going to try to be nice about it or try to be diplomatic about it.

32:11I'm telling you, this is the honest to God truth.

32:14People are not going to take the crap like they used to take.

32:17So that's a wake up call for those cosplayers that think they're being cute and being smart because we know you all out there, too.

32:24We know who you are.

32:25And they may not say it, but I'm saying it to you.

32:29Use your mind.

32:30Use your common sense.

32:32Because if you don't, we will.

32:34We will make sure that you remember it.

32:36So I had to say that.

32:38I can't hold that.

32:40I'm not going to be diplomatic about it.

32:42I'm sorry.

32:42I'm too damn old for that.

32:44No.

32:44I mean, yeah.

32:45And also, too, like alongside with Blackface, we have Blackfishing, which is a new development, apparently in this day and age where folks profit basically off of looking like us.

32:59And it's a really big thing, like bigger than I had ever imagined it was.

33:06And that's another problem.

33:08If you are taking opportunities away from the people that it's supposed to be for, then you're doing something wrong.

33:17Like I can't walk into a white space and claim white privilege just because I want to.

33:23That's just not how it works.

33:25Whereas you can't.

33:28Whereas if you are you Blackfish, you are selling this ideal and you're getting money from all the people who buy the weave that you're wearing, thinking it's on the head of a Black girl.

33:40And that's how it's going to look on a Black girl.

33:42But in reality, you're, you know, a Swedish lady with blue eyes and, you know, freckles.

33:53So it's like you really have to if you can profit off of it, you're doing something wrong.

33:58If you have to think about it, you're doing something wrong.

34:01Honestly, if it just if it pops in your mind, what if don't do it?

34:07Just avoid it.

34:08There are way, way too many options.

34:12I mean, even in anime, if we're going to talk about anime, I mean, like 95 percent of anime doesn't even happen on the planet.

34:18It's in some imaginary world or in outer space or in hell or wherever it is taking place.

34:26And there are no races that we know of there.

34:29So people should really just, you know, think about it in that scope.

34:34You know, like we are, you know, like in Star Trek, there's there's so many different species and, you know, ethnicities that are all working together to have a common goal.

34:46And then in 2020, you know, you know, COVID life and quarantine life and all of that, that is literally the one thing we should definitely be doing.

34:57So I just think that there's no excuses about it anymore.

35:02You know, we're a little tired of talking about it.

35:05There's a billion documentaries about it.

35:07There's a lot of books.

35:09Your your token black friend will tell you about it.

35:12Like either way, like it's 2020.

35:15I don't think there's any more excuses for it anymore.

35:18So when it happens, we should shut it down.

35:21Like that's one of the things I hate the most is when they claim ignorant to it.

35:25And Chris, you and I have talked about this several times where a big cosplayer will do blackface.

35:32And then when we tell them, they say, oh, I didn't know because I'm from Australia.

35:36Like, like blackface doesn't exist in Australia, too.

35:40Like, it's just like, we'll hear the most, you know, and it's just like, we'll say something and then they claim ignorance.

35:47Then when we tell them, OK, it's still blackface, they leave the picture up.

35:52It's like, what?

35:53And then to Anita's point, there was a Disney cosplayer.

35:58She's from Latin America.

36:00I'm not sure her name, but she was getting famous off of doing blackface of Disney characters.

36:06Like she do Jasmine.

36:08She do the girl from Princess and the Frog was Tierra.

36:13She would do her Tiana and she was doing blackface and she was getting all this attention.

36:18And she knew it was negative attention, but she knew it would get so many views on her cosplay.

36:25So it's just really disappointing to see that they do that for the clout, too.

36:31Right.

36:31Meanwhile, you have, you know, black cosplayers representing their own characters and they can't get anywhere.

36:38But then someone else does blackface and they blow up for and they blow up for it.

36:44You know, or like for all of us, we all have done characters that are outside of our color.

36:51And yet when we do, we get a lot of times, the majority of the time we get ridiculed.

36:56We get, you know, we get, you know, all dumped on because, oh, look.

37:01And again, it's double standard.

37:03It's double standard in that sense.

37:05And that's when I said, like I said before, that's when you change the narrative.

37:09And that's when you have to turn around and wake people up like, no, you can cosplay whoever you want.

37:16And in some cases, as African-Americans, we do it better than the character that was originally made for.

37:25And so, like I said, again, I just, it's just, I don't give no one a pass.

37:32And again, I don't give nobody a pass overseas, here.

37:37It doesn't matter.

37:38You don't get a pass in my book.

37:40If you know for a fact you're putting on makeup, that is not your shade.

37:45Other than green, red, white, and I'm not talking about beige.

37:51I'm talking about white or black.

37:53And I'm talking about black where you're like totally covering black and you're being a dark character from the abyss or something.

38:02Those primary colors is one thing.

38:04But when you're doing a skin tone color and you're darkening yourself to make yourself look more whatever, trying to be one of us or trying to appear to have the appearance of, I have an issue with that.

38:19You don't get a pass in my book.

38:21And you're going to be told.

38:24You're going to be corrected.

38:26And God forbid you ever see me on the con floor and I see you doing that.

38:32You're going to get embarrassed.

38:33And again, I'm just like Tranquil said, we're just tired.

38:38We're tired of telling people.

38:40We're tired of trying to school people.

38:42Yo, come on.

38:44Come on.

38:45When is it going to stop?

38:46When are people going to wake up and realize this kind of crap is not, we're not cool with that.

38:54And we're going to let you know.

38:55We're going to let you know.

38:57Yeah.

38:57All right.

38:59So on the back of, you know, being respectful in costumes and how, you know, we've all had this journey.

39:07We've kind of talked about everything that we've done and all the things that we've seen.

39:11But one thing we haven't really discussed is how cosplay kind of empowers us all to do, you know, to be who we want to be, to do what we want to do.

39:22And, I mean, you can take all the negativity, you can take dealing with the barriers you have to suffer in cosplay, trying to get through the cliques, trying to break into the inclusive spaces, dealing with the negativity online, and then dealing with people who are black facing or disrespecting whatever culture you have, and then doubling down on their ignorance.

39:48But you get past all that, cosplay can be and is a very positive, empowering tool that we all use to satisfy whatever facet of our lives we want to satisfy, whether it's the artistic part, whether we feel like once we put on a costume, we get out of our introvert shell.

40:09You know, when we put on a costume, you know, all the insecurities melt away and we become something more.

40:18So, you know, for everyone here, how can we talk about how is cosplay personally empowering to everyone here?

40:30How has cosplay made a positive difference in your life, Venture Bros?

40:37Um, well, that's a pretty easy one for me because, uh, to, like, our discussions earlier about size, when I first started cosplaying, I was 305 pounds.

40:49I was, you know, being called Fat Spider-Man and stuff.

40:52So, uh, one way cosplay did help me was it motivated me to start working out more and to get into better shape.

40:59Like, uh, so it wasn't solely that reason, my daughter too, but that was a big thing for me.

41:06And when I started doing certain characters and people were like, oh, you look just like that character, they were making me feel like that character too.

41:14So, um, it was, it gave me a sense of confidence and a sense of motivation to get into even better shape and to work on my cosplay even more.

41:24And, um, like, I've been featured in a magazine before cosplay, I would have never imagined I would be in a magazine before.

41:33Never, you know, not that I have low confidence or anything, but it just never was on my radar that I could be in a magazine featured for pictures of myself, especially in cosplay.

41:42So, by doing cosplay, and when that did happen, that just, like, put, like, kind of a light and an energy into my life that, uh, wasn't there before.

41:55Tranquil?

41:57Um, let's see.

41:59I mean, I guess in a lot of ways, um, cosplay gives me, um, a space to do all the creative things that I enjoy doing.

42:09Um, a lot of the things that I was doing, makeup and all of that, I was doing outside of cosplay before, um, but it gives me an opportunity to kind of showcase everything that I, I can do, um, all in one fell swoop, where it, whether it be photography or makeup, um, craftsmanship or sewing or anything of those likes.

42:30Um, and also, I think it's kind of empowering in, in, uh, kind of a different way, not necessarily to me, but to other people.

42:39Like I said before, um, sometimes I would get DMs about, you know, just people not having the confidence to cosplay or thinking that they could or able to, whether it be because of their gender, size, or race.

42:53Um, and them seeing me do it kind of empowers me to keep going, because it's like, I didn't realize that, you know, I was the thing missing, you know, to get them to do the things that make them happy.

43:09It's like, it's like no different than seeing, um, Brandy as Cinderella for the first time.

43:14She was a black Cinderella.

43:16Um, and that version of Cinderella is actually a great example of diversity.

43:22No one bucked an eye at who was who in that movie.

43:26Um, it just, everyone just worked together because everyone was equal.

43:31So, um, I think cosplay is definitely empowering in that way.

43:36It reassures people that you're not alone in the things that you like or get into.

43:42Um, I just think, you know, it's a great addition or potentially career, depending on, you know, if that's what you want to do, um, to lead your life down.

43:51Um, it's, it's for you and not very often do people do things for themselves.

43:58Very true.

43:59And, um, I'll, I'll go and the smoke will have the last word on this.

44:03Um, you know, for me, you know, cosplay is, is living art and, you know, I love the making things and the, the art side of, of costume.

44:16And so anytime I get to wear, uh, a costume I'm wearing, I'm becoming a living representation of my artistry.

44:27Um, and that's what empowers me.

44:30That's what keeps me going.

44:32Um, it's the art side of it.

44:33It's, it's taking, it's essentially taking nothing and making it into a three-dimensional piece that I can display live and wear.

44:44Um, and that's, what's exciting about costuming in general.

44:49Um, also there, there's a, the social part of it too.

44:54I've met so many different people, like I said before, so many walks of life, uh, so many different lifestyles that I, I didn't know existed.

45:02And we know without cosplay, I wouldn't be able to do that.

45:05Um, you really, you know, at least for me, I really saw like what kind of bubble you can live in.

45:12Um, and then when you step out of it, you realize that the world is huge and there is a lot happening.

45:20Um, and there's a lot going on all the time and people have, you know, find ways to, to get through life in, in, in creative ways that I never even thought of.

45:32And cosplays kind of opened my eyes to that.

45:35And I never would have had an experience like that because of it.

45:39I've, I've traveled all over the country just to put on the costume.

45:44Um, and that is empowering.

45:48That's amazing.

45:49That something so simple, um, could mean so much to, to all of us.

45:53And that, that's what empowers me in cosplay.

45:57I can display my art and meet so many talented people, um, at the same time.

46:05And that's, that's been the best part of this journey.

46:08Smoke?

46:09Well, for me, it's been a couple of different things.

46:12One, um, on the physical side, staying in shape, maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

46:19You know, I've hit my spurts with moments when I just like, oh, I don't want to work out.

46:23But then I've seen other cosplayers that will inspire me to just say, whoa, okay, I got to keep it going.

46:31So in one part, it's from being inspired by other cosplayers or other people in the cosplay realm,

46:37whether it's, uh, creativity through making props to physical, to just being overall, just like an aspiring person.

46:48The other half of that is we're being empowered is, um, cause I'm diagnosed with, it's, it's, it's also therapeutic.

46:56Um, I'm diagnosed with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress.

47:01And because of that, having cosplay, it empowers me to be able to channel that, you know, without being, without feeling depressed and all.

47:12I'm able to channel that by being expressive, being able to, to cosplay and everything.

47:17And also sharing with others that, hey, you're not alone, you know, but you can also find outlets to not be in that dark place and everything else.

47:28The other part of it also, bouncing off of what you said earlier, um, it's empowering to be able to inspire other cosplayers.

47:38I, like you, I've traveled and I've been on tour of different comic cons, um, when I was doing different contests and hosting it, I would always go in the back room and prep the cosplayers that are about to go on stage.

47:53So I would always give them an inspirational speech and like, hey, look, remember you're wearing this costume.

48:00You put your time, heart and soul, blood and tears into this costume.

48:03When you go out there, this is your time to shine, become that character, become that character, show your family, your friends.

48:11It's not just about competition, because at the end of it all, we're all winners.

48:16You guys are all winners.

48:17There's no such thing as a loser.

48:19So to be able to empower those kind of people, and even the ones that didn't win, they'll come over to me later and say, you know, thank you so much.

48:27Your words are encouraging.

48:29That's the payoff for me.

48:30The payoff for me, like Tranquil said, having people DM you and asking you and saying, hey, what can I do?

48:39It's very empowering, because you're helping other people.

48:43And like you said earlier, Papa, that, you know, you're meeting people and talking to people that you never thought you would meet in your lifetime.

48:53But because of cosplay, you're able to reach and have a reach on people and at the same time change your lives for the better.

49:01And so, again, that's how I look at the world of empowerment in cosplay, you know?

49:08Yeah, and it's, you know, I think it's safe to say that, you know, despite all the issues that we have and, you know, some of the hurdles and negative roadblocks we've had, that, you know, cosplay has been a positive force for all of us.

49:25And I wouldn't have it any, I wouldn't have it any different, despite some of the things that we all go through.

49:34Cosplay, the cosplay community as a whole is a good one.

49:37It's full of wonderful, talented people.

49:39But it's also important to tell our stories and give you, give you another side of it as well.

49:46It's not all rainbows and sunshine.

49:49And we just wanted to come together and just tell our story about what we have to go through in our love for cosplay.

50:00That is our panel.

50:02Did anybody have any closing words?

50:04We can plug our socials.

50:09Yeah, I do say I'm glad to be on a panel with such great and wise cosplayers because, like I said, before I started, you guys are the guys I looked up to, you know, so, you know.

50:25Well, that's super sweet.

50:28Yeah, yes, definitely.

50:30Thank you so much for, you know, inviting me to be on this, you know, cosplay panel here.

50:36Just like Venture Bros said, everybody here on this panel are extraordinary artists, and I've seen your work, and you got so much, much higher to go.

50:49I can definitely see that for everybody on this panel.

50:52So, and to everyone out there, keep cosplaying.

50:56Don't let anyone stop you.

50:58And just have fun with your life.

51:00As for me, again, anytime I'm around great cosplayers, it's always inspiring because it's a place where, again, we can always speak our truth or speak how we feel on it.

51:18It's great to be around all you guys, to be a part of this conversation and all.

51:24So, I feel honored to be, you know, talking among the three of you.

51:27I've seen you all and have followed all of you, and all of you in your own right have moved up and excelled through the world of cosplay.

51:34So, to be able to see you guys and be on a forum with you all and see how far you've come, it's really, like, it's really, like, blowback.

51:43Like, it's blowing me away because, like, everyone, everyone, every one of you have, I mean, you know, because I remember when y'all started off and I was sitting back like, all right, yeah, okay, cool.

51:57And now to see all of you, like, you know, and especially you, now you're all, like, you know, buffed up and all.

52:07And, again, man, you talk about inspiration, all three of you in your own way have been inspiring for me, and that's why I keep doing what I do.

52:17This is why I keep cosplaying.

52:18For all those people out there, these people that you have on this forum right here, these are the people that you need to follow.

52:26These are people that are leaders in cosplay.

52:29And it's not just about one individual.

52:33It's about all of us bringing something to the table.

52:35So, just like Tranquil said, cosplay, have fun with it.

52:41Don't care about what anyone else says.

52:43It's all about what you feel inside.

52:45And as I've always told people, cosplay because you want to cosplay.

52:49Don't cosplay for anyone else.