Professionals Talk

Interview with a Professional Cosplayer

This is a segment where I get the inside scoop of the world of cosplay through the eyes of someone with years of experience.

Hi! My name is Teresa Bamburg, and it's a real treat to share my silly thoughts about the cosplay community!

1. How long have you been cosplaying? 

About 8 years

2. Have you ever competed in a cosplay contest? 

Yes, in 4 total

3. Have you ever cosplayed or witness a someone cosplay a character of a different race? How did it go?

I haven't personally cosplayed any other races. I have multiple friends that have, usually a darker skinned person cosplaying a lighter skinned character rather than the reverse. I've heard that they experience frequent comments pointing out their race or being unpleasant, such as calling them the black version of a character, applying racist stereotypes or saying that they're "pretty good for a black cosplayer". There was an very popular article about this subject fairly recently that addresses the issue more thoroughly than I ever could if you're interested: http://www.xojane.com/issues/mad-back-cosplayer-chaka-cumberbatch

4. Have you ever cosplayed or witness someone cosplaying a chracter of a different species? How did it go?

I've cosplayed as an alien with blue skin, but that's as far as I've personally gone, and I don't really have any friends that are skilled in making fursuits or anything of that nature. My experience with having blue skin was that it turned a few heads but I didn't experience any especially different treatment than normal.

5. Have you ever cosplayed or witness someone cosplaying someone with physical disabilities? What do you think about this type of cosplay?

I can't particularly think of any instances, perhaps apart from a few cosplays of Shinra from Final Fantasy VII, but I think there are very few characters with disabilities like that for people to choose from. Unless you count things like eyepatches or prosthetic limbs. In those cases, such as Big Boss from Metal Gear, I think that most people assume that it's part of the costume so it doesn't really receive much attention.

6. Have you ever witness or are a cosplayer with a physical disability? 

 The first person who comes to mind is a cosplayer who goes by "Misa on Wheels"(her facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/MisaOnWheels). She is so inspiring and doesn't let anything get in the way of her having fun. She has a beautifully positive spirit and shows that one person can make a big difference to many people. I'm sure that her work to promote positive attitudes within the cosplay community has touched and inspired many people who feel intimidated or down about difficulties with cosplay and even life in general.

7. In a cosplay contest, do cosplayers give credit to the creator of the character? 

I've never heard of this being done. Perhaps if the design is from a single picture by an artist or something the cosplayer would notify the judges and maybe provide a reference picture, but I doubt that it would be announced to the audience during the contest.

8. Do you believe the creator of the cartoon or character should get monetary compensation for having their characters likeness used to win a contest that offers cash prizes? 

No. In what I view as an optimal setting, the cosplayer is winning the contest through their own effort to create their outfit, not through the originality of the design itself. It requires a lot of experience, money, time, and acquired skills to create amazing cosplay, and the cosplayers that bring characters to life are providing publicity for the series or character that their portraying. Any cash they could offer for the use of the design pales in comparison to the exposure that the series gets from a great cosplay, in my opinion.

9. Do you know any history about the origins of cosplay? 

I do know a little bit. Since cosplay is not the most concretely defined term, it can be difficult to pin down its origins, but many people cite the first appearance of cosplayers at a fan event as being at the World Science Fiction Convention in New York in 1939. I've heard that the term itself was coined by a Japanese man, Nov Takahashi, in 1984.

10. What are some of the problems in the cosplay community that people who do not cosplay will never experience? 

Problems within the community range from personal remarks to attitudes about cosplay in general. I think one of the biggest overal issues is that there are some contributing factors that make cosplayers seem like they're not real people. The hero worship that some get, combined with the anonymity of the internet makes people post things they wouldn't say in real life and leads to both very negative comments and forgetting that these are just normal people like everyone else.

11. Do you believe if someone cosplayed their own original character they will have an equal chance of winning a cosplay contest?

 I think the design would have to be very detailed to have a decent chance, and I think that original designs are at a disadvantage.

12. Are their discrimination against cosplayer of different weight, say like if some one is really skinny, or someone is really fat? 

Yes, this happens frequently. I don't have much personal experience in this type of harassment, but overweight cosplayers receive many negative comments both in person and online. Given that the vast majority of characters are thin, this makes for a difficult environment for overweight cosplayers. I was actually recently part of a movement to remove a Facebook page dedicated to shaming "Fat Cosplayers", which thankfully was successful. I'd like to think that the community is slowly coming to discuss these issues more and being more accepting in general, but there are still some commenters who don't understand the very serious impact of their nasty words.

13. How do you feel about crossplaying?

 I am actually a frequent crossplayer. In fact I think I've cosplayed more male characters than female ones, so this is a topic I'm pretty invested in. I think that female to male crossplay is much more accepted in the community than the opposite. I think this is due to a number of reasons, including gender stereotypes and roles that unfortunately still pervade our society, as well as the character designs. Anime in particular tends to depict many feminine men while women tend to be feminine the majority of the time. I rarely have any issues at all when crossplaying, to the point that I forget sometimes that it would be considered odd outside of a cosplay setting. For myself, I don't even see it as an issue. Cosplaying gives you the ability to be a character completely different from yourself, so it's not a reflection of how feminine or masculine you see yourself as being. Crossplaying presents its own challenges and different cosplayers take it to different levels. For instance, many of the more dedicated ones, including myself, have specific makeup techniques and some strive to depict the mannerisms of the opposite gender. I personally get very proud when I manage to pass as male when crossplaying. I know it's a subject that some who are new to cosplaying may find odd, but I think that it's just not a big deal in the cosplay community so everyone kind of gets used to it. This is admittedly from a female to male perspective, though, and I've been told that the opposite carries much more controversy and opinionated comments. This goes back to the roots of gender issues, along the lines of it being completely acceptable for women to wear pants but eyebrow-raising if a man wears a skirt. This all ties in with gender roles, and I think it's a fascinating topic, if a bit dis-heartening at times.

14. Have you ever witnessed or experienced sexual harassment at a convention? 

Yes, unfortunately. I very rarely cosplay any outfit that's revealing at all, so I'm sure my experiences are even less than women who do, but I have been inappropriately touched and commented on in multiple instances. It was never anything insidious enough to report to con security, but things like guys putting their hands around my waist even after I've asked them not to and similar things. Practically any woman who has cosplayed at a convention has at least one story of being harassed in some way. Many conventions are taking a stand against this and there are movements to spread awareness, so I think the community is moving in the right direction, but we have a long way to go.

15. Do you believe con patrol is doing a good job in enforcing the convention rules? Or at least at protecting con goers? 

I think this varies widely between conventions, but at many of them con patrol does the best they can. But when you have tens of thousands of people spread over a huge area they can only catch so much that goes on. I've also heard so many stories of con security doing nothing or very little about harassment situations that I honestly think a lot of con-goers don't always trust them.

16. Do you believe pedophilia is on the rise at conventions? If so explain why or why not. 

I honestly wouldn't know. I haven't heard of any situations personally, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

17. Do you believe there is a rise in fetishism and cults in the cosplay community? Where do you think it is coming from? 

I honestly don't know that I can speak knowledgeably on that subject very much. I do know that there is a rampant amount of sexualizing cosplayers and a massive amount of controversy over the stigma of sexy cosplayers, how they're treated, and why they do what they do.
18. Do you believe there is a rise of prejudices against fandoms in the cosplay community? 

I think that with conventions growing as much as they are, many new issues are emerging, and one of them is megafandoms. There are many fandom groups that wind up with reputations among the community, with controversy about how much of it is deserved. When huge amounts of people wind up in a fandom and some of them behave badly it reflects on the group. Some fandoms attract certain age groups or types of fans, and this contributes to the stereotype and whether it's deserved or not. I personally know members of some of the more notorious fandoms that are wonderful, mature people, but I also know many that aren't. It's not really fair to apply a blanket statement to an entire fandom, but people do wind up tired of the shenanigans that one group is depicted as doing over and over. Some of this information spreads through rumors and stories, so one bad story can lead to a lot of negative "publicity" for a group. For instance, there was a very negative thing that a small group of Hetalia fans did, and whether deserved or not it added to the reputation that the fandom has.

19. With the increase of child pornography, do you believe that it is okay to take pictures of children in costumes? 

I think this is a very complicated and nuanced topic. For small children(like under 13) I think that unless the picture is provocative, which is obviously wrong, there's nothing wrong with taking a simple picture of their cosplay. People who misuse those innocent pictures are responsible for their own actions, and I think it's unnecessary to avoid taking normal pictures of child cosplayers just to cater to the possibilty of terrible people misusing them. For teenagers, the issue gets more complex, honestly to the point that I feel it would take several pages to address the issue properly.

If there is anything you would like to add please do so now. And if there is anything you would like me to address in my blog please do now. And if you feel you want to edit or work on the blog as well, I am always looking for help. I can't pay, but you will be doing the cosplay community a great service.

Comments: I think that it's important for members of the community to remember that these issues, like racism, sexism, and weight-shaming, seem insurmountable and rampant, but every individual makes an impact. You never know what effect you can have on someone, and every person's voice is important in changing how things are. Also, while there are people who make negative comments, and it's easy to focus on those, there are so many more that want others to succeed and support new cosplayers with all their hearts. There is so much positivity in this community, and it's important to focus on that instead of getting dragged down by the vocal few who spread negativity.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak on these issues. If you'll be including any cosplay pages mine is here: Sunlit Cosplay

			Sunlit Cosplay I'm a Texas-based cosplayer who's all about having fun and stretching the limits through cosplay....
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