{"id":111,"date":"2013-04-11T13:15:48","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T17:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/?p=111"},"modified":"2013-04-11T13:17:39","modified_gmt":"2013-04-11T17:17:39","slug":"cosplaying-while-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/?p=111","title":{"rendered":"Cosplaying While White"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Paul Cory<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/b><\/b>I am lucky.<\/p>\n

I look like 90% of the women on the big screen, the small screen, on the covers of novels and in the pages of comic books.<\/p>\n

I am white, skinny and have learned how to use makeup (as well as a few laser surgeries) to cover the birthmark on my face with which genetics graced me.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me a good cosplayer.<\/p>\n

In fact, it means that I can be a little more lazy with my costumes than someone who doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share the basic physical characteristics of a character.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by… someone with my cell phone.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like this one. This is jeans, a white blouse and a pair of cowboy boots from my closet. Topped off with a wig and some creative makeup to give my very pale skin a more tanned look.<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recognizable as River Song, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re familiar with the source material (The TARDIS probably helps.)<\/p>\n

As much as I love being Batgirl, My Batgirl isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the best one out there. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a purple bodysuit, not cut quite screen-accurately, made out of the wrong fabric and beginning to show its years. My red hair is a different texture than the red wig that the character wears. And I look *nothing* like Yvonne Craig. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recognizable. People love it. I get celebrated for it. Just by showing up.<\/p>\n

I get away with a lot of shortcuts. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to make sure the details are perfect. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to hunt high or low for the perfect accessory, or perfect my poses. I am immediately, and unconditionally accepted as presenting a valid cosplay of that character, whether or not I really have any resemblance to the woman I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m imitating. There are a few negative comments on my costumes, occasionally. Usually having to do with the fact that my chest is not big enough for comic book standards, but on the whole, the reaction is positive.<\/p>\n

But here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the thing: I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to defend my presence and my choice to engage in the activity of cosplay (all gender assumptions aside). As long as a photo is taken by a decent photographer, the overwhelming response to my presence in the cosplay world and the geek world at large (again, geek girl issues aside) will be positive (if sometimes problematic from a gender standpoint). I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to compensate for my color, or my weight or my height or my physical abilities. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to justify my presence by being absolutely perfect. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to face that higher bar for being judged as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153doing cosplay right\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I am \u00e2\u20ac\u0153doing it right\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by being a conventionally attractive white woman in spandex. End of story.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Russ Creech<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(And if you’re wondering who my favorite Batgirl is, it’s Jay Justice’s Batgirl<\/a>, hands down.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Making the costume and showing up is the end of the effort I need to put in. The same isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t true for women who are the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wrong\u00e2\u20ac\u009d color from the geek world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standpoint. Or who are the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wrong\u00e2\u20ac\u009d size. Or who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wear makeup. Or who are genetically male and present as a woman.<\/p>\n

I love being a superhero, and being perceived as one. But just because I look the part expected of me doesn’t make me better than anyone else. In fact it mostly lets me get off a little easier than the next person.<\/p>\n

Not<\/a> that<\/a> this<\/a> is a metaphor<\/a> for life<\/a> or anything<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0I am lucky. I look like 90% of the women on the big screen, the small screen, on the covers of novels and in the pages of comic books. I am white, skinny and have learned how to use makeup (as well as a few laser surgeries) to cover the birthmark on my face with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soapbox"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thisview.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}