Cosplay Bullying

Cosplay is all about you getting dressed up as your favorite game character, movie character, anime, or other characters and joining like-minded people. It is meant to be artistically expressing yourself. Cosplay is a vast world but there is always a dark side to the story. While many of us who love cosplay always try something different and unique in events, bullying is very common in the world of cosplay. Cosplayers pour their precious hours and hard-earned money for the character -- The lenses, the makeup, the wigs, the dress, and the props. While the cosplayers try to bring the best of the characters, certain groups of people within or out of the cosplay culture are quite abusive. They are incapable of comprehending the concept of inclusiveness and fail to understand the fact that cosplay has no right or wrong.

Say No to racism in the world of cosplay:

Cosplay is for everyone and it does not belong to any sect, race, or religion. One of the worst forms of bullying is racism in the cosplay community. The bullies deliberately shame people for their skin color for being in the different shades in contract to the characters. They try to make the cosplayer feel bad in such a way that the only option left for them is to feel embarrassed and start to question themselves as if they really have done something wrong. One of the fellow cosplayers “Krissy Victory” got bullied in the same vicious manner, but she made those malicious comments to her strengths and said in her interview “Through the cloud of hate there were people there telling me to push forward”.

Source: instagram/krissyvictoryy

Say NO to body shaming in the world of cosplay:

Constructive criticism is a good thing and is always welcome, but criticizing people for their body type is one boring, spiteful and uncivilized thing to do in the cosplay world. Bulliers try to degrade cosplayers on their physical appearance for not being in the exact shape of the character. People try to shame them as “You are too fat to be a princess” or “How can a cow be a princess?”. Cosplay is all about showing the look to the world, but when cosplayers get these types of remarks, it can definitely hurt their self-esteem too. But let’s get one thing straight: everybody of all shape, size, figure, skin tone or gender can cosplay whoever they want or like.

Source: Instagram/thefatpunkartistry

Stop costume shaming in cosplay:

working to put a complete look together for them to look stunning on. It always happens that the cosplayer would go out of budget to buy the expensive costume or simply want to be creative through the means the characters have. Bullies pass remarks for the color of the costume being in the wrong shade or the hair being in the wrong style. We often heard comments like “hey is this even a costume?”  “ this hat does not exactly go with the character” or “You cannot buy the costume then why are you calling yourself a fan”. Encourage people if they are making their costumes from the scratch because throwing a hefty amount of budget on costume or wearing the exact costume is not the only way to show a cosplayer’s respect to the characters.  

How to overcome it?

Bullying exists in several forms and they are definitely uncalled for. It can ruin a person’s personality and some are life-changing. Cosplay bullying is nothing new to the industry and we can say that bullies are everywhere. The bullies are simply jealous because they are not different or they simply cannot be like the targets of their bullying. The remarks are really brutal but if a victim stops cosplaying then the beginners would also be scared and back off. You can always make a destructive criticism into something constructive like you can always diffuse the situation, leave the area, report if it is online or turn around with a smile and give them a shut-up call because what people think or talk about you is none of your concern. Nobody can stop you from loving you. If you feel physically threatened, do not waste a minute to call your local police. Harassment is harassment and should NEVER be tolerated in any form.

How anti-bullying organizations rise up and help:

There are always people who are willing to take a step forward to stop cosplay bullying. There are several organizations, communities, and social media groups that have come up with ideas for tackling the problem of bullying. McConnell founded the Facebook initiative “Heroes United Against Cosplay Bullying” in March 2014,  and about 12,000 people have already joined up till now. Many cosplayers back off due to the backlash but after entering into these groups, they are back to the game. “I wanted to create a community where people could come and know that they would have the support and that they would be protected”, said McConnell.

PsEYEche is with you: 

PsEYEche isa place with colors, fun, and ideas where you can feel safe and secure. PsEYEche can help you achieve the character with creative, stylish, funky, and geeky yet so comfortable colored lenses. We are here to make you feel more empowered because you cosplay the crap out of your favorite character. No one is going to judge or tell you that you're in the wrong shape, size, color, or aren't accurate enough because we do not believe right or wrong when it comes to dressing up and have fun. So just pick your favorite character and make it more interesting through your different ideas.