What is a cosplayer? If you are unsure of what a cosplayer is, be sure to tune into the Black Girl Nerds podcast tonight at 8pm EST to find out more! If you don't get the opportunity to catch the live show tonight, but would still like to know then keep reading...we will clue you in!
A cosplayer is the portmanteau term for "costume play". It is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea from a work of fiction. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play (e.g., Sailor Moon characters). Cosplayers dress up as various characters such as comic book superheroes, anime characters, as well as iconic film and TV personalities.
Chaka Cumberbatch wrote one of the most profound articles I have seen on the net about black cosplayers in February of this year on XO Jane. The name of the article was aptly titled:
I'm A Black Female Cosplayer and Some People Hate It
The article received a massive amount of retweets from blerds everywhere loudly declaring "Amen!" and "Yes Girl!". Finally, a cosplayer of color was willing to step up and speak out about the atrocities and judgement of being a cosplayer while black. Some cases may be less extreme than others, but lets face it, there is some bitter criticism when it comes to being a black cosplayer.
Tonight Chaka will speak to BGN and discuss why she loves the art of cosplay and what has happened since the article was published.
Chaka Cumberbatch is a freelance journalist, anime brand manager and superhero cosplayer based in Dallas-Fort Worth. A girl detective to the core, she is always hunting down her next story - and working on her next costume. Her work, which often zeroes in on social, race, gender and sexuality issues within the geek community, has been published on sites including XOJane.com, TheMarySue.com and NerdCaliber.com, where she moonlights as a contributing writer. You can find her tweeting about comic books, drag queens, superheroes and more at @princessology or on Facebook at Princess Mentality Cosplay
http://www.facebook.com/PrincessMentalityCosplay
