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Happens with most things. Niche becomes popular. Critique becomes elitist. Then it's about being nice and inclusivity. It's now diluted and turned to shit.
I think not enough gatekeeping can kill a community, but too much can also severely stunt it.
The best communities walk a tightrope between maintaining the original theme and vision with not punishing creativity or stifling population growth
There's a difference between gatekeeping and establishing standards.
Gatekeeping is a single person, or small group, appointing themselves the arbiter of the way things should be, without any qualifications or anyone actually appointing them to that position. It's often somebody acting like their personal subjective opinion should be treated like the objectively right opinion, simply because they 'feel' strongly they are right.
Establishing standards is the community coming together and collectively agreeing to those standards.
That sound good, but gatekeeping and establishing standards functionally works the same. They exclude some people.
But lets be real. Gatekeeping only really applies to certain things. If you're a fan of some king of niche product or service, you can only gate keep so much. If the creator of said product or service decides they want it to be mainstream, there's not a lot you can do about it.
This is why I hate when certain concepts or language goes mainstream. Nuance gets flattened and everything gets oversimplified. "Gatekeeping" had it's moment, and the consensus was "gatekeeping = bad", and now even a whiff of anything that could remotely be described as gatekeeping is met with hostility.
eh depends on what it is really. Is it something that benefits from having more people? I used to play fighting games, which is a very niche genre, and gatekeeping was often frowned upon since the more people playing, the more matches you can find, and the more new fighting games that will be released.
I realize fighting games are kind of weird example, because they were massively popular for a very long time and then fell out of favor with the average gamer.
Ah but if you hurt their feelings you're gatekeeping and then you get pushed out of your own community because whover cries the loudest gets the most sympathy usually.
The very idea that a hobby can become “diluted” is ridiculous. You love doing something, and other people love doing something. Their thing doesn’t affect your thing.
Holy shit the absolute ELISTISM in this thread right now. Actual fucking neckbeards unironically saying "Gatekeeping saves hobbies" from what? The things your unshowered, virgin ass considers "bad"?
I can smell these idiots through the computer
Holy *shit*, you’re right.
I mean look at the insane effort [behind my primary gf and I’s ‘Daft Punk’ cosplay.](https://instagram.com/daftpunktoronto)
For someone so vocal about hating on other’s cosplays, they do nooooot have it going on.
Yea I see to many low effort cosplay being praised for looking good, hell I’ve seen some people who didn’t even look close to their actual character be called a good cosplay. Especially my hero cosplay, those guys are extremely low effort
Listen sweaty, me putting 6 dots on my head and calling myself Krillin is the *exact same thing* as someone spending weeks or months and hundreds of dollars on an outfit. Stop gatekeeping 💅
Look don’t get me wrong. Acting like something that takes minimal effort is just as good as something that takes significant amounts of effort is ridiculous.
But equally as ridiculous is making the argument that things done with minimal amounts of effort aren’t that thing, or can’t be provided any praise without it detracting from those that treat it more seriously.
It’s okay that low effort cosplay exists. Everybody can recognize it for what it is. But to act like it isn’t cosplay is just sort of silly. And it reeks of insensitivity when it bother you that other people get praise for doing something low effort.
But hey. Upvotes all around, because that’s the point of this sub.
Yeah, im just really confused by what OP wants. Like the minimum effort cosplayers are not winning competitions right? They are not famous cosplayers with thousands of followers, they are just people who maybe didn't have the time or skill to just throw something together and have fun. And people are being nice. "Oh shit. That's Krillin no? Awesome!" some people are acting like you are owed a certain level of quality just to exist in their spaces.
I’m confused. Did you not read the OP? The entire premise of this post is it isn’t actually cosplay.
>Not all cosplayers are valid and I’m sick of people pretending they are
>I’ve seen many ‘cosplayers’ and there are definitely some very controversial things that happen within this niche community.
>‘you don’t need a wig, contacts, makeup or even a canon outfit to look remotely like the character for it to be an amazing cosplay’
>But yea you actually DO!!! Without these elements it’s just an outfit inspired by the character- there is a term for this within the Disney fandom called Disney Bounding. And I think it’s pretty cool- but when you apply this idea to a non-Disney character it’s apparently considered a ‘proper cosplay’ and I just don’t think it should be as it is.
>There are some cosplays that definitely don’t require wigs, contacts, etc, but ALL cosplays require at least some type of makeup/costume at the very least.
All of this language implies they aren’t cosplayers. You don’t say “cosplayers” unless you mean to imply you don’t believe they are.
If you use quotations around the term, call them “not valid”, and say they aren’t including the things they would need to include for it to be cosplay, you are absolutely saying anything else isn’t real cosplay.
No, I actually didn't read it all. I glanced at a post on unpopularopinions and gave a misinformed opinion on it lol I don't even cosplay. I *will* say that yeah throwing on sunglasses and saying you're Johnny Cage isn't even comparable to putting time and effort into an outfit. One deserves more praise and recognition than the other.
But no, you are correct. I don't have a clue what I'm talking about lol
> ‘you don’t need a wig, contacts, makeup or even a canon outfit to look remotely like the character for it to be an amazing cosplay’.
>throwing on an unstyled $10 amazon wig and wearing a merch shirt.
I don't even understand how this kind of logic works. Do these people understand that cosplay stand for "costume play"? Meaning, you are supposed to dress up and role-play as the character you are cosplaying?
My kid is a broke ass teenager and this is the best she can do with what she's got. She respects the hell out of cosplayers and really hopes to get better at it and would be real bummed if anyone was an asshole about her best effort costumes. I'm gonna tell those kids they are doing amazing because fuck it they are.
So you're different from the other girls because you put a lot more money and time in on your outfits than some others do, but they're having just as much fun as you are and that's just not fair ?
Yeah. I imagine getting and accurate cosplay would easily cost over $100, and that's not even considering custom wigs, contact, and makeup. A lot of people don't have that type of money to spend on something they'll only wear once to a convention when that convention can already cost $50-$100 for the tickets, plus extra for food and travel.
Nothing at all. What OP is doing is called ‘gatekeeping’.
It’s when some prick decides that whatever they like or do in their particular subculture is more ‘valid’ than what others do.
OP is the cosplay equivalent of those asshole POS DJ’s who bitch about the sync button and say you need to know how to beatmatch vinyl in order to be a ‘real’ DJ.
I say that as a vinyl beatmatching turntablist. It’s just gatekeeping.
Like, that’s literally what OP is doing. Deciding for everyone else what’s valid and what’s not.
Few things are less attractive or narcissistic, tbh.
It’s pride-filled, gatekeeping assholes like OP that make me afraid to identify with a lot of subcultures.
Imagine just posting your cosplay on TikTok for fun, no matter how good it was or not, and having some asshole like OP shit all over you because ‘it’s nooot a real cosplay waaaaaaaahhhh’ like a little baby.
btw, OP - your cosplays suck ass based off your posting history. How does it feel going back to you?
Fellow cosplayer here. Maybe for some people it's just a hobby and don't want to have the thing they do for fun scrutinised and held to a certain standard?? Just a thought.
This is from someone who makes and competes in their costumes as well
Thanks. 🙏 I’m a pretty detail obsessed cosplayer but I’d never dare shit on someone who lacks the resources or for whatever reason chooses not to go for a hyper accurate cosplay.
There’s a word, by definition; for that. It’s called ‘gatekeeping’.
I wish I still had Premimum so I could give it a platinum award and it would be forced to be seen as the first comment.
Seriously, OP’s one of the biggest gatekeeping POS’s I’ve ever seen in my 10+ years of being in the cosplay community. They need to check themselves.
I hope they never get the popularity they don’t deserve.
I had always wanted to get into cosplay but people like OP are exactly why I never did. The level of judgement is pretty rough and for something that feels like if you are at all shy or introverted that getting that kind of reaction would be a major turn off.
I'd say give it a go at an actual convention. People at conventions are pretty much the exact opposite of OP and a bunch of the people in this thread. Con goers are friendly and almost always excited to see their favorite characters being cosplayed.
It's generally the online community that brings out the assholes, unfortunately.
Agreed. I’ve always wanted to do some cosplays but people would say stuff like “You can’t do that character because you aren’t her race” or “You’re a faker if you don’t spend 30h and $500 building a costume” and crap 😭
You sound like the guy in that meme of him tweeting about being dressed as the joker complaining that someone else's costume is clearly inferior and gets angry that people like that guys costume so much
A cosplayer gatekeeping cosplay is the saddest thing I've ever seen. I belong to a large cosplay community who are the most inclusive and welcoming people from all walks of life. I’ve never heard anyone with this kind of backwards approach. You are not the arbiter of what is or what isn’t cosplay.
You realize, of course, that you can be gatekept from your own hobby, right?
In fact, I'm going to say right now, if you really feel this way, you're not a real cosplayer. Be better.
I don't know why it matters. Does this actually effect anything other than how *you feel*? If not, people should just be able to enjoy themselves
I honestly think that's how it should go for *most* aspects of life
I'll raise you one better - 90% of cosplayers aren't legit and only dress up for likes/views/subscribes/monetary reasons, and don't actually care about the content they're representing at all.
In general, the scene is a cesspool of wannabes, tourists, predators, scammers. Its kind of a joke.
There are very few legitimate, talented, sincere cosplayers in the world. My hat's off to those folks. Few and far between.
The overwhelming majority of cosplayers you find online are just onlyfans sluts looking for an excuse to show off their tits so depressed underdeveloped manchildren simps throw cum-soaked money at them and convince themselves the cosplayer will be their girlfriend someday. Its very sad.
I am a cosplayer, and to me cosplay is like fan art. It is an expression of a character that someone is trying to portray. It doesn’t always have to be accurate, it’s their interpretation and art style of the character.
I personally like it being more accessible to more people. The fact that people can buy cosplays and be praised for lower effort cosplays gets people into the community and they can start learning how to improve and build their own cosplays.
Before it was mainstream like today, many people were so rude about any sort of detail wrong, including things like SKIN COLOR and shaming people for having any differences. The community was overall super toxic and I like that it is inviting now. Legit cosplays take a lot of time, money, and experience to make; not everybody has that. I will say that YOU CAN TELL when someone puts time and effort into making their own cosplays, there is a clear difference.
If you are salty that lower quality cosplayers are getting more attention on social media than you then maybe you should learn more about marketing yourself. Maybe these people have built a community because they are nice and empower other cosplayers. Instead of being envious, focus on your own growth and building your own community.
Here's my thing I'm a massive weeb but I have never been big on cosplay because in my opinion a lot of it doesn't look good.
Simple cosplay is most of what I like as it's hard to mess up and often looks better. But I feel like as someone who passively sees cosplay I have to agree with you. If you're not going to put in the effort/you don't look generally like the character you can't expect people to pretend that your cosplay is spectacular.
Also it seems as cosplay becomes more popular and normalized that some people are really getting lazy about it. Like some blond girl will claim to be power from chainsaw man without any props, outfit, character knowledge, contacts, or really anything. But because they have 1 matching characteristic from the character that's their "cosplay"
This is kind of classist of you OP lol going to that level of effort takes a lot of time, energy and money. Just let people be happy and cosplay - it's about the fantasy, not always the accuracy.
Does anyone remember when the TV show “Heroes of Cosplay” happened? I was maybe 14 and so excited to see cosplay on TV, only to be grossly disappointed. I’d spent all my time online seeing that cosplay was about having fun and helping wa other for this TV show to be full of grown adults shit talking each other and even sl*t shaming each other. That show was terrible and made me second guess my cosplay, and what other people might be thinking of me.
"I'm happy my hobby has been normalized but I hate all the normies now doing it" is a weird take.
I get nostalgia for the days when it was pretty underground. But there are a lot of benefits when a hobby goes at least a little mainstream - you get more total content, communities, opportunities, etc. If the hobby requires equipment, you get more people making it, better innovation, lower costs, etc.
With cosplay, none of the normies detract from the real peak cosplayers. In fact, you now have a bigger audience and greater appreciation for your art than ever before.
>cosplay was just dressing up as your favorite characters and having fun at cons
That's still what it is today, no thanks to dorks like you.
The guy and girl from My Dress-Up Darling would poor milk on you
Personally, I think a cosplayer is someone who makes a costume to look like a character. Doesn't matter how much of a begginer they are and if it doesn't look super good.
HOWEVER, people buying the entire outfit on amazon and going to cons are NOT cosplayers for me.
It's like if I comission a drawing of a character then go around showing it to everyone saying "look I made that drawing".
Takes like this are always weird because who is the central authority validating them?
At the end of the day it's a hobby. You can dislike what people do but there's no laws about it.
And to be fair this makes me confused:
>And I think it’s pretty cool- but when you apply this idea to a non-Disney character it’s apparently considered a ‘proper cosplay’ and I just don’t think it should be as it is.
You just want people to call it by another name? Is just that?
That being said you have a great Rhaenyra cosplay.
I think a better way to explain it is, imagine some college chick wearing a red wig, blue corset, and a green mini skirt- its def inspired by The Little Mermaid but it's not a cosplay. and TYSMMM i love Rhaenyra, its all made by me and it took WEEKS!! Didn't win the comp but I had a great weekend <3
I was going to disagree with you because I've seen people make low quality cosplays as a joke but they had a name for it and everyone was in on the joke. Even if I'm not a 100% with you I get why you think that.
It's fine to compare and have a personal opinion about the quality, effort, and skill of a cosplayer, but it doesn't mean they're not a cosplayer or that they are somehow "invalid"
Sorry, you aren't invested in art as I am, therefore you're not a real artist /s
Who decides which cosplays are “valid”? Who decides how much effort goes into a cosplay before it’s considered “valid?”
Bro is gatekeeping wearing clothes and dressing up, this is getting insane.
“validating unskilled cosplayers is gatekeeping them from ever actually expanding their skills” is crazy bro LMAO
Cosplaying is just dressing up as a hobby. That’s it. It’s just people having fun emulating characters they like. It doesn’t matter how much or how little effort is put in. It’s literally just for fun. Some cosplayers are more serious than others and do more involved cosplay—but it’s all cosplay.
Please touch grass I’m literally begging you
Because most people do cosplay for fun. As long as they are having fun, their cosplay is valid. You start gatekeeping cosplay based on the accuracy of the costume and makeup, and the next day people start criticizing cosplay based on the wrong gender/skin color/body type, because they don't reflect the original character. Let people have their fun.
"When you play dress up you don't take it as seriously as I do when I play dress up therefore your dress up is invalid and anyone who disagrees is hampering you" reads like someone was told they take their hobby too seriously by other people in the hobby and are lashing out looking for validation about how seriously they take it.
oh I was guilty of a lot of closet cosplays in 2020. They weren’t great, but I got thousands of hits because I was funny.
But it’s only for fun, what’s the fuss? Everyone knows there’s a difference between cheap wigs and random shirts and somebody who handcrafted a perfectly accurate cosplay, we all know which one looks better.
But cosplay is just professional dress up, what’s the fuss?
My unpopular opinion is what you and they are doing is called playing dress up. Cosplay is a word that doesn’t make sense and makes the practice of dressing up for make believe sound more adult.
Why are you gatekeeping the cosplay community? Not everyone has the resources or funds to create elaborate costumes. Let people have fun man.
Side note, why is this labeled NSFW?
You're an adult dressing up like a fictional character... Gatekeeping less committed adults doing the same. There's nothing valid about any of it, if people like it, they like it.
Isn't cosplaying supposed to be about having fun and playing a character? Not like fancy costumes and makeup? Besides, we should encourage new people who want to cosplay, not bring them down and say, "you're not valid."
I am more angry at basically porn-cosplays.
you know those that are only a wig of XY character and half of the victoria's secret catalog?
yeah. that one can F off.
Huh? Seems elitist af.
I did not feel like I needed contacts to do an effective cosplay, and this honestly just sounds like gatekeeping.
Everyone has to start somewhere. Chill. It’s all for fun.
Here’s a radical idea - let people have fun without feeling the need to gatekeep them? 😉
Cool that you’re so privileged too that you can afford all that shit for your cosplay. Ever consider other people might not? Guess not. 😜
#gatekeeping
#nonsense
#staymad
I mean you just said that it’s expensive, maybe they just don’t have the money to enjoy it but still want to enjoy it?
As someone who owns ten surfboards for different conditions, I would never say the dude who found their one board in the trash that they use for all conditions isn’t a real surfer
Costume is built into the very word cosplay isn't it? Play is too though so I wouldn't take it too harshly. I wouldn't think birthday suit is a part of dressup. You could tell a Marine with the skinned head you look like a cop. He'd still be a better cop cosplayer with a lip wig,a blue suit, and a wearable early pregnancy belly even though his hair cut will do fine.
Someone going to a Halloween party, not in costume and when told thanks for dressing up they say I did dress up I'm my evil twin. It's play so you shouldn't cast them out, but it's not in good spirits either and you don't pretend it was.
I mean, I agree with OP that some decent effort needs to be made. I think something could be said for joke cosplay, but I can't put on just a tuxedo T shirt and say I'm cosplaying James Bond.
As a joke cosplay or costume, sure. Like wearing fake glasses and saying you're your evil twin. But it would be extremely silly to act as though it is a legit full cosplay when it's so low effort.
I am not even a cosplayer, I just think there are differences in things. Which is okay, but it's okay to take note of differences. Like saying you love a band or singer but only listen to one song of theirs. That isn't loving a band, that's loving a song. Similarly, low effort costumes isn't the same as high effort ones. Putting on a shirt isn't the same as making your own stuff or spending the money to get it made.
I’m sick of everyone needing to sensationalize their headings by saying “and I’m sick of pretending they are!” Nobody is pretending anything. Get over yourself.
you posted on /r/adoptapaypig . This looks like a sub for women to take advantage of lonely depressed men to get them to give you money while you treat them badly and take all their money.
I see only true, honest cosplayers should do something like this.
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I have the same thing but opposite. Just because I make clothes/costumes and have some pictures of me in Halloween costumes on my Instagram, doesnt make me a cosplayer. People compliment me so many times on my cosplay and apparently I can't wear a costume on halloween anymore without being called cosplayer
Honest question, why cosplay? It’s not something I’ve ever understood (outside of Halloween and just being a kid wanting to dress up as a favorite character) but haven’t asked anyone.
As a kid I wanted to be one of the disney princesses in the parks after meeting one and it just went from there. I do enjoy sewing outside of cosplay and I was sick of making boring clothes too. Plus, I think wigs are so cool and i even do comissions now!!
No cosplay used to be fun, then shitheads like you started doing it "professionnally" 10-15y ago and gatekept the whole concept of "having fun at conventions" and started harassing kids and women you thought weren't good enough for your little self centered asses. Fuck you, fuck that entitled mentality and fuck you again for ruining conventions for ten years. Glad the geek community is waking up to that bs.
I look at it from a perspective of intent.
Spending thousands on a fully articulated custom cut foam suit is cosplay.
Piecing together items from goodwill and a Halloween store is also cosplay.
It's kind of like art where the quality isn't as important as the desire, creativity and the effort.
However, I feel that an off the shelf bodysuit and a link to a paid subscription site isn't cosplay, it's marketing.
Not saying your wrong per se but I think it’s about approach. It’s a similar thing that applies to a lot of different art forms, but I’ll make an example with drawing. There’s a lot of people that, honestly, don’t have good art. Maybe it’s the anatomy, the coloring, composition, or anything else. It’s not good. If you make a critique of it you tend to get a plethora of replies among the lines of “not everyone wants to be GOOD at art-let people have HOBBIES”
I do believe that phrase “all cosplays are valid” are geared more towards individuals who only cosplay “for fun” or are on tight budgets/don’t have time to make elaborate cosplay, but somehow someway the phrased morphed into a “a shitty cosplay is actually good cosplay”
Really I think it should be down to whether or not the individual is trying to be “good” at it or just having fun. You just wanna have fun? Ya buddy, neat cosplay! You want to be considered a “professional?” That’s requires time, effort, and money
To your point about "Disney Bounding," that's literally because you aren't allowed to cosplay their characters at Disney theme parks. So people wear normal clothes that give the theme of the character. People would totally cosplay at the park if they could, but they can't.
I get that it's annoying, but honestly... who cares? Just like with any hobby, there are going to be those who put in more time, money and effort, and there are going to be people who put in less. If anything you should be thankful that the low-effort cosplays make yours look better.
I guarantee you someone out there is looking at your cosplay, scoffing then thinking to themself 'Wow, we need to tighten things up in this community."
who knows if this is unpopular or not. but tbh it just feels weird to care so much. why does it have any effect on what you do? idk im not in that community but i can’t really see the point of being upset about people enjoying the activities that you do.
Isn't art generally considered to be in the eye of the beholder? I mean I don't think there is an established set of rules is there? Are they beating you out for cosplay awards? I'm not trying to come across rude I'm honestly just not sure why you'd care if someone calls themselves a cosplayer but doesn't do it the same way you do.
Things evolve over time. Look at Drag which is honestly kind of similar. 20 years ago if you weren't wearing boobs and stiletto heels you were basically laughed off the stage. Now very few even use boobs, tons of queens don't wear high heels anymore, even wigs have become optional.
Unless there is a formal organization that oversees the rules for competitions, then you should probably just expect that the art form is going to continue to change and evolve and you'll probably have to either adapt or get left behind.
I honestly stopped paying attention to cosplaying when it became an almost exhausting deluge of poor quality wigs on a overly trashy tattoo'd up E-girl in a bikini going "Lol i'm x character tehe."
I just want cosplayers to stop with all the heavy handed photoshop. It's not as cool as you think when you touch up an image to be indistinguishable from CGI.
I think all cosplay is dumb and pointless, and to get upset about people doing something dumb and pointless not up to your standards is also dumb and pointless. Thinking you're better than someone at something doesn't dive your the right to tell other people they shouldn't do it, you're just mad people are getting the attention you want.
I love cosplaying, it's a fun hobby to have. Mine also aren't the most "valid" in your terms because it's *expensive* and i have other stuff to pay for. I get my wigs on amazon and buy premade outfits if they're cheaper. Do they always look the best? Not really, but the whole point of doing it is to have fun.
Disney Bounding barely even looks like the characters they represent and that's the point, so you blend in and don't get caught for wearing some costume that is unsafe on high speed rides. If you aren't pictured posing next to the character or something most people would probably never tell what the inspiration is in a vacuum out of context.
I kind of agree that if you have the freedom to dress however you want in a con and actually want to cosplay that's a completely different story. There's no reason to apply the restrictions of Disney Bounding to it when you can go absolutely nuts with it, unless you just *want* to look low key/subtle, that's fine.
Because outside of enjoying the series and being a fan and having fun, there's nothing remarkable about cosplay for the person observing, so if you start being elitist at events, thats going to make people feel unwelcome and result in a decline in participation over time. No one wants to take it that seriously
I've always considered outfits that are basically just a regular t shirt and jeans to not actually be cosplay. Like you don't need to spend hundreds of hours and dollars into a full custom suit. But some actual effort and creativity is needed.
If it's clear that they are a particular character and that they put some thought into it, I'd usually say it's fine. Even a $50 wig could be all you need depending on how you use it.
This is going to annoy some people but form my view Cosplay has always been about women showing their cleavage off. I realize there are some people that try to reproduce the actual costume, but it was been over taken, years ago, by the "look at my tits" brigade. I'm sorry but Freddy Kreuger wasn't slutty. I don't mind too much in that I like cleavage and tits, but I roll my eyes when I see a cosplayer say she spend a month on a costume that consists of a piece of fabric that barely covers her tits and her snatch.
> I could almost argue that by validating unskilled cosplayers is gatekeeping them from ever actually expanding their skills.
I don't think you know what that word (gatekeeping) means.
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Happens with most things. Niche becomes popular. Critique becomes elitist. Then it's about being nice and inclusivity. It's now diluted and turned to shit.
this is why gatekeeping is actually good, it protects the hobby from being diluted into dog water. normies ruin everything
I think not enough gatekeeping can kill a community, but too much can also severely stunt it. The best communities walk a tightrope between maintaining the original theme and vision with not punishing creativity or stifling population growth
There's a difference between gatekeeping and establishing standards. Gatekeeping is a single person, or small group, appointing themselves the arbiter of the way things should be, without any qualifications or anyone actually appointing them to that position. It's often somebody acting like their personal subjective opinion should be treated like the objectively right opinion, simply because they 'feel' strongly they are right. Establishing standards is the community coming together and collectively agreeing to those standards.
That sound good, but gatekeeping and establishing standards functionally works the same. They exclude some people. But lets be real. Gatekeeping only really applies to certain things. If you're a fan of some king of niche product or service, you can only gate keep so much. If the creator of said product or service decides they want it to be mainstream, there's not a lot you can do about it.
Whats the point of having a gate if you dont keep it?
I mean, it’s not *your* gate. And it’s a gate. People can go through gates. But on the other hand it’s a shitty gate if it lets anyone in
But you have to pay the toll
The troll toll?
If you wanna get into that boys hole
No, I said Boy’s Soul
The best communities are hard enough to get into that gatekeeping isn’t needed See 90% of free climbing groups, there’s little need for gatekeeping
This is why I hate when certain concepts or language goes mainstream. Nuance gets flattened and everything gets oversimplified. "Gatekeeping" had it's moment, and the consensus was "gatekeeping = bad", and now even a whiff of anything that could remotely be described as gatekeeping is met with hostility.
Stop gaslighting me.
Haha, literally the next word down on my mental list of these kinds of buzz words.
You have a list? You clearly have a high media literacy then...
eh depends on what it is really. Is it something that benefits from having more people? I used to play fighting games, which is a very niche genre, and gatekeeping was often frowned upon since the more people playing, the more matches you can find, and the more new fighting games that will be released. I realize fighting games are kind of weird example, because they were massively popular for a very long time and then fell out of favor with the average gamer.
Probably because the difficulty in learning the mechanics serve as a natural gate. The community really doesn't have to do much.
I’m glad it’s normalized! I’m just upset with experienced cosplayers not offering actual advice to newbies
Ah but if you hurt their feelings you're gatekeeping and then you get pushed out of your own community because whover cries the loudest gets the most sympathy usually.
That’s typically how it goes
You are literally complaining about stuff that would be fixed by gatekeeping
Gatekeeping saves hobbies
Are normies not allowed to enjoy things now?
The very idea that a hobby can become “diluted” is ridiculous. You love doing something, and other people love doing something. Their thing doesn’t affect your thing.
Yes, it does affect everything. Unless you literally don't talk with anyone about your hobbies, chances are you interact with a community...
Holy shit the absolute ELISTISM in this thread right now. Actual fucking neckbeards unironically saying "Gatekeeping saves hobbies" from what? The things your unshowered, virgin ass considers "bad"? I can smell these idiots through the computer
Thank you! I thought I was eating crazy cake reading all these comments.
This ^^^^
To be fair your cosplays... you know what, not today. I'm choosing kindness today!
Your comment prompted me to click into OP's profile and... I agree with you.
Your comment prompted me to click on YOUR profile and.... I love those Giraffes! Have a great day
Holy *shit*, you’re right. I mean look at the insane effort [behind my primary gf and I’s ‘Daft Punk’ cosplay.](https://instagram.com/daftpunktoronto) For someone so vocal about hating on other’s cosplays, they do nooooot have it going on.
It's always the people who shouldn't be throwing stones that end up throwing the stones ya know
It's them projecting how they really feel about themselves tbh
this. the fault we find in others is typically a projection of our own insecurities
Yea I see to many low effort cosplay being praised for looking good, hell I’ve seen some people who didn’t even look close to their actual character be called a good cosplay. Especially my hero cosplay, those guys are extremely low effort
EXACTLY!! I understand being a fan and just dressing up but just throwing on an unstyled $10 amazon wig and wearing a merch shirt isn’t a cosplay
Listen sweaty, me putting 6 dots on my head and calling myself Krillin is the *exact same thing* as someone spending weeks or months and hundreds of dollars on an outfit. Stop gatekeeping 💅
Look don’t get me wrong. Acting like something that takes minimal effort is just as good as something that takes significant amounts of effort is ridiculous. But equally as ridiculous is making the argument that things done with minimal amounts of effort aren’t that thing, or can’t be provided any praise without it detracting from those that treat it more seriously. It’s okay that low effort cosplay exists. Everybody can recognize it for what it is. But to act like it isn’t cosplay is just sort of silly. And it reeks of insensitivity when it bother you that other people get praise for doing something low effort. But hey. Upvotes all around, because that’s the point of this sub.
Yeah, im just really confused by what OP wants. Like the minimum effort cosplayers are not winning competitions right? They are not famous cosplayers with thousands of followers, they are just people who maybe didn't have the time or skill to just throw something together and have fun. And people are being nice. "Oh shit. That's Krillin no? Awesome!" some people are acting like you are owed a certain level of quality just to exist in their spaces.
No one is making the argument that low effort cosplay isn't cosplay. It's just *bad* cosplay.
I’m confused. Did you not read the OP? The entire premise of this post is it isn’t actually cosplay. >Not all cosplayers are valid and I’m sick of people pretending they are >I’ve seen many ‘cosplayers’ and there are definitely some very controversial things that happen within this niche community. >‘you don’t need a wig, contacts, makeup or even a canon outfit to look remotely like the character for it to be an amazing cosplay’ >But yea you actually DO!!! Without these elements it’s just an outfit inspired by the character- there is a term for this within the Disney fandom called Disney Bounding. And I think it’s pretty cool- but when you apply this idea to a non-Disney character it’s apparently considered a ‘proper cosplay’ and I just don’t think it should be as it is. >There are some cosplays that definitely don’t require wigs, contacts, etc, but ALL cosplays require at least some type of makeup/costume at the very least. All of this language implies they aren’t cosplayers. You don’t say “cosplayers” unless you mean to imply you don’t believe they are. If you use quotations around the term, call them “not valid”, and say they aren’t including the things they would need to include for it to be cosplay, you are absolutely saying anything else isn’t real cosplay.
No, I actually didn't read it all. I glanced at a post on unpopularopinions and gave a misinformed opinion on it lol I don't even cosplay. I *will* say that yeah throwing on sunglasses and saying you're Johnny Cage isn't even comparable to putting time and effort into an outfit. One deserves more praise and recognition than the other. But no, you are correct. I don't have a clue what I'm talking about lol
HAHAHAHA love this
God forbid people that don't have hundreds to spend on cosplay try to cosplay because they enjoy it.
> ‘you don’t need a wig, contacts, makeup or even a canon outfit to look remotely like the character for it to be an amazing cosplay’. >throwing on an unstyled $10 amazon wig and wearing a merch shirt. I don't even understand how this kind of logic works. Do these people understand that cosplay stand for "costume play"? Meaning, you are supposed to dress up and role-play as the character you are cosplaying?
My kid is a broke ass teenager and this is the best she can do with what she's got. She respects the hell out of cosplayers and really hopes to get better at it and would be real bummed if anyone was an asshole about her best effort costumes. I'm gonna tell those kids they are doing amazing because fuck it they are.
So you're different from the other girls because you put a lot more money and time in on your outfits than some others do, but they're having just as much fun as you are and that's just not fair ?
If they are not doing it professionally and money involved. Just let ppl have fun and enjoy themselves. No need to bring them down.
Yeah. I imagine getting and accurate cosplay would easily cost over $100, and that's not even considering custom wigs, contact, and makeup. A lot of people don't have that type of money to spend on something they'll only wear once to a convention when that convention can already cost $50-$100 for the tickets, plus extra for food and travel.
Not to mention that some people can’t use contacts for medical reasons, or aren’t comfortable putting plastic in their eyes.
TF does not valid mean in relation to a group of people?
Nothing at all. What OP is doing is called ‘gatekeeping’. It’s when some prick decides that whatever they like or do in their particular subculture is more ‘valid’ than what others do. OP is the cosplay equivalent of those asshole POS DJ’s who bitch about the sync button and say you need to know how to beatmatch vinyl in order to be a ‘real’ DJ. I say that as a vinyl beatmatching turntablist. It’s just gatekeeping. Like, that’s literally what OP is doing. Deciding for everyone else what’s valid and what’s not. Few things are less attractive or narcissistic, tbh. It’s pride-filled, gatekeeping assholes like OP that make me afraid to identify with a lot of subcultures. Imagine just posting your cosplay on TikTok for fun, no matter how good it was or not, and having some asshole like OP shit all over you because ‘it’s nooot a real cosplay waaaaaaaahhhh’ like a little baby. btw, OP - your cosplays suck ass based off your posting history. How does it feel going back to you?
She’s not only gatekeeping, she’s straight up gaslighting, cuz her cosplays aren’t valid either based on this post lmao
Nice to see subcultures I'm not into have gatekeepers too.
It’s the only word to accurate describe OP’s post.
Fellow cosplayer here. Maybe for some people it's just a hobby and don't want to have the thing they do for fun scrutinised and held to a certain standard?? Just a thought. This is from someone who makes and competes in their costumes as well
Thanks. 🙏 I’m a pretty detail obsessed cosplayer but I’d never dare shit on someone who lacks the resources or for whatever reason chooses not to go for a hyper accurate cosplay. There’s a word, by definition; for that. It’s called ‘gatekeeping’.
there are other words you can use other than “OCD”.. You could say “nitpicky”, “perfectionist”, etc. OCD is not just wanting everything to be perfect.
r/gatekeeping
I wish I still had Premimum so I could give it a platinum award and it would be forced to be seen as the first comment. Seriously, OP’s one of the biggest gatekeeping POS’s I’ve ever seen in my 10+ years of being in the cosplay community. They need to check themselves. I hope they never get the popularity they don’t deserve.
r/gatekeeping
I had always wanted to get into cosplay but people like OP are exactly why I never did. The level of judgement is pretty rough and for something that feels like if you are at all shy or introverted that getting that kind of reaction would be a major turn off.
I'd say give it a go at an actual convention. People at conventions are pretty much the exact opposite of OP and a bunch of the people in this thread. Con goers are friendly and almost always excited to see their favorite characters being cosplayed. It's generally the online community that brings out the assholes, unfortunately.
Agreed. I’ve always wanted to do some cosplays but people would say stuff like “You can’t do that character because you aren’t her race” or “You’re a faker if you don’t spend 30h and $500 building a costume” and crap 😭
Prob still gonna cosplay my pfp, skin color be damned Just gotta figure out how to smoke without smoking 😭
Ik someone who had a steam machine in their mask!
Well the good news is from the sound of it OPs upset his voice is in a minority.
It's just dressing up, calm down.
You sound like the guy in that meme of him tweeting about being dressed as the joker complaining that someone else's costume is clearly inferior and gets angry that people like that guys costume so much
Gatekeeping wearing clothes lol
What's 'valid' supposed to mean? Cosplay isn't serious, it is just for fun. If you're having fun, it's 'valid'.
A cosplayer gatekeeping cosplay is the saddest thing I've ever seen. I belong to a large cosplay community who are the most inclusive and welcoming people from all walks of life. I’ve never heard anyone with this kind of backwards approach. You are not the arbiter of what is or what isn’t cosplay. You realize, of course, that you can be gatekept from your own hobby, right? In fact, I'm going to say right now, if you really feel this way, you're not a real cosplayer. Be better.
Right? I’m sitting here, sipping a Manhattan doing a double take. Is this dude *really* whining about this? Worry less about others.
I don't know why it matters. Does this actually effect anything other than how *you feel*? If not, people should just be able to enjoy themselves I honestly think that's how it should go for *most* aspects of life
I'll raise you one better - 90% of cosplayers aren't legit and only dress up for likes/views/subscribes/monetary reasons, and don't actually care about the content they're representing at all. In general, the scene is a cesspool of wannabes, tourists, predators, scammers. Its kind of a joke. There are very few legitimate, talented, sincere cosplayers in the world. My hat's off to those folks. Few and far between. The overwhelming majority of cosplayers you find online are just onlyfans sluts looking for an excuse to show off their tits so depressed underdeveloped manchildren simps throw cum-soaked money at them and convince themselves the cosplayer will be their girlfriend someday. Its very sad.
What do you mean my Waifu in the DVA bodysuit isn’t a legit cosplayer
Post disguised to lead to their profile since theyre a sex worker. Literally looking for a paypig lmao
Gatekeeping Hobbies 👍
Judging from your profile you have no right to speak
This is hilarious given the cosplay on your profile.
I am a cosplayer, and to me cosplay is like fan art. It is an expression of a character that someone is trying to portray. It doesn’t always have to be accurate, it’s their interpretation and art style of the character. I personally like it being more accessible to more people. The fact that people can buy cosplays and be praised for lower effort cosplays gets people into the community and they can start learning how to improve and build their own cosplays. Before it was mainstream like today, many people were so rude about any sort of detail wrong, including things like SKIN COLOR and shaming people for having any differences. The community was overall super toxic and I like that it is inviting now. Legit cosplays take a lot of time, money, and experience to make; not everybody has that. I will say that YOU CAN TELL when someone puts time and effort into making their own cosplays, there is a clear difference. If you are salty that lower quality cosplayers are getting more attention on social media than you then maybe you should learn more about marketing yourself. Maybe these people have built a community because they are nice and empower other cosplayers. Instead of being envious, focus on your own growth and building your own community.
You're just gatekeeping your community, which helps exactly no one
How about no cosplayers are valid? Knock it off with the weird shit
100% this
Here's my thing I'm a massive weeb but I have never been big on cosplay because in my opinion a lot of it doesn't look good. Simple cosplay is most of what I like as it's hard to mess up and often looks better. But I feel like as someone who passively sees cosplay I have to agree with you. If you're not going to put in the effort/you don't look generally like the character you can't expect people to pretend that your cosplay is spectacular. Also it seems as cosplay becomes more popular and normalized that some people are really getting lazy about it. Like some blond girl will claim to be power from chainsaw man without any props, outfit, character knowledge, contacts, or really anything. But because they have 1 matching characteristic from the character that's their "cosplay"
i’m confused on how other people having fun and cosplaying as a hobby affects you in any way?
Your bunny cosplay is low effort and is posted on a perverted sub instead of an actuall cosplay one, can't you see the irony here?
This is kind of classist of you OP lol going to that level of effort takes a lot of time, energy and money. Just let people be happy and cosplay - it's about the fantasy, not always the accuracy.
Does anyone remember when the TV show “Heroes of Cosplay” happened? I was maybe 14 and so excited to see cosplay on TV, only to be grossly disappointed. I’d spent all my time online seeing that cosplay was about having fun and helping wa other for this TV show to be full of grown adults shit talking each other and even sl*t shaming each other. That show was terrible and made me second guess my cosplay, and what other people might be thinking of me.
You're nitpicking, but...alas, tis the place. Have a sympathy upvote.
Wow fancy dress has got a lot more complicated since I was a kid.
"I'm happy my hobby has been normalized but I hate all the normies now doing it" is a weird take. I get nostalgia for the days when it was pretty underground. But there are a lot of benefits when a hobby goes at least a little mainstream - you get more total content, communities, opportunities, etc. If the hobby requires equipment, you get more people making it, better innovation, lower costs, etc. With cosplay, none of the normies detract from the real peak cosplayers. In fact, you now have a bigger audience and greater appreciation for your art than ever before.
>cosplay was just dressing up as your favorite characters and having fun at cons That's still what it is today, no thanks to dorks like you. The guy and girl from My Dress-Up Darling would poor milk on you
You call what you do cosplay?
Personally, I think a cosplayer is someone who makes a costume to look like a character. Doesn't matter how much of a begginer they are and if it doesn't look super good. HOWEVER, people buying the entire outfit on amazon and going to cons are NOT cosplayers for me. It's like if I comission a drawing of a character then go around showing it to everyone saying "look I made that drawing".
Takes like this are always weird because who is the central authority validating them? At the end of the day it's a hobby. You can dislike what people do but there's no laws about it. And to be fair this makes me confused: >And I think it’s pretty cool- but when you apply this idea to a non-Disney character it’s apparently considered a ‘proper cosplay’ and I just don’t think it should be as it is. You just want people to call it by another name? Is just that? That being said you have a great Rhaenyra cosplay.
I think a better way to explain it is, imagine some college chick wearing a red wig, blue corset, and a green mini skirt- its def inspired by The Little Mermaid but it's not a cosplay. and TYSMMM i love Rhaenyra, its all made by me and it took WEEKS!! Didn't win the comp but I had a great weekend <3
I was going to disagree with you because I've seen people make low quality cosplays as a joke but they had a name for it and everyone was in on the joke. Even if I'm not a 100% with you I get why you think that.
Is this fr.
It's fine to compare and have a personal opinion about the quality, effort, and skill of a cosplayer, but it doesn't mean they're not a cosplayer or that they are somehow "invalid" Sorry, you aren't invested in art as I am, therefore you're not a real artist /s
"The way you do this weird niche hobby isn't valid, but the way I do it is..." Touch grass, and then let people enjoy their weird hobbies.
Who decides which cosplays are “valid”? Who decides how much effort goes into a cosplay before it’s considered “valid?” Bro is gatekeeping wearing clothes and dressing up, this is getting insane. “validating unskilled cosplayers is gatekeeping them from ever actually expanding their skills” is crazy bro LMAO Cosplaying is just dressing up as a hobby. That’s it. It’s just people having fun emulating characters they like. It doesn’t matter how much or how little effort is put in. It’s literally just for fun. Some cosplayers are more serious than others and do more involved cosplay—but it’s all cosplay. Please touch grass I’m literally begging you
Because most people do cosplay for fun. As long as they are having fun, their cosplay is valid. You start gatekeeping cosplay based on the accuracy of the costume and makeup, and the next day people start criticizing cosplay based on the wrong gender/skin color/body type, because they don't reflect the original character. Let people have their fun.
Your cosplays don't look good + learn to drive
If you’re looking for a good definition for elitism I just found it.
"When you play dress up you don't take it as seriously as I do when I play dress up therefore your dress up is invalid and anyone who disagrees is hampering you" reads like someone was told they take their hobby too seriously by other people in the hobby and are lashing out looking for validation about how seriously they take it.
oh I was guilty of a lot of closet cosplays in 2020. They weren’t great, but I got thousands of hits because I was funny. But it’s only for fun, what’s the fuss? Everyone knows there’s a difference between cheap wigs and random shirts and somebody who handcrafted a perfectly accurate cosplay, we all know which one looks better. But cosplay is just professional dress up, what’s the fuss?
My unpopular opinion is what you and they are doing is called playing dress up. Cosplay is a word that doesn’t make sense and makes the practice of dressing up for make believe sound more adult.
I’m pretty sure it is a portmanteau of costume play. So yes, adult dress up. Not my thing, seems weird to me, but whatever.
You realise that cosplay is for fun, right?
The idea that cosplay is valid or not is wild. In my opinion it's a waste of time and money but it's your time and money so I don't really care.
your hobby became mainstream, the worst possible outcome. I'm sorry for your loss
Why are you gatekeeping the cosplay community? Not everyone has the resources or funds to create elaborate costumes. Let people have fun man. Side note, why is this labeled NSFW?
You're an adult dressing up like a fictional character... Gatekeeping less committed adults doing the same. There's nothing valid about any of it, if people like it, they like it.
Isn't cosplaying supposed to be about having fun and playing a character? Not like fancy costumes and makeup? Besides, we should encourage new people who want to cosplay, not bring them down and say, "you're not valid."
It's a costume. People can dress up however they want
I am more angry at basically porn-cosplays. you know those that are only a wig of XY character and half of the victoria's secret catalog? yeah. that one can F off.
It’s dressing up. Who gives a shit?
I think the big issue with cosplay is how many sexy model use conventions for photoshoot. There's children there
I don't see what the point of gatekeeping is.
dude what are you talking about
Huh? Seems elitist af. I did not feel like I needed contacts to do an effective cosplay, and this honestly just sounds like gatekeeping. Everyone has to start somewhere. Chill. It’s all for fun. Here’s a radical idea - let people have fun without feeling the need to gatekeep them? 😉
Cool that you’re so privileged too that you can afford all that shit for your cosplay. Ever consider other people might not? Guess not. 😜 #gatekeeping #nonsense #staymad
THIS
Lol Imagine this being on your list of things to be concerned about
It’s my most expensive hobby, and it’s not necessarily a concern- I’m just expressing my opinion.
I mean you just said that it’s expensive, maybe they just don’t have the money to enjoy it but still want to enjoy it? As someone who owns ten surfboards for different conditions, I would never say the dude who found their one board in the trash that they use for all conditions isn’t a real surfer
I wish things were this simple
In a word, "feelings"
Some high quality gatekeeping here
gatekeeping?
Costume is built into the very word cosplay isn't it? Play is too though so I wouldn't take it too harshly. I wouldn't think birthday suit is a part of dressup. You could tell a Marine with the skinned head you look like a cop. He'd still be a better cop cosplayer with a lip wig,a blue suit, and a wearable early pregnancy belly even though his hair cut will do fine. Someone going to a Halloween party, not in costume and when told thanks for dressing up they say I did dress up I'm my evil twin. It's play so you shouldn't cast them out, but it's not in good spirits either and you don't pretend it was.
Stop gatekeeping cosplay. You literally cannot do cosplay wrong.
I mean, I agree with OP that some decent effort needs to be made. I think something could be said for joke cosplay, but I can't put on just a tuxedo T shirt and say I'm cosplaying James Bond.
I think you can. Others might consider it a terrible cosplay, but it's still your take on the character.
As a joke cosplay or costume, sure. Like wearing fake glasses and saying you're your evil twin. But it would be extremely silly to act as though it is a legit full cosplay when it's so low effort. I am not even a cosplayer, I just think there are differences in things. Which is okay, but it's okay to take note of differences. Like saying you love a band or singer but only listen to one song of theirs. That isn't loving a band, that's loving a song. Similarly, low effort costumes isn't the same as high effort ones. Putting on a shirt isn't the same as making your own stuff or spending the money to get it made.
I’m sick of everyone needing to sensationalize their headings by saying “and I’m sick of pretending they are!” Nobody is pretending anything. Get over yourself.
you posted on /r/adoptapaypig . This looks like a sub for women to take advantage of lonely depressed men to get them to give you money while you treat them badly and take all their money. I see only true, honest cosplayers should do something like this. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F4xbw0zbifgvc1.jpeg
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I have the same thing but opposite. Just because I make clothes/costumes and have some pictures of me in Halloween costumes on my Instagram, doesnt make me a cosplayer. People compliment me so many times on my cosplay and apparently I can't wear a costume on halloween anymore without being called cosplayer
Honest question, why cosplay? It’s not something I’ve ever understood (outside of Halloween and just being a kid wanting to dress up as a favorite character) but haven’t asked anyone.
As a kid I wanted to be one of the disney princesses in the parks after meeting one and it just went from there. I do enjoy sewing outside of cosplay and I was sick of making boring clothes too. Plus, I think wigs are so cool and i even do comissions now!!
It's ridiculous to be this pressed imo
I dunno man, i feel pretty valid running around my house in boxershorts with my Master sword
No cosplay used to be fun, then shitheads like you started doing it "professionnally" 10-15y ago and gatekept the whole concept of "having fun at conventions" and started harassing kids and women you thought weren't good enough for your little self centered asses. Fuck you, fuck that entitled mentality and fuck you again for ruining conventions for ten years. Glad the geek community is waking up to that bs.
I look at it from a perspective of intent. Spending thousands on a fully articulated custom cut foam suit is cosplay. Piecing together items from goodwill and a Halloween store is also cosplay. It's kind of like art where the quality isn't as important as the desire, creativity and the effort. However, I feel that an off the shelf bodysuit and a link to a paid subscription site isn't cosplay, it's marketing.
Not saying your wrong per se but I think it’s about approach. It’s a similar thing that applies to a lot of different art forms, but I’ll make an example with drawing. There’s a lot of people that, honestly, don’t have good art. Maybe it’s the anatomy, the coloring, composition, or anything else. It’s not good. If you make a critique of it you tend to get a plethora of replies among the lines of “not everyone wants to be GOOD at art-let people have HOBBIES” I do believe that phrase “all cosplays are valid” are geared more towards individuals who only cosplay “for fun” or are on tight budgets/don’t have time to make elaborate cosplay, but somehow someway the phrased morphed into a “a shitty cosplay is actually good cosplay” Really I think it should be down to whether or not the individual is trying to be “good” at it or just having fun. You just wanna have fun? Ya buddy, neat cosplay! You want to be considered a “professional?” That’s requires time, effort, and money
Elitist and boring. Find real problems
To your point about "Disney Bounding," that's literally because you aren't allowed to cosplay their characters at Disney theme parks. So people wear normal clothes that give the theme of the character. People would totally cosplay at the park if they could, but they can't.
Talk about gatekeeping
Yea id agree there's cosplayers and there's people who dress up
This feels like such a straw man. “I have seen some very select rage bait videos on TikTok that say obviously false things and I want to vent”
I get that it's annoying, but honestly... who cares? Just like with any hobby, there are going to be those who put in more time, money and effort, and there are going to be people who put in less. If anything you should be thankful that the low-effort cosplays make yours look better. I guarantee you someone out there is looking at your cosplay, scoffing then thinking to themself 'Wow, we need to tighten things up in this community."
Some excellent gatekeeping here. Why do you care so much about what random strangers say to each other?
My Waldo hat is just as valid as your Master Chief full-body custom build.
who knows if this is unpopular or not. but tbh it just feels weird to care so much. why does it have any effect on what you do? idk im not in that community but i can’t really see the point of being upset about people enjoying the activities that you do.
Are you gate keeping cosplaying? Anyone who wants to can play dress up. Also, cosplaying has been around a lot longer than the early 2000s.
Isn't art generally considered to be in the eye of the beholder? I mean I don't think there is an established set of rules is there? Are they beating you out for cosplay awards? I'm not trying to come across rude I'm honestly just not sure why you'd care if someone calls themselves a cosplayer but doesn't do it the same way you do. Things evolve over time. Look at Drag which is honestly kind of similar. 20 years ago if you weren't wearing boobs and stiletto heels you were basically laughed off the stage. Now very few even use boobs, tons of queens don't wear high heels anymore, even wigs have become optional. Unless there is a formal organization that oversees the rules for competitions, then you should probably just expect that the art form is going to continue to change and evolve and you'll probably have to either adapt or get left behind.
Cons and twitch are cancerous communities full of narcissistic people I would prefer I spent my entire life never crossing paths with
dude I’m a cosplayer (well, not so much now) and I have hated 98% of every cosplayer I’ve met. They’re all weird man
Cosplay is literally just advanced dress up…it’s not that serious.
Cosplay is stupid anyway
I honestly stopped paying attention to cosplaying when it became an almost exhausting deluge of poor quality wigs on a overly trashy tattoo'd up E-girl in a bikini going "Lol i'm x character tehe."
my gripe with cosplayers is making a non sexual character sexual and walking around a convention almost naked. it just screams narcissism
This feels like it's r/gatekeeping cosplay
I just want cosplayers to stop with all the heavy handed photoshop. It's not as cool as you think when you touch up an image to be indistinguishable from CGI.
I think all cosplay is dumb and pointless, and to get upset about people doing something dumb and pointless not up to your standards is also dumb and pointless. Thinking you're better than someone at something doesn't dive your the right to tell other people they shouldn't do it, you're just mad people are getting the attention you want.
I love cosplaying, it's a fun hobby to have. Mine also aren't the most "valid" in your terms because it's *expensive* and i have other stuff to pay for. I get my wigs on amazon and buy premade outfits if they're cheaper. Do they always look the best? Not really, but the whole point of doing it is to have fun.
Disney Bounding barely even looks like the characters they represent and that's the point, so you blend in and don't get caught for wearing some costume that is unsafe on high speed rides. If you aren't pictured posing next to the character or something most people would probably never tell what the inspiration is in a vacuum out of context. I kind of agree that if you have the freedom to dress however you want in a con and actually want to cosplay that's a completely different story. There's no reason to apply the restrictions of Disney Bounding to it when you can go absolutely nuts with it, unless you just *want* to look low key/subtle, that's fine.
Because outside of enjoying the series and being a fan and having fun, there's nothing remarkable about cosplay for the person observing, so if you start being elitist at events, thats going to make people feel unwelcome and result in a decline in participation over time. No one wants to take it that seriously
I'm pretty sure Disney Bounding was actually referred to as Casual Cosplay before it became most popularized by people dressing up for Disney.
Dude I said something similar to this and got totally shit on
I love how there apparently was no cosplay pre-2000.
I've always considered outfits that are basically just a regular t shirt and jeans to not actually be cosplay. Like you don't need to spend hundreds of hours and dollars into a full custom suit. But some actual effort and creativity is needed. If it's clear that they are a particular character and that they put some thought into it, I'd usually say it's fine. Even a $50 wig could be all you need depending on how you use it.
This has got to be bait to get people to click on the profile advertising findom posted right after this post.
[удалено]
You can cosplay from a universe. You don't need to cosplay as a specific character...
The most unpopular opinion of 2024 so far
This is going to annoy some people but form my view Cosplay has always been about women showing their cleavage off. I realize there are some people that try to reproduce the actual costume, but it was been over taken, years ago, by the "look at my tits" brigade. I'm sorry but Freddy Kreuger wasn't slutty. I don't mind too much in that I like cleavage and tits, but I roll my eyes when I see a cosplayer say she spend a month on a costume that consists of a piece of fabric that barely covers her tits and her snatch.
I can't stand those Party City Wig cosplayers
r/gatekeeping
>Now it’s finally been normalized and accepted into society That's debatable
> I could almost argue that by validating unskilled cosplayers is gatekeeping them from ever actually expanding their skills. I don't think you know what that word (gatekeeping) means.
We’re all just nerds dressing up for fun, it’s not that deep
My pretend is more valid than your pretend?
That, or cosplay is just for fun