28daysofblackcosplay
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#28DaysOfBlackCosplay: Cosplay Is for Everyone (but It’s Nice to Have Options)
In 2002 I hopped a Greyhound bus from my Iowa State college campus to get back home to Illinois for my first anime convention. I had no idea what to expect, but more important, I had no idea what to wear! I was going to a place where being a geek was highly encouraged—and I…
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#28DaysOfBlackCosplay: Too Black for the White Geeks
I was 6 years old when my mama educated me in the ways of saving princesses by touching flowers and shooting fireballs at turtles. Four years later, a kid in my class revealed a juicy bit of gossip: There were adult cartoons that aired way past our bedtimes. I stayed up and discovered “Japan-imation” (or…
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#28DaysBlackOfCosplay: Learning to Love Myself by Playing Dress-Up
I’m a cosplayer. A black geek. A black, queer, cosplaying geek in a plus-size body. I conduct a body-positivity panel at conventions called “Love Your Cosplay Body.” For about an hour, I wax philosophically about accepting yourself and ignoring the randos of the internet who comment on fat-black-girl pics with witty remarks like “whale” or…