Episode 19: Cosplayers of Color

It’s pretty well accepted in contemporary geek culture that “representation matters.” At least, it’s accepted by everyone except for the evil corners of the internet that we don’t really care about. And thankfully, because of this, recent years in geek culture have seen the addition of many diverse characters that have become cosplay favorites at fan conventions. But what happens if you want to cosplay a character who is not of your own race? What does it mean to cosplay a white character as a person of color? And, conversely, what does it mean to cosplay as a non-white character if you are white? How do out gut reactions about these issues fit into cultural studies and what does this mean for diversity? Mav welcomes his former student Ayana Underwood to join he and Wayne in a discussion of racial diversity in the cosplay community.

Citations and Links:

• This episode’s Call for Comments
• “Representation in Cosplay: Batman” by Will James
• “White woman in blackface at Comic-Con causes stir among activists of color” by Timothy Rawles
• “Teen Titans’ Starfire is an orange alien. Racist “fans” don’t want a black woman playing her” by Alex Abad-Santos
• Orientalism by Edward Said
• The Superhero Costume: Identity and Disguise in Fact and Fiction by Barabara Brownie & Danny Graydon

• Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme
• Follow Ayana on Instagram: @comixbawse
• Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick
• Follow Mav’s Personal Blog: http://chrismaverick.com
• Follow Wayne’s Personal Blog: http://wayne-wise.com
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• Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast
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