This is all because the honest to goodness cold-hard truth is: There is NO Cosplay Rule-book! Nope! Nothing! It doe’s not exist! This false hood has been around long before I ever started cosplaying, and it’s a sad known truth that it is still around and being ‘preached’.
But I am here to tell you that it does not exist!
There are NO rules that say you have to cosplay xyz because you resemble them!
There is NO rule that you have to wear contacts, or walk around blind because the character you are cosplaying doesn’t wear glasses!
There is NO rule that you have to look accurate! (And let’s face it, if you tried to look EXACTLY like some said characters you would fall short because it is EXTREMELY improvable to resemble characters that have such unreasonable appearance. Some even defying the laws of physics!)
There are NO rules that you have to lose weight in order to cosplay a character!
There are NO rules that you have to wear makeup/wigs/high-heels/no-heels/or make that ridiculously HUGE prop and carry it around for 5+ hours at a convention.
There is NO rules that you need to cosplay a character nobody else will be, because having too many Hatsune Miku’s is wrong. NO!
The point of this rant is to hopefully wake some of you up! STOP BELIEVING THAT THESE RULES EXIST!
The truth is this and ONLY this: The ONLY RULE for cosplayers is to HAVE FUN! Period. Enough now! I’m serious!
Being told you ‘can’t or shouldn’t’ cosplay a character is WRONG. You can cosplay whoever the hell you want and YOU CAN ROCK THAT COSPLAY in a way that makes you feel comfortable and beautiful!
If that means you alter a characters look to have more clothing covering the body then go for it! If it means you show a little more skin and you are comfortable with that then GO FOR IT!
Nobody can tell you ‘you can’t’ because you can tell them there is no rule-book on how to cosplay! Everyone has recommendations or advise to give, but none of it is ‘set in stone’ rules in this mysterious magical book that DOES NOT exist!
The moment you give in and believe these lies is the moment you will dread cosplaying because you will no longer be cosplaying for yourself! You’ll be cosplaying to make others happy, and to fulfill their belief on how one should cosplay. You’ll cease to have fun, and it may even cause you to STOP cosplaying in general. How sad a though that is!
I am here to tell you that because there is no rule-book on how to cosplay you can rock this! Make it your own! Have fun! Grow! Experience all the joy cosplaying brings!
Yes, you’ll experience the pain too. But let’s focus on the beauty, the positive, and the excitement it brings in knowing this book does not exist!
You are beautiful in a size 7 just as you are beautiful in a size 32. You. Are. BEAUTIFUL!
You are important: You do matter! When you stop cosplaying for yourself and only do it to please others or for attention you will start to feel the joy of this hobby less and less.
If you feel comfortable and beautiful with the creation you have then you go ROCK THAT STUFF!
I could go on and on and list all the ridiculous so-said ‘rules’ of cosplay but I won’t. These are just made up rules anyway.
Respect one another. Keep on loving what you do and do what you love!
-HappyCosplayer
happycosplayer 