Commentary: Why I Avoid (Most) Online Cosplay Communities
I never really considered myself a hard core cosplayer or anything. I have costumes. I wear them to conventions. I do some of the basic stuff myself (vs. buying store pieces or getting them commissioned). But because I wasn’t making elaborate show pieces for masquerades from scatch, or twisting wigs into crazy shapes with the help of a caulk gun, I didn’t feel like I really belonged to the illustrious “cosplay community”.
That started to change when I met some really amazing cosplayers online and at cons. They were very encouraging. They were helpful. Many of them shared stories of how they started as “closet cosplayers” (it means what it sounds like, you cosplay with what you have in your closet). I realized that I was a cosplayer, even if I couldn’t tell the difference between the stitches from a sewing machine or a serger.
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