I think white/lightskinned cosplayers should be able to acknowledge that, although in the abstract there's nothing WRONG with anyone respectfully cosplaying characters of any race, there are still cases in which it would objectively be In Poor Taste for them to do so

I've cosplayed characters who are much darker than me, but there's a tonal difference between characters who happen to be a certain race and characters whose background and arc are specifically informed by the experiences of their race/culture and intended to be representation

I'd never be comfortable cosplaying Princess Tiana because her blackness is so intrinsic to her place in pop culture, for example, or Dedue from FE3H (despite being my 2nd fave character) because his whole backstory is specifically about facing racial violence and discrimination

On the other hand, Reo from Sarazanmai just happens to be Ambiguously Tan, and Phichit from Yuri on Ice is proud of being Thai, but his characterization and role in the story wouldn't be impacted if he was from any other country where skating is uncommon

Like, is it whitewashing to cosplay a nonwhite character as a white person? No- you're not representing the character in any official capacity, you're not taking the opportunity to cosplay them away from anyone else. But something not being WRONG =/= being 100% in good taste

And since I know people will be all "but anime characters aren't white, they're Japanese!" Yes, and if there's an anime about Japanese people in American internment camps or something, I'd avoid that too. Hell, I'm not comfy cosplaying Yune from Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. Context.

This isn't me saying "this is racist and you're a racist," I COSPLAY NONWHITE CHARACTERS TOO, this is me saying consider the context of the character, and whether uplifting other cosplayers may be a better way to show your love for Black Panther than being a white Black Panther

Also consider: if you really just want to make something as your motivation, see if anyone would want to commission it from you, maybe at cost or a reduced rate!

On that note, if anyone wants Lion King musical headpieces... hit me up I'm dying to try to make Simba for someone

This is also something my opinion has definitely changed on in the past year or so, mostly because I have amazing nonwhite friends/mutuals who were willing to discuss this with me. I wouldntve agreed on this two years ago, so I understand if you don't, but please start listening.

Hey, please give this thread by @geomiyoto a read as well! They had a lot of really fantastic points and I'm glad they engaged with me. https://twitter.com/geomiyoto/status/1290445430535475200?s=20