I am so tired of the elitist mentality and it's time we fucking discuss this because I saw the nastiest fucking mentality I've seen in a while. It's not your right to claim what's cosplay or not. "If you're not wearing the cosplay, makeup, or wig it's not cosplay"

There's a lot to unpack to this and let this veteran who's tired of the bullshit fucking sit y'all down. This is a common elitist mentality that NEEDS to stop.
You ruin this hobby for beginners and hurt people this way.

It's not your personal right to claim what is and isn't cosplay. It's up to that person. Cosplay isn't about dressing up as accurately as possible. Cosplay isn't just dressing up. It's so much more.

This might be my older veiw on this but I've seen this bullshit to much. I've seen the mental affect its had on people and why people call the community toxic. I've seeing beautiful people be told that they are the wrong skin color, wrong body type, or wrong gender.

I've seen people be told that they aren't cosplayers because they don't have the Canon accurate costume. I've seen cosplayers be told that they aren't cosplaying if they don't have a wig. I've seen cosplayers be told that they are not actually cosplayers if they buy their costume

This needs to stop. Your definition of cosplay is not THE definition of cosplay.
Cosplay is a person's love and expression for a character that means a lot to them and can come in many different forms.

Before I get QRT or asked " Well then why do you people say cosplayers shouldn't blackface or face tape? Why is that considered wrong? They're just trying to be accurate and pay respect" I will say this...

You can be as accurate as you want to be but if you're accuracy is harmful to a race or culture and portraying a negative racial stereotype then that's not respectful and you are just valuing your own veiw of accuracy . That becomes an issue of basic human morals.

I have seen cosplayers not know why things like this are harmful to select groups and shouldn't be done, but I have seen cosplayers know why and ignore those groups it's affecting and just the assholes.

At that point that cosplayer is valuing accuracy over basic human decency, and yes those types of cosplayers do not have my respect. Just like cosplayers who demoralize and put down others to raise themselves up.

So let's circle back back to the original point of this thread. If your mentality of Cosplay is harmful and demoralizing to another person, and doesn't address concerning or potentially harmful issues that the cosplayer might be doing such as negative or racial stereotypes...

... then that is no longer a constructive or positive outlook. It is harmful and in the realm of elitism and lacks compassion and basic human decency.
This pushes others away from a potentially constructive and creative source for them to explore.

Not many people can afford the same materials, costumes, wigs, contacts, makeup, or come from the same backgrounds and we need to be mindful of that. Cosplaying needs to stop being a competition outside of the appropriate spaces. Please help raise up others....

...and think about the message you are sending to someone directly before you post.
Think about it from a perspective outside of your own, and put yourself in the shoes of someone else.

Yes these are my own personal views, and I do want to sum up them by saying that I think that we need to treat others with respect in this hobby and stop demoralizing with unconstructive opinions that only matter on surface level and not a deeper level.