My Experiences with the Gay Cosplay Community

10 years of cosplay memories and awesomeness: they'll always hold a special place in my heart forever. I retired from cosplay in October 2024 and over six months after concluding an amazing journey, life has been treating me well so far. In this story, I'll be sharing what it was like being part of the gay cosplay community. I'll start with the bad before I explain the positives of this community.

The Bad: I started doing cosplay in August 2014 and attended my first con. About the first couple of years into doing this amazing craft, I ran into a page on Facebook that highlighted gay cosplayers. So I posted a few pictures of me in cosplay on there. After a few hours, I went back to that page and what I saw next crushed me mentally. I didn't receive any likes, comments, or shares on my pictures. In their minds, they only wanted to feature fit, white, gay cosplayers on there. There was no doubt that this snub was racist. I've dealt and struggled with self-esteem and self-confidence issues growing up. I've was always perceived as ugly and unattractive. I was never anyone's Man Crush Monday. The Facebook situation made my confidence level plummet even further and had feelings of self-doubt. To them, I wasn't deserving of a feature on their page, simply because of the color of my skin and body type. I've dealt with bouts of racism and homophobia online, but I knew that I shouldn't take that kind of abuse from anyone. It's okay to stand up for yourself and don't have to be silent about any form of bullying.

Another situation I experienced was a cosplayer telling me thar in order for me to collaborate with him, I had to have at least 10,000 followers. I never understood why that part mattered. The number of followers someone has doesn't determine someone's worth.

The Good: After the aforementioned Facebook incident occurred, I started to get a bit more attention from different cosplay pages on Instagram, including some featuring other gay cosplayers. This would happen here and there until my retirement late last year. I was among several people to be selected as a cosplay model for an Instagram page featuring other cosplayers. They would feature my cosplays anytime I would tag them in my posts. It was such a honor to be part of their page.

Now that I'm a former cosplayer, what did I think about being part of the gay cosplay community? For the most part, I believe that the people in it were some of the most sweetest and kindest individuals I've ever met. They put their all into their cosplays and show them off on social media. I still follow those cosplayers to this day. They're amazing people and I respect them greatly. I'll always be tied to this community, but a decade of cosplay goodness is something I'll hold on to forever.

I've done over three dozen cosplays and one of them was the Green Lantern (shown above), which I debuted back in 2022. On average, I would do up to three cosplays and attend two cons a year. I still love cosplay and will forever be tied to that community. Do I have an itch to unretire and return to the craft I enjoyed for 10 years? The answer to that is no and I won't pull a Tom Brady on anyone. I will continue to attend conventions, but as a former cosplayer. I look back at my cosplay pics and videos, reminding myself of how much fun I had. They say to leave a legacy behind and I'm doing just that. The post cosplay life feels good and I live every day to the fullest.

If you're a cosplayer, what are some of your favorite cosplays you've done. Also, whether if you're a cosplayer or not, what would be your dream cosplay? For me, the Green Lantern was one of the dream cosplays I've done that became a reality. The LED mask and ring added amazing touches to this cosplay.

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