Why Cultural Appropriation Is A Myth Contemporary segregationists lament art of cosplay

In the past decade, cosplay has become increasingly popular and accepted in mainstream culture, and with this popularity, it has become a big target for social justice warriors. Now, I’ve already talked about the SJWs attacking cosplayers and booth babes before, but now let’s focus on the criticism cosplayers get for engaging in “cultural appropriation.” According to Urban Dictionary, cultural appropriation is defined as so:

The ridiculous notion that being of a different culture or race (especially white) means that you are not allowed to adopt things from other cultures. This does nothing but support segregation and hinder progress in the world. All it serves to do is to promote segregation and racism.

That definition is pretty much dead on the money. SJWs don’t like the idea that people (and they mean white people) can dress up in outfits and garb traditionally worn by other cultures. It’s an odd dynamic that confuses cultural mockery with fashion. It also stems from an ugly reality that SJWs don’t want to face: sometimes people from other cultures can pull off intercultural looks.

A Double Standard

Good cosplay is an art. It’s about making a costume look as much like a fictional character as possible. It takes some people months to make the perfect outfit. For example, check out this video of a cosplayer portraying Mass Effect character Garrus Vakarian. To do this right takes a lot of skill, and whether a cosplayer is trying to be accurate to the character’s look or create a sexier version, creating the costume takes a lot of work.

Oddly enough, black people aren’t given crap for dressing up like Harry Potter or Hermoine Granger. Asian women aren’t chastised for dressing up like Elsa and Anna. Why is this? People have been dressing up as their favorite characters and styling themselves after cultures they are interested in for centuries: why is it a problem now? Simple: insecurity.

Most cultural appropriation seems to stem from people being angry at white women. Just look at what SJWs recently about Kylie Jenner and her choice to rock braids, or when SJWs bullied a 12-year old girl for her hairstyle choice. That’s right: SJWs harassed a little girl because she dared to have blonde hair and braids. As a black man, I’ll come out and call bullshit on anger over this, considering that black women spend millions a year on getting blonde weaves.

But that’s the problem: white people with intercultural stylings are threatening. It’s uncomfortable to some people to see a white woman like Peta Todd look sexy wearing Native American headpieces. It makes them question their own personal beauty standards when someone not in their cultural circle outdoes them in their own style. As much as it may lower your self-esteem, you need to get over it, and you shouldn’t invent a bogus phrase to criticize people for having fun.

I’m not advocating that people mock other cultures for kicks. While everyone is free to do what they want, I do think it’s in poor taste to just make fun of an entire ethnicity/culture just to get your jollies. I don’t want to ban people from doing it, but this false flag of cultural appropriation isn’t even close to jest. What SJWs call “cultural appropriation” is actually a way of honoring and admiring other cultures.

In the end, most (but not all) accusations of cultural appropriation seem to stem from jealousy. It’s time to stop being so petty and to start ignoring SJWs when they try and create this narrative. People who complain about whites portraying Asian characters when they play dress-up are nothing more than contemporary segregationists. Just brush it off and keep dressing and styling yourself in a way that makes you feel comfortable. Growing an afro doesn’t make you Rachel Dolezal and getting a blonde wig doesn’t make you Marilyn Monroe. Just have fun: that’s what cosplay is all about!

Read More: The Myth Of “Gamer Entitlement”